Regina is standing in front of the counter cutting some vegetables and putting them in a bowl in order to make dinner for her family. She is humming a happy song as she does her work. Cooking has always been a passion for her. Someway to escape from reality. Her disconnection moment. But since she has to do it for four and no longer for just two she loves it even more.
She takes a moment to think of all she has now. The family Robin and her are making with their kids. She sighs when she realizes in her own thoughts that every day that happens the Hood and the Mills are closer to be the Hood-Mills. A family no longer made by Robin and his kid and she and hers, a family no longer two plus two, but a family of four. Robin, her and both of their kids.
The sound of the front door is heard and Regina is brought back to reality. She raises her gaze from the counter to the kitchen's door from where she knows the kids will appear soon.
"Hi mom. We're home." Henry yells from the hall.
"Hi kids. I'm in the kitchen." she announces as she returns to the cutting.
No answer is heard and that makes Regina be alarmed. Roland never enters the house without yelling and running to her to just give her a hug.
Henry enters the kitchen with a sparkle of worry in his eyes. Behind him Roland shows up. His head is lowered and his arms crossed. Regina stares at him for a while and then she returns to the cutting.
"How was school today?" she asks sweetly, trying to sound unworried.
"Great! We went to the laboratory to make some experiments and it was amazing." Henry explains to her mother with excitement.
"That's nice kid. Maybe you'll become a scientist after all." Regina answers with a smile on his face.
"I'll doubt so. I'm more like a writer, you know." Henry replies in a humorous way.
Regina looks at her son and smiles to him. It's good to see how happy he is now, how quickly he accepted this family they are building with the Hood and how comfortable he feels being some kind of a big brother to Roland.
Henry stares back at his mom and with his sight he points at Roland, showing to her how worried he is about the little one.
"What about you Roland?" Regina asks in a casual way.
"It was fine. We did a lot of stuff." the kid answers to her with apathy.
"That's nice too." Regina replies trying to sound cheerful.
Roland looks at Regina shrugging his shoulders. She looks at him back and smiles to him. A smile which tries to give him the comfort he's searching.
The kid remind silent for a while, moving nervously his feet on the floor.
"Gina, where's papa?" he asks with a thin voice.
"He's at work. Today is one of those days he come late, sweetheart." she answers feeling terribly sorry for not being able to give the kid what he most need.
"Okay." he replies showing disappointment in his face. "I'll go to my room and play until dinner."
Roland leaves the room. Regina looks how the kid goes through the hall and gets up stairs. Regina turns back to look at Henry.
"What happens to him?" she asks to her son showing all the worry she has been trying to keep hidden while Roland was around.
Henry shrugs his shoulders and denies with his head.
"He looked that way since I picked him up from school. When I asked what was bothering him, he said he was fine." Henry explains. "I asked him a couple of times more on our way home but he kept saying he was fine."
"Then we must wait until he want to talk." Regina says resigned.
"Do you think that's the best?" Henry asks not sure about the decision of his mom.
"Trust me, kid. The more we'll ask, the less he'll talk." she exposes. "It's just been a month since they move in and probably he doesn't feel comfortable enough with us to share his worries. We can't force him to do it. If he wants to talk, he'll come to us."
Regina, Roland and Henry are sitting around the table in completely silence. Regina is placed between both kids. There's an empty chair next to Roland, between him and Henry, that belongs to Robin.
They assigned their places at the table and at the couch the first day they came to live at the mansion. Henry thought it would made them feel that they belong to the house if they have some space of their own and so they did it.
Regina stares at Roland's plate still full of food while Henry and hers are empty for a while now. Her worry only grows bigger when she realizes Roland has his gaze on the empty chair. He holds the fork in his hand but he doesn't make a move.
Regina stares at Henry for a second and Henry catches that his mom is asking for help. Maybe they don't have to push him to talk but he sees in her mom's eyes that this situation is breaking her heart. She can't look how the kid suffers and do nothing and neither he can.
"Don't you like it, Roland?" Regina asked smoothly.
"Yes, Gina, it's good but... I'm not hungry." the kid answers turning his gaze to her.
"Not even for an ice-cream?" Henry proposes with a rascal tone.
"I'm not in the mood." Roland replies his gaze fixed again at the empty chair.
Henry and Regina share a knowing look. Roland has never refused ice-cream before. In fact, he always begs for more. Something big is bothering him, something serious.
"Gina, can I go to sleep?" the little boy asks with a thin voice.
"Are you feeling sick, sweetheart?" Regina answers showing her worry to him, not able to hide it anymore.
"I'm fine. Just tired." He replies hoping she won't ask more.
"Do you want me to come with you?" Regina insists trying to approach the boy, to let him know she's there for him.
"I go on my own." he replies razing from the chair.
"Goodnight Roland." Henry says giving him a friendly sight.
Regina extends her arms waiting for Roland, waiting to give him his goodnight's hug and kiss, but Roland leaves the room not saying a word.
Regina and Henry share a gaze of worry. Things are worst than they imagined.
"Should I try to talk to him again?" Henry asks his mom knowing that they should do something more than wait until Robin comes home.
"I appreciate that kid, but I think it's better that I'll go." she replies as she raises from her chair.
"All right mom. I'll be here if you need backup." he offers with a sweet smile.
Regina kisses Henry's forehead. She feels so grateful for having a kid like Henry. A kid who grow up so fast, at her judgment. For her he'll always be her little prince but now her little prince is also a grown up man. One she can be proud to having raised.
Regina goes up stairs breathing in and out, trying to figure it out in his mind what will be the best way to start a conversation with Roland, how she can make him feel he can trust her and tell her anything.
She stops at the door of Roland's room and closing her eyes for a second she remembers the day they have painted it. Roland chose green because he said it would be like having the forest in his own room. She smiles at the memory.
She faces the door again and takes a deep breath before she knocks. She puts her hand at the doorknob and starts to open the door.
"May I come in?" she asks.
"Yes." the kid replies with a broken voice.
Regina realizes immediately the kid has been crying since he went up stairs and she feels her heart shrink. All she want is go by his side and give him a big hug that erases all the pain he's feeling. But she knows she can't do that. She knows they have to talk in order to make the kid feel better.
Only the beside lamp is turned on. As she approaches the bed she sees Roland's face is covered with a blanked. He doesn't make a move as she reaches the bed.
Regina sits at the edge of the bed and Roland moves a little just to give her some space. Slowly, he starts to remove the blanket from his face letting Regina see his red eyes and his wet cheeks.
"You didn't give my goodnight kiss and hug." Regina says softly.
Roland jumps outside of the blanket to Regina's lap and surrounds her with his arms as long as he buries his faces on her chest. She hugs him back with one arm while with the other she removes the remaining tears from his face.
"Do you want to tell me what happened?" she asks brushing his curls from his forehead.
She kisses his forehead with a long sweet kiss and if the kiss was some sort of a key Roland raises his head to look at her.
"I hate school." he sentences.
"Why are you saying this? I thought you love it." she replies surprised.
"Not anymore. I don't want to go back." he says showing all the anger he has been keeping from himself.
She pushes him closer to her, hugging him harder and rocking him, caressing his curls.
"What happened?" she asks again.
"A kid in my class has broken my drawing." he finally confess dropping some tears.
"Why he did that?" Regina questions.
"Because he said I was lying, Gina." he explains to her.
Regina stares at this little boy cuddled up with her. She gives him a comforting smile. A smile that takes away all the tears remaining inside the kid and gives him the strength and confidence to tell her the whole story.
"We had to draw our family. And so I did it. I drew papa, Henry, you and me." he starts to explain.
Regina feels warm in her chest. Nothing makes her more happy than knowing Roland thinks of her as part of his family.
"And then, this mean kid caught my drawing and tore it apart." he keeps explaining as he starts to sob. "He said Henry and you can't be in my draw." her sobs become more intense. "He said you're not my family. He said I was a liar. He said the only family I had left is papa. He said nobody loves me and that why my real mom left me years ago."
Her sobs are now and incontrollable cry. The kid has his head buried in Regina's chest again and nearly chocks with her own tears.
She rocks him, moving away the tears running all over his face and whispering him that everything is fine.
She takes his face in her hands and force the kid to look at her.
"Listen to me, sweetheart. Henry, and I, and papa, of course, love you with all our hearts. Never doubt it." she says turning his cry into a more controlled sobs again. "Do you love us?" she asks him.
"Of course, Gina. To the infinite and beyond!" he exclaims.
"It doesn't matter what this kid said. Don't believe him." she explains. "Family is everyone you love with all your heart. And you just tell me. We, the four of us love each other to the infinite and beyond. So, we're a family. A real one."
Roland jumps over her making her fall into the bed. They both share a big hug that makes all the tears, sobs and painful thoughts disappear from the room.
Roland raises from the bed after giving Regina a kiss on the cheek and goes towards his desktop.
"What are you doing, sweetie?" she asks confused.
"I've to remake my drawing for tomorrow." he says as it has to be obvious for her what he's doing.
Regina approaches the desk and sits next to the little boy. He draws in silence with a big smile on his face that shows his dimples as Regina stares at him. She feels good. She feels relieved. She's happy she has been able to comfort the boy and that's all that matters for her right now.
She gazes at the drawing. There's Robin. Next, Henry. Then, him. And finally, her. All of their are holding hands.
Roland picks up a black crayon and at the top of the drawing he writes "MY FAMILY by Roland Hood." Then, at the top of the drawing, under everyone of them he writes their names. She reads as he writes. "PAPA, HENRY, ME, MAMA.". She feels her heart melting as a few tears run over her cheeks.
"Why are you crying?" Roland asks turning to stare at her.
"Because I'm happy, so happy to have you in my life." she says.
The little boy jumps into her arms and they both hug strongly, their hearts beating with excitement.
"I love you, mama." the little boy says cuddling on her chest.
Regina kisses his forehead as she push him closer to her. She feels warm in her chest. The kind of warm only happiness can give you. The happiness of having a new son.