Chapter 2
Before:
School hasn't been the same since the curse broke. Before, when Mary-Margaret was his teacher, Henry had been learning about the Civil War. Now, Mary-Margaret is gone, replaced for an unspecified amount of time by Sister Astrid.
Lessons are different. They have just begun learning about the history of the old world, the world that everyone in the class can remember except for Henry. He feels like even more of an outcast than before, if that's even possible. The other kids are still nice to him, even more so now that they know he's the son of the savior, but he can't help but feel like he doesn't quite belong.
The best part of school is the bus ride home. He sits next to Grace and they trade stories. She tells him about Jefferson's house full of hats in the woods, and he tells her about how Prince Charming can slay dragons but can't really cook anything more complicated than cereal. They laugh, and Henry notices for the first time how pretty Grace is. The thought makes him blush, and he is relieved when they reach the bus stop and she skips off ahead of him.
As soon as he rounds the corner he knows something is wrong. Emma is standing there looking nervous, with Snow and Charming just behind her. He glances to his left as he crosses the street and sees his mom's Mercedes parked. What is she doing here? What are any of them doing here?
His brow furrows as he approaches Emma, who has her arms crossed across her chest. Is she angry with him? "Emma? I told you I could walk myself."
Emma exhales and she has this look in her eyes that he can't quite place. "I know, but something's happened. I wanted you to hear it from me first."
Well that doesn't sound good.
Emma steers him towards a bench and they sit down. She takes his hand and sighs, as grown-ups do when they're about to deliver bad news. "Henry…It's Archie. He's…he's gone."
He doesn't understand what she means at first. "But people can't leave town. How can he be gone?"
Emma shakes her head and Henry notices for the first time that her eyes are watery. She puts a hand on his shoulder. "No, no, honey. I mean that Archie…He's dead. He's….he's been murdered."
He throws himself into Emma's arms as the world falls down around his ears. Archie is dead. Archie is dead. Archie. Dead. Archie, who has always tried to help him, always tried to look out for him, is dead. Archie, who is the closest thing Henry has ever had to a father, is dead. He pulls away, tears clouding his vision. He hesitates to even ask, but he wants to know, needs to know. "Who…who…?" he can't even finish the question.
Emma holds him tight and whispers softly, "Regina. I'm so sorry, Henry, but it was Regina." No. No no no no. This couldn't be happening. She'd changed. She'd saved Emma and Snow, her mortal enemies. She had been seeing Archie. She loved Henry. She'd made a promise. How could she? How could she do this to Archie, to him?
The tears begin to fall as he notices the Mercedes pulling out. He leaps off of the bench, his jaw quivering in anger. "You coward!" he screams, as Emma grabs him from behind and holds on tight.
"It's going to be ok, kid," she says softly, as she smoothes his hair and wipes a tear from his cheek. Henry doesn't see how.
After:
On Friday, they bury Archie. Henry has never been to a funeral before. It's all very sad. Marco delivers an emotional eulogy, and Snow and Emma both cry. He holds onto Pongo's leash tightly and counts the seconds until the service is over.
At the apartment afterwards, he sits on Mary-Margaret's bed and stares out the window absentmindedly. He wonders where Archie is now. His mom hadn't been big on religion, and Henry isn't sure he really is either, but he figures if heaven does exist, Archie is the one person in town who definitely deserves to be there.
Emma comes to offer him a pop tart. It's strawberry, his favorite, but he isn't hungry.
On Sunday, he works up enough motivation to break out his drawing pad. Flipping through the previous sketches makes him a little sad. It was at Archie's suggestion that Henry started drawing in the first place, a "creative outlet," he'd called it. Henry shakes the memory away as he flips to a blank page and puts his colored pencils to paper.
Emma comes to sit with him and makes some joke that Henry figures he's too young to understand, but he smiles anyway. He shows her his sketch; plans for the apartment when Mary-Margaret and David move out. Emma scoffs at his suggestion of an armory, and the rational part of his brain agrees that its probably a little over the top, but another part of him thinks it absolutely necessary. After all, his mother had killed Archie. She might try to kill Emma next, or Snow. It terrifies him, not only because he cannot imagine his life without them, but also because of how wrong he turned out to be. He hadn't believed a single word out of Regina's mouth after he got the book and figured out the curse, until last week, when she'd saved Emma and Mary-Margaret. He'd looked her in the eye and seen a woman who was trying to find redemption. He'd believed in her, and he'd been wrong. So, you see, he needs an armory now to protect his family, because his judgment alone no longer can.
As he is showing Emma his plans for the loft, there is a knock at the door. Pongo barks, and Henry can hardly believe his eyes when Archie appears. He runs to the man and hugs him tightly. Emma is all smiles, until Archie explains that he's been Cora's prisoner all this time. "Regina…she didn't do it."
Henry's heart leaps. "I knew it!" he finds himself saying, despite the fact that he hadn't questioned her guilt before. His instinct had been right after all. He immediately regrets letting Emma's evidence dissuade him. He owes his mom an apology, he realizes, and his cheeks burn as he recalls screaming at her as she drove away. "We need to find her!" he exclaims, looking at Emma anxiously.
But there is no finding Regina. She has disappeared into thin air, and Henry can't help but feel that he is to blame.
He calls her everyday after school for three weeks. He listens to her voice on the answering machine, but he never leaves a message. After the third week, Emma sits him down and tells him that maybe he shouldn't do that anymore. "I just don't think it's healthy, kid, to dwell on the past like this. It's not going to bring her back." He throws the phone across the room and runs up the stairs to the loft, flinging himself onto his bed. A part of him knows that Emma is right, calling every single day isn't going to bring his mother back [wherever Regina has gone, she doesn't seem to have taken her cell phone]. What Henry cannot accept, however, is the message that hides behind Emma's green eyes every time they talk about her: she's never coming back.
Two months pass. And then another two months. And then another. He starts seeing Archie again. Snow and Charming move to a house down the street with a yard and a wrap around porch. No one talks about what will become of the mayoral mansion sitting vacant at 108 Mifflin Street.
He finally meets Cora Mills one day after school. He's at the sheriff station with Emma when David brings her in in handcuffs. He imagines that everyone will be relieved. He's heard enough of Emma's hushed conversations with her parents after she thinks he's asleep to know that Cora is a threat to the town. Emma and David go out into the hallway to talk, so Henry seizes the opportunity. He creeps out of the office and walks right up to the witch's cell.
Cora looks at him with a smile that doesn't quite reach her eyes, and Henry shivers. "Well you must be Henry."
He nods. "And you're my mom's mother, the one who killed her true love, the one who framed her."
Cora laughs. "My, my, you really are Regina's son after all, aren't you?"
Henry lets out a little huff of frustration and closes his eyes. Meeting her gaze once again, he says, "Look, we don't have a lot of time. Emma and David are going to be back any minute and I'm pretty sure they're not going to be happy if they find out we've been talking. I just need to know where she is."
Cora looks at him for a moment before she speaks again. "My dear boy, I can tell you with the utmost sincerity that I have no clue where my daughter is, but I can tell you where she is not: Storybrooke."
Wednesday night is taco night. Usually Mary-Margaret and David come over, but they're both in bed sick with the flu, so it's just Henry and Emma. "Henry, can you grab the cookbook from my room?" Emma calls from the kitchen, "I can't remember how much seasoning to use. I think it's in the trunk."
He opens the black trunk at the foot of Emma's bed, and sure enough, there is the cookbook. Just as he is about to close the lid, something else catches his eye. It's an envelope tucked away in the back, like Emma had been trying to hide it. It has his name on it. "Henry?" Emma calls again. He grabs the envelope and stuffs it into the pocket of his hoodie.
"Coming!"
He doesn't get a chance to examine the contents of the envelope until after school the next day, when Emma and David are called to investigate a robbery [probably the work of Hook, who is still on the loose] and Henry is left with the apartment to himself. Inside the envelope, which Emma has clearly opened before him, he finds a letter and a set of keys. He unfolds the letter on the kitchen table, and reads it to himself softly.
Henry,
I know you think I'm responsible for Archie's death. I also know that nothing I could write would ever convince you otherwise, and I understand. I haven't been a very good mother to you, Henry. I haven't been honest with you. I lied to you for all those years, and I made you feel like you were crazy for believing in the curse, when you were right all along. I hope that if you can't believe me about Archie, you'll at least believe me when I say that I am so sorry that I ever chose the curse over you. I lost sight of what was really important, and I hope that some day you will be able to forgive me.
I also hope you'll understand when I say that it is impossible for me to remain in Storybrooke any longer. I've hurt so many people, Henry. There will be no mercy for me here, not this time.
To you, my darling boy, I leave the house [well that explains the keys] and all the rest of my worldly possessions. Do what you will with them.
It is my dearest wish, Henry, that if you cannot find it in your heart to forgive me, you will take it upon yourself to forget me. You still have your chance at a happy ending, and I implore you to take it. Ms. Swan and I may have our differences, but I know she loves you very much and will always do her best to love and protect you. God willing, she will be more successful at it than I.
I love you so much, Henry, and that's why I know I have to let you go.
Xx,
Regina
Henry slumps back in his chair, dumbfounded. Why had Emma kept the letter a secret? Why hadn't she told him about the house, about Regina leaving town? Obviously she'd known right from the beginning that they wouldn't find his mom in Storybrooke. It occurs to him that maybe Emma doesn't want Regina to come back. He's sure Emma probably likes being the only mother in his life. He loves Emma, but he knows now that he loves Regina too. His happy ending doesn't exist without both of his mothers in his life.
And in that moment, Henry knows exactly what he needs to do: he needs to find Regina Mills, and he needs to bring her home.
Finding her turns out to be the easy part. He searches her name on WhitePages and gets 3 results. One is in Maine, which he rules out immediately. Of the other two, one is deceased, and the other is listed as 36 years old and living in Los Angeles, California. Bingo! He copies the address down on a sheet of paper and deletes his computer's browsing history [you can never be too careful with Emma].
How to actually get to Los Angeles takes Henry the rest of the night to work out. If Emma notices that his mind is elsewhere, she doesn't say so.
Mr. Gold seems surprised to see him when he walks into the pawnshop Friday morning, backpack slung over his shoulder and a look of absolute determination on his face.
"Why if it isn't young Henry Mills. Or is it Henry Swan now?"
Henry's eyes narrow, "Mills."
"Ah," the pawnbroker smiles. "Well how may I be of service to you today, Mr. Mills?"
Henry puts his bag down on the counter and looks Mr. Gold straight in the eye. "You're going give me $300 and put me on a bus to Boston."
Gold laughs. "Oh, am I? As I'm sure you know, son, I don't really deal in freebies. What is it that you have to offer me in return?"
Henry has anticipated this. "I'm going to owe you a favor. Seeing as how I'm still one of the only people who can leave this town, I think that's pretty valuable."
Gold pretends to spend a moment considering this, but Henry knows he'll take it. Ever since Gold's first plan to leave town had backfired and landed Belle in the hospital, he'd been desperate, and Henry knows how to recognize a desperate soul. The pawnbroker finally holds out his hand and they shake to seal the deal.
As Henry is about to board the bus, Gold's cash safely stashed in his backpack underneath his spare clothes, the pawnbroker puts his hand on the boy's shoulder. "Whatever it is that you're looking for out there, Henry, I hope you find it."
Henry smiles, "Me too."
He's tired as hell by the time he gets there, but it's worth it, he tells himself. He's nervous, at first, when a man in his boxers answers the door to apartment 8B, and he looks down at the address in his hand to make sure he hasn't made a mistake.
"Um, can I help you?" the man in the doorway asks, wiping the sleep from his eyes.
Henry gulps. "Uh, yeah. Do you live here?"
The man hesitates, "Kid, I think you've got the wrong apartment-"
Henry shakes his head furiously, "No, this is it. This has to be it. I've come all this way to see her!"
"To see who?"
Henry is about to answer, when he hears a gasp from behind him. He turns around, and there she is. "See? I knew I had the right apartment," he says to the man beside him. He looks at his mother and beams. There are so many things he wants to tell her, but somehow all that comes out is "It's good to see you again."
He drops his bag and takes a seat at the kitchen counter. He's starving, and there's a bowl of apples sitting right there, so he takes one. His mom retreats to the bedroom and after a minute, the mystery man does as well. Henry is beginning to realize that this may be a more difficult task that he initially anticipated. But he is his mother's son, he thinks proudly, and there will be no giving up.