A/N: Hello everyone! First of all let me introduce myself properly, my name's Lizi and I honestly meant for this to be a one-shot, but it turns out I have more Regina/finale feels than expected. (WHAT?) Yeah, so stick around, maybe, and we'll see where this goes.

Oh and I read your reviews, thank you so much everyone! I'll try not to disappoint.

The moment Regina disappeared from the diner in a style that was so uniquely hers, all hell broke loose. Emma, Robin and Snow all looked ready to jump and run after Regina, but her son's voice stopped them in their tracks.

"Wait!" Silence followed. Everyone's eyes were on Henry. "Let me," he said, then added in a softer, yet much sharper tone "No offense, but I don't think she wants to see any of you right now." With one last apologetic look back at Emma he was out the door.

He regretted his sudden and dramatic exit the minute he realised what kind of weather they were dealing with outside. That 'ugly-unseasonable-wool-atrocity' (his mother's words, not his) the Charmings had given him about a week ago was sounding better and better by the minute. The only problem was he left it inside – in his hurry to get to his mother's side. Scarf or no scarf, he braced himself against the cold andset out to find his mom, the sooner the better.

He just hoped he wasn't too late. He knew his mother had changed, but deep down you are just who you are, right? Right. But Regina wasn't always the Evil Queen. Evil has been a part of her name for so long that Henry had a sinking feeling that sometimes his mom forgot that at her core, she was anything but. Despite all the horrible things he's ever said to her, he really believed that to be true. And he believed in her. No, Henry wasn't worried about what she would do, in light of the recent events. He was worried what it might do to her.

"Mom?" No answer, but he did find two broken wine glasses - smashed to the wall, apparently - next to the fireplace. He would ask his mom about that later. But to him, at least, this was a sign that she was dealing. She was by no means okay, but at least now he knew for certain that she was going human-crazy, as opposed to magic-crazy, which was a collective sigh of relief to all residents of Storybrooke, he was sure.

He still had to find her, though. After all, that's why he was here. He knew that her coming back here meant that she was ready to face and accept at least the help of her son – if no one else. If she really wanted to disappear, he had no doubt that no one would be able to find her. Not even a certain thief and his oh-so-merry men.

He sighed. Against his better judgement, he still felt a bit of resentment rising up inside him towards the man. It wasn't that he didn't like Robin, (because how can you not like Robin Hood? Right? Insane.) he actually really did. And for a brief moment there he really believed that this could be it for them. Robin and his son would have been a nice extension to his already extensive family. To say he was disappointed was an understatement. He couldn't even begin to imagine how his mom felt.

But after everything that's happened, he couldn't bear to see his mom get hurt. Not again. Not after how hard she's worked to earn his trust again - along with everyone else's - just to have it all be taken away from her in the end. The irony of it all was somehow lost on him. It just wasn't fair. Life isn't fair, Henry concluded.

"Mom?" He was really getting worried now. He could see from the top of the stairs that her bedroom door was open a crack, so he decided to check in there before getting used to the idea of orphan life. And life with the Charmings didn't sound too good of an option at the moment either. "Care to explain why I almost slipped on ice when I came in the... Nevermind." Henry finished lamely from the doorway, and for a moment he wasn't sure what to do.

Her mom was huddled in a dozen blankets on the middle of her queen-sized bed, still in the same clothes she wore at the diner not an hour ago with tears streaming down her cheeks and smudging her perfectly applied makeup. But what concerned Henry the most was the utterly miserable, heartbreaking look on her face – or more importantly, the fact that she didn't even try to hide it from him. That was a rarity. Generally, he could tell when she wasn't happy or when something in particular was bothering her, because even though they didn't have the perfect mother-son relationship in the book, when you live with someone on a daily basis you learn things about them - even the things that they might not want you to know. So yes, he did know that her mom cried sometimes - however rarely those times occurred – and sometimes he even heard it, though very faintly, and he often wondered as he had before; just when it was that she had learned to cry without making any noise, and why. The main difference remains; she never let him see her like this before. Until today.

"Oh, Mom." Henry didn't wait for a response; he didn't want to give her a chance to push him away – even though he knew she wouldn't. He settled himself on the giant bed, as close to his mom's shaking form as he could manage, and waited. Slowly, Regina turned to face her son, and to Henry, it seemed like she was about to say something, but then she just hugged him to her and held on tight as if her life depended on it. And in a sense it had. Neither of them moved, and neither had a clue how much time has passed until Regina's sobs died down, and the only sound that could be heard in the room was Henry's steady heartbeat and Regina's quiet sniffles, as the former queen tried to calm her breaths. When Henry was on the brink of sleep – not quite asleep yet, but definitely not awake – he thought he heard her mom's muffled "Thank you" from somewhere on his left, followed by a kiss to the crown of his head. He thought, but he could've just imagined it.

"Pancakes okay?"

"Isn't it the other way around? Aren't I the one who's supposed to take care of you?"

"Mom, pancakes?" He was not giving up.

"Yes please." She gave in with a sigh, and something that he could've sworn was the beginning of the faintest smile he's ever seen on her face. Operation 'Cheer-Up-Mom' was off to a… well, a start. Although his kitchen talents were somewhat, well, lacking, Henry took it upon himself to make breakfast for the two of them. The day's other activities would include some serious mother-son talk, cooking her mom's world famous lasagna together and – hopefully – a movie night with some pizza, even though it wasn't Friday. With New York, and everything else that's happened since, they still had a lot to catch up on, it's just that... now Henry would be the only one doing the talking, it seemed. But he didn't mind. He didn't mind one bit.

"And besides," he said, drawing her attention as he spoke, "I think you deserve a little break every once in a while." He hesitated only for a second before he added. "I love you, Mom. You know that, right?"

There it was, finally. A real, full-blown smile. Just for him. He missed those so much. Never really appreciated them before, and now he was afraid he'd never see one again. That's kind of how love works, Henry thought to himself. But it shouldn't be.

"I love you too, Henry. More than anything in the world," she raised her head high and added, "and I'll be damned if that isn't enough."

I definitely have two more chapters in mind - they'll probably be up sometime this week while I still have a grasp on where I want this to go - but if you'd like to hear this story from someone else's point of view, then let me know and I'll see what I can do. Oh, and review 'cause I still have no idea what I'm doing. Please? :)