The first time Regina saw the stranger she questioned whether after 28 years of time not moving in Storybrooke she had actually forgotten who one of the citizens was. The second time she saw him, she thought something about him seemed familiar.
The third time she saw him, he changed her life forever.
The young man caught her eye at the Storybrooke City Council meeting. He was sitting in the back by himself. She guessed his age to be somewhere in his early 20s, but since he was sitting with his head down for the most part, she couldn't be sure. He had dark hair and was dressed casually in a pair of jeans and a black T-shirt.
She wasn't sure what it was about him that had first caught her eye. It was unusual for their city council meetings to be well attended unless there was some major emergency going on. Things had been quiet for months so the council meeting was hardly packed.
He had looked toward the officials sitting in the front of the room only a few times – mostly at Emma who was there in her official capacity as sheriff, and she noticed he had glanced at least once at her.
Regina also saw he appeared to be occasionally writing in a notebook.
What she couldn't figure out was who he was. For 28 years she had learned everyone in this town, yet she couldn't seem to remember who he was. Even after the curse broke and then after Zelena's actions caused yet another casting of the curse – bringing more people into town – Regina would still have placed bets on her ability to know everyone in her town.
This young man she simply couldn't put a name to.
Turning her focus back to the meeting she figured his name would pop into her head at some random time. That is how these things tended to happen.
After the meeting was adjourned, Regina was speaking with one of the councilman who had some follow up questions regarding a sewer project the public service department was planning on for next spring. Emma was standing in the back of the room near the door, clearly waiting and Regina smiled to herself as she knew it was her that Emma was waiting on.
Following her conversation she went and gathered her coat and purse, heading toward the door.
"Sheriff Swan," she said, giving the moniker her best serious tone.
"Madame Mayor," Emma said holding the door open so Regina could pass through. They left village hall and walked to Regina's car. "I wanted to say thank you for dinner last night."
"You're welcome," Regina said. "Although I believe you did thank me last night."
"Yes, well I did have two helpings so two thank yous seems appropriate," Emma said, opening Regina's car door once it was unlocked. "I wanted to see if when you drop Henry off on Friday night if you wanted to do so at Granny's and we could all have dinner together."
"I would like that," Regina said getting in the car. Emma continued to hold the door as Regina put her seat belt on. "Say about 6 p.m.?"
"Sounds good."
"I will see you then," Regina said.
"Unless I see you before then," Emma said, knowing full well she wouldn't go from Monday night until Friday without seeing Regina.
"Until next time then," Regina said. "Good night."
"Night. Careful driving home," Emma said as she gently shut the door.
As she was driving home, Regina couldn't help at marvel at the ease in which she and Emma had come to associate. Before the Dark One's curse had taken her, they had started to become friends. Once Emma had sacrificed herself for Regina, it seemed to solidify the connection between them. In the months after the curse had broken, Emma had come around more often to talk to Regina. The things they talked about were things Regina could understand because she too knew what it was like to be controlled by darkness. Emma had no one else she could talk to about such things except Regina.
Now Emma staying for Sunday dinner had become common place.
Yes Regina couldn't help but think how lucky she was that she could call Emma her best friend.
Henry was on the couch watching television when Regina got home.
"Hey mom," he said. "You made it in time for Gotham."
As part of their continued mother-son bonding, Regina had taken to watching various superhero shows with Henry. They watched Gotham, Arrow and the Flash with each other. On nights they couldn't, they set the DVR and watched them later together.
Regina checked the time on her phone. She had 20 minutes before the show started.
As if able to read her mind Henry said, "Are you going to take a shower first?"
"No," Regina said, resolutely. "I am going to make us some popcorn and pour myself a drink."
"Living on the wild side mom," Henry joked.
She picked up a pillow and threw it at him before disappearing into the kitchen. Henry had told her several months back that he liked his new relaxed version of her because she smiled more and wasn't so stressed. He was right, she wasn't as stressed. That was due in part to there having been no major villains to battle or threats to the town lately. That and the Saturday morning runs she and Emma had been taking. She had at first balked at the idea of these runs, yet she had to admit Emma was right about the "runner's high."
It was merely another way that Emma and her had been able to connect.
…
Friday came around quick, or so it seemed to Regina as she pulled into a parking spot just down from Granny's.
"Should I take my stuff in with me?" Henry said, nodding his head toward the backseat.
"No, I am sure your mother can come out here when it's time to go and help you to that yellow death trap," Regina said.
They exited her car and walked into Granny's immediately seeing Emma at a booth. The blonde looked up at them and grinned as they approached.
"You ready for some old-fashioned fun this weekend kid?" she asked as Henry took a seat next to her.
"Careful on the old talk," Regina warned. "Your mother won't appreciate that anymore than I do."
It earned a laugh from Emma and Henry. This weekend they were going camping with Emma's parents – roughing it and learning about wood lore and other knowledge that if they had lived in the Enchanted Forest they would know already. Regina had even agreed to David teaching Henry some sword work.
"I tried to get mom to come with us," Henry said.
"You should so come with us," Emma said, her smile getting even wider.
"No thank you my dear," Regina said. "I can think of many things I would rather do with my time. Besides while Snow and I may have agreed to keep the past in the past, I am not sure I am ready to spend a whole weekend with her and her bow."
"I will pass that on to her."
"If you do, you will find there will be no extra helpings of dinner on Sunday night when you return Henry, hopefully unscathed."
"Ok, ok, I will keep my mouth shut, but only because I don't imagine the whole cooking what we catch out in the wild is going to go over well with my stomach so come Sunday I will be ready for extras," Emma replied.
They would be leaving early Saturday morning, which meant no run with Emma although Regina still planned on going out to get her exercise. Regina had already planned on lasagna, which she knew to be one of Emma's favorites, for the Sunday meal.
For now though, they ordered their meals and conversed about the mundane things their lives now seemed to entail. When she finished eating her salad Regina excused herself from the table to go to the restroom. It was on her way back to the table that she noticed the young man – the same one from the council meeting the other night. He was sitting at a table near the door and he had been looking at Emma and Henry when Regina noticed him. He seemed to notice her too and he dipped his head back down and concentrated on the notebook in front of him.
She took her seat and almost immediately glanced back toward his table. He still had his head down and she wished he would raise it so she could get another glimpse of him. She had no idea who he was. He picked up his mug and took a drink, not raising his head much. When he put it down she watched as he used his thumb on his left hand to push down on his forefinger as if trying to make his knuckle crack and then proceeded to do it with each of the other fingers.
There was something familiar about him she thought, but she couldn't figure out why he seemed familiar. Surely, she had seen him somewhere before council. She must have just forgotten his name.
"Regina?"
"Huh?" she said turning back toward Emma and Henry.
"Is there something wrong?"
"What? No. Well, that young man back there by the door, do you know who he is?"
"You mean the one leaving?"
Regina turned back and saw the man's back as he exited the diner and turned left. He had a hooded sweatshirt on and he had put the hood up once he was outdoors.
"Yes, do you know him?"
"I didn't really get a good look at him. Why? Who is he?"
"I have no idea," Regina said
"Did he do something to bother you?" Emma asked, concern evident in her voice.
"No," Regina said shaking her head. "I just don't know who he is and that's more than a little disturbing."
"So big deal, it's not like you know everyone in town."
Regina gave her a look and Emma followed up with, "You don't, do you?"
"Twenty-eight years," Regina said. "I had a lot of time on my hands."
"Wow. Ok, but more people have come to town since then."
"I know and I thought I knew them all, but that guy I don't know him, although there is something familiar about him."
"Then you probably do know him, you just don't remember him," Emma said. "I mean, strangers don't come to Storybrooke."
"Yes, you're right," Regina said, even as she was beginning to have her doubts. "He does seem familiar so I probably have merely forgotten his name."
…
The next morning Regina left her home, turned right and began her run. Normally she and Emma would do at least two miles. The most they had ever done was five. She took their normal route but almost as soon she started she felt different – she felt something was missing, rather someone.
Running by herself just didn't have the same appeal as running with Emma. But she knew she had to gut it out if nothing else to be able to tell the truth to Emma when she invariably asked how the run went.
She finished her two miles – although it felt like longer – and she began her cool down walk back to the house. She kept the pace steady, not in hurry, or so she wanted the person she had glimpsed as she had run past the park to think. She was again walking past the park and she caught the barest trace of a black hooded sweatshirt behind a tree. Still not ready to give it away that she saw him, she walked on past and turned the corner. It was only then that she used her magic to transport to the tree.
As she appeared the young man was startled and stumbled backward. He kept himself from falling but he dropped his notebook.
"Who are you?" she said.
"Um … Barry, my name is Barry," he said quickly.
"Barry is it. Well Barry, do you mind telling me why you were hiding behind this tree watching me?"
"I wasn't," he said.
"Really? Because this is three times I have now seen you this week, yet I can't recall ever seeing you here in this our fine city before. Do you care to explain, or should I call the sheriff?"
"No," he said in a panic. He noticed his notebook and bent to retrieve it but Regina's magic was quicker and he straightened to see her holding it. She opened it up and began to read. She didn't get far but when she locked eyes with him again she used her magic to push him against the tree and bind him to it.
"What is this?" she said holding up the notebook. "Why do you have notes of where me, Henry and Emma have been at in the last week?"
"It's … it's not what you think. Please," he said.
"What I think is that you have been stalking my family," she said.
"No, it's not like that," he said.
"I'm calling the sheriff and then you are going to tell us exactly who you are and what you are doing here in Storybrooke," she said pulling out her phone. She called up Emma's name in her contact list.
"No, wait, please," he said. "You can't call Emma. She's not supposed to know I am here. If you call her and she sees me here then it will all change."
"What will all change?"
"Everything. All of this will change. Please," he said. "Please grandma."
She took a step backward. "What did you call me?"
He sighed. "Grandma. I called you grandma. I'm um I'm Barry Allen Mills, your grandson. Henry's my father and Emma, well Emma's my other grandma and if those two find out about me, it will change the future," he said. "So please, can you let me out of this and maybe we can go to your house and talk?"
"Barry Allen, as in …"
"You liked it better than Oliver, and I have to say I agree," he said. "I mean there are worse ways to go around life. Being named after the Flash isn't so bad."
"Tell me why I should believe anything you are saying and you better make it believable or I will press this button here and call Emma," she said.
"Look at the notebook again," he said. "Does some of the writing look familiar?"
She didn't want to take her eyes off of him, but she did as she looked again at the writing. Now that she was paying attention to it more she could see there were two types of handwriting in it – one of them was eerily familiar.
She looked up at him.
"You sent me here," he said. "You had to let me know where you would be or at least as much as you could remember, so you wrote it down for me."
She glanced again at the writing. It was definitely her script. But was any of this possible?
"Grandma, well you, future you, told me that I would mess up and you would find me back here in this time. She told me I should tell you that when Emma was the Dark One that you had decided that if Merlin couldn't help you were going to go back in time and make sure that Emma didn't sacrifice herself for you – that the Dark One's curse would take you. You had decided to die in order to let her live and not be tainted by the darkness. Even after she was free from it, you still considered it because of how it had affected her. You told me to tell you that because …"
"I would never tell anyone else something like that," she said.
She flicked her hand and he was released from the tree with an audible sound of relief on his part.
"Can I have my notebook back?" he asked.
"Not until you tell me why I would send you back here."
"I don't really know," he said. "You thought it would be a good learning experience for me to see you and Emma as you are now. I got to ask though, what's the hold up? Why haven't you and Emma gotten together yet? You get married like next year so I thought maybe you would be together by now."
Regina for once was speechless.
….
After she had the wherewithal to transport them back to the mansion, Regina went and took a shower. She needed the time to think but even it didn't work. She came back downstairs after getting dressed to find Barry on the couch watching television. She was struck in that moment how much he looked like Henry. Not exactly like him, but she could definitely see the similarity in the features.
Could this really be my grandson? She wondered.
"I see you helped yourself to my fridge," she said noting the half drank glass of milk and plate of leftovers that he had reheated.
He shrugged. "If it makes you feel any better you usually spoil me when I come for a visit."
"No that doesn't make me feel better," she said. "And get your feet off of my coffee table young man."
"Some things don't change," he mumbled under his breath.
"What was that?"
"Nothing, I just said that it's good to see you again, not that I didn't just see you but that was older you."
"How old are you?"
"19," he said.
"Barry, I think you should explain yourself a little better than you have so far. You will forgive me if I find this all a little hard to believe. Like I said, Emma and I are friends, nothing more."
"Yeah, but you wish you were something more," he said, smiling at her.
She crossed her arms. "Why would older me send you here?"
"You said it would be good learning experience for me."
"How so?"
He hesitated before speaking. "My girlfriend, Katie, she broke up with me a couple of weeks back," he said, his voice getting lower
"I'm sorry to hear that," she said when he paused. She could tell the kid was not over this break up yet.
"Yeah, well you told me these things take time. You always had a way of explaining things to me so when I wanted to drop out of college and work to get Katie back …"
"You dropped out of college!" she yelled. "Of all the irresponsible …"
"I didn't drop out, jeez," he said. "And save the irresponsible speech, you gave it to me already. I love Katie. No one seems to understand that so I came to talk to you. You said that if I loved Katie and Katie loved me then things have a way of working out even when you don't think they will. Everyone else was telling me to move on, get over it, but you at least listened. Then you said you had just the thing to cheer me up – and you explained you wanted to send me back here to see you and Emma before you were you and Emma. I think you wanted me to see that you know things can work out."
"How did I send you back?"
"She said I shouldn't tell you that because obviously you figure it out on your own."
"Is there anything else she told you to tell me," she asked.
He seemed to think for a moment. "Yes, you need to take this once I leave," he said fishing a vial out of his pocket. He handed it to her and she examined it.
"It's a memory potion," she said recognizing the concoction.
"You can't remember meeting me," he said. "That's why it was important for dad and grandma Emma not to see me. I only have the potion for you because I only met you."
"So future me doesn't recognize you as someone they met all these years before?"
"Not exactly."
"Explain."
"Grandma said that a couple of years ago she looked at me and recognized me as a stranger she once saw in Storybrooke. She said once she realized that she knew I must have come back here to this time from the future. She didn't remember talking to me or anything, only seeing me a couple of times. She said the only reason she even thought about it all those years later was because it coincided with when she and Emma finally took the step toward being a couple."
"And how exactly is that step supposed to happen? Assuming I believe any of this."
Barry smiled at her, "You believe it," he said. "You are just being stubborn at this point. Come on grandma, you love Emma, are you going to tell me that you don't have those feelings for her?"
Regina had those feelings, but she had buried them deep inside of her. Those feelings were why she had broken things off with Robin knowing she couldn't ever truly be fully with him when she was thinking of someone else constantly.
"Lasagna," he said suddenly. "You are going to cook lasagna tomorrow for dad and grandma. A storm is going to hit tomorrow in the early afternoon and you are going to worry about them especially when you text Emma and she doesn't text you back. Mostly because she slipped and fell and her phone flew out of her hand into the creek. Anyway, they show up here and she is all muddy and soaking wet you and let her inside to clean up and change clothes. You all eat dinner as a family and when Henry goes to bed, you two kiss. There has been an ongoing argument about which of you made the first move."
Regina took a seat, finding her legs were feeling wobbly all of a sudden.
"Are you ok?" he asked.
"Emma and I … we … were just friends."
"With benefits apparently."
"Young man, you will not speak like that to me," she scolded him.
"Sorry, it's just, I've always known you two as being married. You are my grandmas. You are old but you are still cute together with all the kissing and hand holding and stuff. You adore Emma and it's plain to see. Even now it's plain to see. You get all smiley when you are around her and she goes out of her way to make physical contact with you – holding your coat so you can put it on even though you are capable of doing it yourself, the way she puts her hand on the small of your back when she holds the door open for you. These are just things I have seen here in the week I've been here. You two are in love with each other. Again, what's the hold up?"
"I … I don't know. I guess I thought these feelings were one-sided. I mean she and I don't make sense together, how could we ever get others to accept it?"
"I don't think you care much about what people think, but I can tell you that in the future no one has a problem with you two being a couple – not even great-grandma Snow."
"Great-grandma, I bet she loves being called that," Regina commented.
"I don't think she minds, although she has always been a little overly cheerful," he said.
"And here I was hoping she would grow out of that," Regina said. She went silent a moment, studying Barry, looking for anything about him that would tell her if he was lying. She could see nothing though, and more importantly, she didn't feel like he was lying. "Barry, why don't you tell me about this Katie?"
They spent the rest of the afternoon talking. Regina found she enjoyed his company and she felt like this was probably like what they were like in the future. A grandson. She never could have imagined that happening.
"So are you going to do it?" he asked her.
"Do what?"
"Kiss Emma first tomorrow."
"I don't know," she answered honestly. She knew she wanted to but actually doing it was another matter entirely.
"You have to," he said. "You have to make her feel what she can't see - that you love her."
"I will consider it."
"Grandma Regina wouldn't just consider it, she would go all out for it," he said.
"I am not anyone's grandma yet," she said.
"I know," he said, putting a hand on hers. "But you will love it when you are."
"Of that I have no doubt."
She heard a beep and he pulled his phone out of his pocket and shut off the beeping.
"It's time for me to go," he said standing up.
"No," she said. "You can't just leave."
"Sorry, but I have to. I was only here for a limited time and that time is almost done," he said. "But don't worry, I will see you again in the future this time."
She got up and gave him a hug. "Be careful going back," she said. "And tell old me that you were on your best behavior."
He nodded and made sure he wasn't leaving anything behind.
"Good bye."
"How about we just say 'until later'"
"Ok, until later."
She gave him a kiss on the cheek and then he went to the front door. "Remember, kiss her tomorrow."
She just smiled in return.
"Oh and grandma, take the potion."
"I will," she said. Once he left, she felt loneliness once again. She sat there thinking of how empty her house was when Henry and Emma weren't there. It wasn't until later that night just before she went to bed that she took the potion. She knew she had to in order to protect the time line and that was something she definitely wanted preserved.
By the time she was asleep she had no idea she had a grandson.
…
Regina was pacing as she heard the crack of thunder outside. She glanced at the time again and then dialed Emma's number again – getting worried about not being able to reach her. Finally she heard a car pull up and she rushed to the window to see it was Henry and Emma.
"You are soaked," she said as she answered the door. "Why are you soaked?"
"I am never going to camping again," Emma said.
"I thought it was fun," Henry said.
"Yeah well you didn't fall into mud and lose your phone," she said.
"Do you want to come in and change? Regina offered.
"Thank you, that would be great."
She stepped into the foyer and took off her shoes, socks and jacket according to Regina's instructions for not tracking mud into her home. When she was finished she went upstairs to get that shower. She was partway up the stairs, Regina called out, "do hurry before the lasagna gets cold."
"You made lasagna."
"Yes," Regina smiled. "Just for you. Now go get cleaned up."
"Going," Emma said with an exaggerated sigh. "You act like you don't want to see me wet."
Regina knew what Emma meant, but she couldn't help but raise an eyebrow in reflection of Emma being wet. She scolded herself once again for having these feelings about her best friend.
Still as she heard the shower turn on, she wondered if tonight would be the night she stopped being a coward. Would tonight be the night she told Emma she was in love with her.
Somehow she had a good feeling about the timing of it.
The end