A/N - So here's chapter two, in case you can't discern, the lines between quotation mark and in italic are thoughts and the bold one's between quotation marks are still lines, but consider then as translations from their language to English which would be the language Regina was thinking.

As for disclaimer I still don't owe anything besides the plot and would like to send some cuddles to my beta withgirl and to her dog as well since I don't really have one myself and would otherwise be completely lost in regards of knowing whether the dogs I wrote are anything like the real ones, I hope they are... if not please to say so that I may change it e-e

Anyway, hope you like the chapter! It ended up being really big xD


Chapter Two – Relearning First Steps

Waiting with bated breath, Henry stood there in the foyer, his gaze constantly changing from the clock to where his mother had just disappeared.

Five minutes in, he was already ready to bolt inside the house to search and help her.

'Why don't I have a sword?' he thought to himself, he'd had some lessons with his grandpa so he knew how to use one, and as much as she meant well by telling him to run, he wasn't really a fan of the idea to leaving her alone to fight off god knows what, 'But fighting with nothing but a puppy in hands is basically suicide.' He thought begrudgingly, as much as he was a Charming and wanted to help, he also knew that being careless would get him nowhere good.

Still glancing at the clock, he willed time to move faster, or for, at least, something to happen because that eerie silence was grating on his nerves. 'Seven minutes?! Ah, come on!'

By the ten minutes mark, he was extremely tense.

In a attempt to keep following his mother's plan he tensed his body to stop himself from running to her, and unconsciously, ended up tightening his arms around Stella to the point that she, who had kept silent until then because she had felt her friend's restlessness, started to whimper from the mild pain.

Realizing what he was doing, the boy relaxed his arms a little, but the rest of himself stayed the same.

Bad and slightly panicky thoughts were running through his head a mile an hour, 'what could be taking her so long? Why is there no sound coming from the kitchen? What if fifteen minutes is too much time and I get there too late to help?'

Feeling himself slowly turning mad, the boy decided to take a page out of his blonde's mother book and, as she would say, 'wing it'.

Not really looking at the clock anymore, he run to the kitchen.


The first thing he noticed once he entered the kitchen was the random pile of clothes in front of the stove.

With a confused expression he started to carefully approach the pile, 'Mom would never leave clothes on the floor, even less so, in the kitchen.'

A few steps later his thoughts went from confusion and right back to panic the second he realized these were the clothes his mother had been using earlier.

"Mom...?" His voice faltered a little, not because of his age, no, but due to the overwhelming amount of dread that weighted on his stomach and throat. Where could his mother be?

With a bark from Stella, the boy was able to see through his haze of emotion long enough to notice that the pile was moving ever so slightly. Shaking his head, he willed himself to keep a clear mind, and to not lose hope.

Crouching down, he warily poked the place he had seen moving, half curious to know what could be there.

With no response, and not being able to discern much by touch besides the fact that whatever was under there was really soft, he took a deep breath and slowly lifted some of the clothes off the ground.

He didn't know what he had been expecting, but what he found certainly wasn't it. 'A wolf cub? Or is it a dog?' He tried to discern, getting more and more confused by the second, he eventually took everything in until it suddenly clicked.

Shaking the grey puppy a little, he was able to wake her, and looking into the wolf/dog's sleepy eyes he asked, "...Mom...?"


Slowly regaining consciousness the first thing Regina could discern was that there was something different about her body, and then the sound of her son's voice registered in her ears, 'Why does he have to be so loud?'

Opening her eyes, she saw that her suspicions of something being wrong right because as much as her son had been growing for the last few months. there was no way he could have become so much more taller than her in a matter of minutes.

'What happened?' She tried to ask him only that instead of her voice, a bark was all that could be heard.

Stopping her movements altogether, the former queen tried to look down herself and it was then that she saw the paws and fur in the place her human body should be.

"Hm... mom?" He asked, still uncertain, looking into his eyes she tried to nod as coherently as possible to indicate he was right. Thankfully, he seemed to understand that it truly was her for his uncertain expression turned into one of joy as he promptly let Stella down to hug her instead.

"Oh thank god! I was so worried! I thought something had happened but you are fine!" He said joyfully, and got a little unamused snort in response. Loosening his hug he somehow could perfectly recognize her usual snarky expression, he was sure that if it was possible she would have one eyebrow raised in that moment.

"Well, something worse than being turned into a puppy could have happened." He explained himself, and taking in the way she sat on her hind legs, straightened her back and dismissively huffed, she probably wanted to say along the lines of a really ironic "I suppose".

Smiling to himself for being able to communicate with his mother without even using words, he took a second to admire how far they had come, and thinking about mother, "We should probably go ask Mom to help us. Do you think it was supposed to end up this way?"

Thinking about it, the brunette focused her gaze somewhere else other than her son for a second, and regarding everything she knew about magic, she found it really unusual for her to have changed forms, 'I am sure I did everything right with the potion, what could have possibly gone wrong?'

Leaving his mother to her thoughts, Henry realized that Stella wasn't where he had left her, and looking around rapidly he found her just to the side of them looking up the stove with her ears down and with something that Henry recognized as sadness dancing in her eyes.

"What is it bud?" He talked softly, afraid of startling the focused puppy. Turning her eyes to him she simply turned back to look at the stove.

"Is there something here?" He said while getting up to look, but all he found was the pot his mother had probably used to make the potion. Not finding anything amiss the boy tried to think of some way of lifting Stella's mood and then remembered her ball.

"Hey, you know what would make you happier? What about a game of ball?" As if understanding his words the golden retriever instantly brightened up and answered.

"Yes!" which, for obvious reasons, startled Regina.

"What?!" She tried to say, only to bark it, and, to her horror, Stella actually answered.

"Yes" she said again while tilting her head.

'Oh, great I can understand what other dogs say". ' She realized.

Observing in amusement as the pups barked at each other, Henry tried to understand what was happening. "Can you understand each other?" It was the first thing that came to mind. Regina nodded and he laughed.

"Well, you at least won't be lonely if you stay like that for some time." He joked and without even looking to his mother's direction he could still feel her heated glare.

"So, err, where is your ball Stella?" He changed subjects. Stella then barked in response.

"Up there."

"There where?" Asked the ex-brunette warily, if this went where she thought it would then she would be sure to ground Henry once she was back to normal.

"In the pot." So that was how it had went wrong, the dog's ball had fallen into my potion, 'Just my luck'. Thought Regina.

Not really understanding what was going on Henry kept looking at both of them. "Can someone explain things to me? I can't really understand dog's language."

Jumping a little, and supporting her legs on the stove Stella barked while looking up. "So there's something on the stove?" He looked at his mother and she nodded.

Taking Stella into his arms, he held her up and tried to see if he could understand what she was hinting at. The second the golden retriever saw the pot she started barking loudly and squirming in his arms, "Woah! Calm down girl!" Getting closer to the pot, he saw her put her little paws in it only to deflate right after. Not really understanding he tried to get to his own conclusions.

'Hm, something went wrong with the potion and Mom turned into a dog, Stella was sad because of something that was supposed to be in this pot and her ball is missing...'

"Oh shit." That got him a bark from his mom and turning to her with a wince he apologized. "Sorry mom... I shouldn't really have thrown that ball..."

"But, well, I suppose the only thing we can do now is try and revert this..."

With that he took Stella in his arms but then paused to look at his mom. "Err... you are not gonna like this but it's just for now, I promise." Turning her head slightly in confusion she understood what he meant once he crouched down and took her in her arms.

"You can not be serious?" She barked in protest and, even if he wasn't able to discern exactly what was said the boy did understood her pride had to be suffering right now.

"It's faster this way, do you really want to learn how to walk around as a puppy while we could get home easier this way?" Not receiving any sound reply the pre-teen took that as an okay and proceed to walk in the direction of his other mother house.


Inside the house Emma was currently playing some video games on their hard earned x-box when Henry stormed into the house.

The first thing she heard was the usual bark of their miniature of golden retriever and the sound of her feet running on the floor to where she was.

Knowing what was about to happen from previous experiences she'd had in the last month since the puppy had joined them, she paused her game and promptly took the little ball of fur, that had entangled herself in her legs, and cuddled her, promptly receiving the dog's version of kisses and having her face liked all over.

"Hey, baby, did you miss me? I sure missed you." She said in the baby voice she reserved to the little dog when she was sure there wasn't anyone but Henry near then.

Laughing a little he looked at his brunette mother and was sure she would be wearing the biggest of smirks and would be teasing the blonde endlessly if she were able to right now.

"Hey, Ma, are you busy?" He tried to sound casual, but something about his tone immediately picked his blonde mother attention. So she promptly stopped fussing with Stella and turned her gaze to him.

"What's it kid?" Her tone was serious as she looked in his eyes in a attempt to gauge how serious the situation could be, but right after that, the movement of something in her son's arms caught her attention, and it was in that moment that she noticed the cub in his arms.

"Woah! Is that a wolf cub?!" She said getting up, but when she looked better she was immediately unsure. The little thing looked a lot like a wolf but somehow also looked less untamed so it could also just be a dog, and yet she also felt a strange presence coming from the dog, a presence she generally associated with Regina and her ability to get everyone's attention.

Looking at the grey pup with a confused expression she turned her gaze to her son and crossing her arms she prepared herself to reprimand him.

"Where did you get that dog kid? Did you adopt another one without telling me or your mother?" She said seriously, she doubted her son to be the kind of person to just go and do something like that but then everyone was prone to mistakes and she couldn't think of another way he would have gotten another dog.

Opening his mouth, he was suddenly interrupted by his mother again when she was able to think of another reason. "Wait. Did Regina buy you another dog? I mean I know she secretly likes Stella, even if she would never admit, but buying a dog herself? Really?"

The comment about her knowing about Regina's not so secret affection, made aforementioned woman scoff and turn her face away from the other woman. Not really noticing, Emma simply continued to imagine Regina playing with a dog of her own and couldn't help but find the mental image adorable, but then her thoughts were interrupted by her son speaking.

"No, Ma, Mom didn't buy a dog." He paused to think on how to proceed explaining the situation but was interrupted by Stella, who had got bored and was now trying to get his attention by whining loudly.

Sighing, the boy went to take the golden puppy in his arms and decided he Mom would probably be fine staying on the ground for now.

"She didn't?" She said while observing her son switching dogs, and she then paid more attention to the other one. "Then what is it doing here?" She was back to serious, the tone of her son's voice when he first approached the subject seemed pretty serious so she knew it couldn't be some laughing matter.

"She." The boy immediately supplied, not really comfortable with the use of the impersonal pronoun toward his mother, puppy or not.

"Okay, what is she doing here then?" The blonde asked once again rolling her eyes this time.

"Well... hm... how much do you know about magic?" Already trying to form a plan for turning his mother back, and as much as Gold was his grandfather, he'd prefer to leave this option for later.

"Not much kid, if you want help with magic it's better to go to your other mom." She said, this time turning her attention to the grey puppy and trying to see if she could be some kind of magical being, and couldn't help but think that she was, there just seemed to be something special about her, and the intelligence she could feel radiating through her eyes simply seemed to make her more certain of her theory.

Starting to lose her patience with the useless back and forth Regina went to walk toward her son in the hopes of getting his attention without having to bark, but, unused to having to walk with four feet and having a different balance center, the usual regal woman, for her immense embarrassment, ended up tripping on her own feet and falling face first on the carpet which immediately made the humans occupants of the room laugh loudly, although her son did try to cover his laughter.

"That was so cute." Emma commented when she was able to catch some breath.

Mortified by what had just happened the woman stood as gracefully as she could, which wasn't much considering her lack of coordination in her current body, and, just to makes thing worse, the other puppy, sensing her distress, started to wiggle in Henry's arms in purchase of freedom and when the boy set her free, the golden puppy immediately barrelled clumsily into her, making her drop to the floor again and started to lick her.

"Oh god, I have to take a picture!" Emma said getting her cellphone out of her pocket, which only made Regina even more mortified and barking strongly at the other puppy to stop she was able to disentangle herself from Stella just in time for avoiding a photo, but the one Emma did get only caused the blonde to go right back to laughing.

"Kid are you sure this puppy's isn't your mother's? Because she sure knows how to act like a queen." She laughed harder.

"Look at this!" She said, showing the photo of the golden puppy looking sadly to the ground and Regina sitting primly on her back feet with her head high to her. In the moment even the boy couldn't help but laugh hard. The fact that his mother was able to intimidate even as puppy only making things more funny to him.

Mortified at the general events of the day Regina simply stood there looking at the two people she loved most laughing hard, and even if her pride was feeling hurt, she couldn't help but be happy to be the one to bring such happiness to them. But enough was enough, and barking she tried to get their attention.

"Oh Jesus she is even glaring at us now!" Emma said, getting to her knees and taking, what she thought was a mere puppy, in her arms and kissing her head.

'Well, there is something I don't mind happening for a change.' Regina thought.

"You are such a queen, in fact, that's what I'll be calling you Queen! I'd call you Regina but the name already is taken." The blonde said, laughing, although less hardly, some more.

'I change my mind,' Regina thought bitterly. 'She'd put my name on a dog?!'

Amused by the whole situation, but deeming that she'd had enough, Henry decided to go straight to the point and put his brunette mother out of her misery.

"So Mom the thing is that Mom found this-" But then he was interrupted by his mother barking.

"No!" The woman stopped her son because she wasn't really ready to have her identity be revealed after all the embarrassing things that had just happened. But, Henry not really getting the message tried to went on.

"So she found-" This time his mother had full out growled and looking at her the boy tried to understand why she wouldn't want him to say anything. Giving up on trying to figure it out he decided to drop the topic for now.

"She found what kid?" Emma asked while absentmindedly caressing the obviously stressed puppy in her arms in an attempt to relax her, which seemed to work after her son stopped talking.

"Nothing, forget it." He said sighing. It had been a long day and it was just the beginning of the afternoon. Deciding to deal with the whole magical mishap later on, he offered to take 'Queen' out of his mother's arms but was simply shrugged aside as the blonde simply snuggled to puppy more firmly.

"No, leave her to me, I'll take care of her." She said while kissing the puppy's head again, much to Regina's happiness. The blonde felt strangely drawn towards the gray cub, even more so than she felt with Stella, but shrugging it aside as just a normal reaction to any normal person toward a puppy, she sat down on the sofa, and making sure that Queen was comfortable in her legs she restarted the game.

Sensing his blonde mother strange protectiveness toward his other mother and also finding it strange of the brunette to not complain about Emma's affections, Henry stayed to observe, but then deciding to shrug it off, for now, he called Stella and went to his room to find something to read.


A/N - Whoa this chapter was really exhausting to write and even more so to proofread...

I must also say that I am not particularly happy as to how it turned out... I kinda feel like there was something off about it... unlike the first chapter... do you guys think so too? Oh, well, I hope not... so, yeah, I hope you had fun reading it either way and I also wish you have a good day ^^ and if there if you have any constructive criticism or if you just overall like the story and want to say so, please to it, I will be happy with any feedback I get xD.