AN: Okay wow...the response was so awesome. So here's the next chapter. A few points of interest to mention. Some people wondered about Henry's obsession with the curse and Regina not knowing about the curse. For the purposes of this story, Henry doesn't know about the curse. The book probably won't make a big appearance in this story. Henry's negative feelings towards Regina will stem from finding out he was adopted. Now, having never been involved in the adoption process, I am not any kind of expert in the debate between adopted mom vs birth mom: who is the REAL mom? So I took both sides of it. Henry represents the Birth mom is real mom side while Emma (and Regina) take the 'the mom who raised you is your real mom' stance. I always wondered how Henry found out he was adopted. To me it didn't make sense to tell a kid that news and basically risk shattering their sense of security in the world. So this is my take on that too.
So hopefully, this will answer some questions. Enjoy!
Chapter 1: What Happened Next
One Year later...
As ten-year-old Henry Mills sat quietly on the Greyhound bus that was taking him to Boston to find his birth mom, he thought back to the events that led him to this point.
It had all started about two months after his mom stopped going out of town every week. At first, Henry was glad that his mom was around more again, it meant that he got to spend more time with her. He missed his Wednesday nights with Miss Nolan sometimes. They always had a good time watching movies and talking. Miss Nolan talked to him like he was an equal, not a little kid.
So when he'd asked her one Wednesday night what his mom was doing every week and where she went, Miss Nolan had told him that she didn't know the details but that it must be pretty important to make her leave town. Henry hadn't asked about it again, sensing that whatever it was that was taking his mom out of town would be revealed to him if it ever became necessary.
But then, she'd stopped going out of town. Wednesday nights were once again spent at home with him and at first, Henry was ecstatic. He had his mom back full time and he could stop worrying about her when she was away.
After a couple of weeks though, Henry began to notice that things weren't as great as he'd thought they were. His mom seemed like her old self, caring and attentive (if a bit bossy and stern) but there was something different. After the first month, Henry had woken up in the middle of the night and went to the bathroom. On his way back to his room, he heard a sound coming from his mother's room. Concerned, he crept quietly to the door, hoping to figure out the sound. The door was open just a little bit and Henry carefully peeked inside. What he saw, his young brain needed a minute to fully understand. His mom, his rock who was always there for him and always had a smile for him, was sitting on her bed...crying.
At first he thought that maybe she was hurt or in pain but then he saw she was holding her cell phone in her hand and staring at it. She wasn't dialing numbers or even touching the screen, she was just looking at it and crying. Henry, being a very smart little boy, figured she was looking at a picture of someone...maybe even his dad who had died when he was two weeks old.
His mom didn't keep any pictures of his dad around the house, claiming it was too painful to look at but maybe she'd kept one on her phone. Either way, Henry stood there for a few moments and watched his mom cry. It was too much for him to bear so he crept into the room and onto the bed. When his mom noticed him, she snapped her phone shut and slid it under her pillow. Henry just crawled up next to her and put his arms around her. They stayed like that for hours, just holding each other as his mom cried until the tears were gone. No words were spoken and she didn't even ask him why he was awake. She just held him close and they eventually fell asleep like that.
The next day, it was like it never happened. His mom was back to her usual self. Henry went to school, a little tired but still glad he'd been able to comfort his mom.
Two months after that night, Henry's world felt like it had shattered into a million pieces and there seemed to be no way to fix it.
Henry had forgotten to take out the trash, again, for the third time in a row and his mom had yelled at him for it. One thing led to another and his mom had spanked him for some ill-thought out words he'd said...mostly swear words he wasn't allowed to say.
In a fit of embarrassed anger, he'd stormed out of the house and onto his bike. He rode away towards the woods, too angry and embarrassed to stop the tears that soon blurred his vision. He was about a half mile from the city limit when his bike hit a sand patch and it skidded out of control. Henry and his bike slid down an embankment and his little body slammed into a tree trunk.
Luckily, his mom had sent the Sheriff after him, knowing that if she followed him it would make things worse. The Sheriff saw the accident and called for the ambulance while he stopped his car and ran to the boy. He was careful not to move him for fear of doing more damage but he was able to stop the bleeding from the broken leg bone that peeked out of the skin.
The paramedics loaded Henry into the ambulance and rushed him to the hospital.
Regina sat in the waiting room while Henry was taken into surgery to repair the broken leg and arm, as well as the punctured spleen. His ribs had been bruised and the doctors were afraid of internal injuries and bleeding. She was feeling the guilt of their last interaction. The last thing she'd said to him were words of anger, she'd spanked him and now he was fighting for his life. Regina knew that if Henry didn't survive this...she might as well be dead as well. He was her entire world...and now that she'd thrown away her one chance at what could've been a great love, he was all she had left and if she lost him...she felt her heart collapse on itself at the mere thought of losing her son.
Dr. Whale came out eventually and brought Regina to Henry's room. Before he let her go in, he informed Regina about Henry's injuries. He was going to be okay because he was young and resilient but he was going to need a blood transfusion to replace what he'd lost.
No one in town knew that Henry was adopted, so no one thought to question that Regina would be able to provide a blood transfusion. But she couldn't, they didn't have the same blood type. She stood by Henry's slightly open room door and explained to Dr. Whale that Henry was adopted and that she couldn't provide blood. What she didn't know was that Henry was awake and had heard everything.
In that moment, when he heard his mom tell the doctor that he was adopted, that he wasn't her real son...his entire world shattered around him. He didn't know how to deal with the news so he shoved it aside and pretended not to know.
Luckily, by some miracle, his teacher Mary Margaret Blanchard was a match for his blood type and she happily donated the blood he needed.
Three weeks later, he'd been released from the hospital with a cast on his leg, one on his arm and a cool scar from the surgery.
His mom had taken time off work to take care of him, helping him dress and bathe. Henry tolerated it all, knowing that she wasn't his real mom but also knowing there was no one else.
Slowly, he began to resent his mom, his anger over not being told about being adopted grew in his heart. On the outside he seemed the same little boy but inside, he was changing. He started wondering about his birth mom, his real mom. He wanted to know why she had given him up, why he wasn't good enough to keep.
With hours stuck in a chair with a cast on his leg and his arm, he had more time on his computer. He began going online, looking up websites that helped people find their real parents.
He'd searched his mom's office, glad now that he knew the combination to her safe where she kept important papers. There he'd found documents about his adoption but nothing with his mother's name on it.
It took him months of searching to finally find his real mom. By then, the casts had come off and he was back in school. He'd swiped his teacher's credit card to get his mother's address from the website he'd found. He felt bad but shrugged it off as he justified it as necessary to find the woman who'd given birth to him...his real mom.
And now, he was on a bus, after skipping school and running away to the nearest Greyhound bus station, on his way to Boston where his real mom lived.
Emma Swan's Apartment, Boston
Emma let herself into her apartment, a little weary after her latest job. She had brought the bail jumper in and collected her bounty and now all she wanted was to soak in a hot bath and forget that it was her birthday.
Emma walked through her apartment and stopped when she came across the frame on the wall. It was the only thing on the wall and Emma saw it every day. Every day, it managed to bring both a smile and a tear whenever she saw it. It was the drinks menu from the Alibi. It was really all she had left of Gina.
Even a year later, no one had ever come close to replacing Gina in her heart. Emma still loved her and she probably always would. She'd long ago given up on hoping the other woman would one day show up at her door and apologize for being an idiot and beg her to take her back. Too much time had passed for that, but that didn't mean Emma wouldn't say yes if it happened.
Before she took her bath, Emma pulled out the cupcake she'd bought yesterday for her birthday and lit a small candle on it. Normally, she used her birthday wish to ask for just one birthday where she didn't have to be alone. However, this year she wished for a way to find Gina and win her back...even if she had to steal her away from a husband.
As Emma blew out the candle, there was a knock at her door. She turned towards the door and, foolishly, wondered if her wish was about to come true. She walked to the door and slowly pulled it open. What she saw on the other side of the door deflated her a bit but she hid it behind confusion.
Henry looked up at the blonde woman for a long moment, looking for any hint of resemblance. He smiled to himself when he recognized his own eyes looking back at him.
Emma looked down at the kid who had knocked on her door. "What do you want kid?" Emma didn't have much patience for kids.
Henry grinned up at her and said, "Is your name Emma Swan?"
Warily, Emma took a quick glance down both ends of the hall, checking if the kid was alone. Seeing that he was, she turned back to him, "Um...yeah. Who are you?"
"My name is Henry...I'm your son." Henry's voice was confident but inside he was trembling a little bit, hoping she wouldn't turn him away.
Emma was about to turn him away but there was something about the boy that stopped her, "Listen kid, does your mom know where you are?" Emma remembered the baby boy she'd given away so long ago but she refused to believe this was that boy. In her mind, her son was frozen in time as an infant.
Henry shook his head, "You're my mom. I can prove it."
Emma decided that this might be a conversation best had away from the nosiness of her neighbors so she ushered the boy inside and closed the door. She led him to the living room and sat him down on the couch. "Start talking kid."
Henry took a breath before he began to explain how he knew she was his mom. He explained about the accident, and finding out he was adopted. He told her about the internet search and how he tracked her down. Finally, he pulled out a piece of paper and handed it to her, it was one of the things his teacher's credit card had paid for.
Emma took the paper from him and read it over, stunned that he had it. It was the original copy of his birth certificate...the one that listed her as his mom; the one that the hospital had filled out when he was born. Emma's eyes flew to her signature and she felt the tears begin to well up at the sight...the memories of that day rushing back to her. After a few moments, she lifted her head and looked at the boy...her son.
"Look, kid, even if this paper says I'm your mom...the law doesn't agree. I have to take you back to your real mom."
As much as she wanted to keep him there, to get to know him and spend time with him, she had given him up for a reason and she didn't have the legal right to keep him. She had to be the grown up and take him back home. Henry wouldn't be deterred that easily though, "But you are my real mom!"
Emma shook her head, "No Henry, I'm not. I'm just the woman who gave birth to you. The woman who raised you, who took care of you, who loves you...that's your real mom kid."
Henry shook his head, "No! I don't want her I want you! Please Emma?"
Emma started to wonder why he was so adamant about staying with her. "Henry, is there...something about your mom that you wanna tell me?" Emma hoped that he wasn't about to tell her that his mom abused him or worse.
Henry looked at Emma for a long moment before he dropped his head and said, in a low voice, "I can't go back there...she lied to me." He raised his eyes and Emma saw tears in them, "I can't go back to her Emma...please don't make me."
Emma sighed. She hated it when tears came into play. "Look, Henry, I can't keep you. Your mom has probably already called the cops and issued Amber alerts and everything. No one deserves to be scared like that, no one. Where do you live? I'm taking you home." Emma expected him to say somewhere relatively close by, she wasn't expecting to hear that he lived in Maine.
Henry hoped the prospect of a long drive would deter Emma from taking him home but it didn't and before he knew it he was in her yellow VW Bug and driving north.
Emma had gathered a few things before the long drive, realizing that she was most likely going to end up having to stay in town a few days to answer questions about this so she packed a bag and ushered Henry into her car for the long drive north.
Emma had no idea what she was about to encounter.
Storybrooke, Maine
Emma smiled wryly at the quaint sign that welcomed her to Storybrooke. She turned to Henry, "Seriously, the town really is called Storybrooke?"
Henry tore his gaze away from the side of the road as they passed the spot of his accident. "Yup." There was no joy in his voice as he began remembering the accident and the moments before it when he was so angry at the world.
Emma noticed the glum tone but chalked it up to his reluctance to be home. She drove for about a mile or so with nothing but woods on either side of her. Finally, she began to see buildings and she turned to Henry, "We're coming into what looks like a town here kid, how do I get to your house from here?"
Henry didn't want to go home yet so he told her to pull over in front of Granny's diner. Emma stopped the car and turned to Henry, "Look, I know this isn't what you wanted, but I don't have a choice here. So either you tell me where you live or I get out and ask someone for directions. Small town like this, shouldn't be too hard to find out where you live."
Henry thought about that and huffed a little, knowing she was right but not willing to admit it yet.
After a few minutes of silence, Emma nodded and got out of the car, determined to find someone who could help her. She stood by her car for a moment before she noticed a man walking his dog coming towards her. She waited until he was closer before she asked, "Hey there, um...can you help me out?"
The man, who looked a little nerdy but sweet, smiled, "If I can Miss. What seems to be the problem?"
Emma smiled her best, most charming smile and knocked on the window of the car, motioning for Henry to get out of the car. As he did she turned back to the man, "I was wondering if you knew where he lived so I can take him home."
The man, Dr. Archie Hopper, turned his eyes to the boy she was talking about and was surprised to see it was Henry Mills, his patient and the Mayor's son. His smile faltered a bit as he turned to Henry, "Henry? Why aren't you at home? Your mother must be worried sick."
Henry shrugged, not wanting to talk to his shrink right now, knowing the man would tell Emma exactly where he lived. Dr. Hopper turned back to the blonde woman, "Sorry, my name is Dr. Hopper and you are?"
"Emma Swan. Can you tell me where he lives please?"
"Oh sure. Just go down Main street until you hit Elm and take a left. You can't miss it, the Mayor's mansion is near the end of the block on the right." He pointed in the direction she was supposed to go, knowing that any questions he had about why she had Henry would have to wait until the boy was at home. Mayor Mills was probably too worried and scared right now to tolerate a delay in Henry's return.
Emma's eyes widened as she turned to the kid, "Your mom's the Mayor?"
Henry just nodded, knowing that denying she was his mom wasn't going to go over too well, especially in front of Dr. Hopper.
Emma sighed, 'This is just fucking great! I'm returning the runaway kid of the Mayor for crying out loud. I'll probably end up in some small town jail charged with accessory after the fact or some other BS charge that small town cops love to use...especially if the Mayor asks them to.' Emma knew she probably wasn't being fair to the cops in Storybrooke, but she'd had her fair share of run ins with small town cops to not be a little cynical and wary.
"Fine, then let's get this over with and take you home." She turned to the man who was still standing there. "Thank you Dr. Hopper. Come on Henry, back in the car."
Dr. Hopper watched Henry get back in the car, not sensing even an ounce of fear for this blonde woman in his body language. He wasn't scared of her...but he sensed the boy was scared of facing his mom and with good reason.
Dr. Hopper watched as the yellow car drove off in the direction of the Mayor's mansion and nodded, accepting that he might be getting a visit from either the Sheriff or the Mayor in the morning. Until then, he started walking again, his patient dog falling into step next to him as they made a wide circuit of the park nearby.
Emma followed the directions the man had given her and soon she was pulling up in front of the Mayor's mansion...and it really was a mansion. Emma looked up at the house and was suitably impressed. She turned to Henry, remembering the multitude of foster homes she'd lived in that weren't even a quarter as nice as this house. "You ran away from this place?"
Henry looked up at Emma without even a hint of a smile. "I didn't run away from here...I ran towards you." He hoped she would see the difference.
Emma frowned, "I'm not someone to run towards Henry. Come on, let's get you inside so your mom can stop worrying and call off the cops."
Emma got out of the car and Henry reluctantly followed her. They walked up the path to the front door. Halfway there, the front door opened and a woman rushed out, running right to Henry and engulfing him in a huge hug. When the woman straightened out she turned to face the woman who was standing next to her son, ready to thank her for returning him home.
When dark brown eyes met deep blue...time seemed to stop as both women recognized who was standing there. Stunned silence reigned for several moments before Henry took his chance and ran inside the house, eager to get away before his mom began yelling.
Regina and Emma stood there, staring at each other in silence. This was the last thing either of them expected to happen and neither one of them knew how to handle it.
What did you say or do when the love of your life is standing there and the words won't come out?
For Emma...it seemed that her heart overrode her brain and before she knew it she'd raised her hand and slapped the other woman's face. The sound of flesh on flesh echoed in the air for a moment before being swallowed up by the silence once more.
TBC...
AN2: Cue the dramatic music... what will happen now that Emma and Regina are face to face? Stay tuned. I will follow canon where I can but since it's been so long since I've seen the early episodes, I can't promise anything. Anything I get wrong...let's just say that I changed it for my own purposes and leave it at that okay?
