Here Grows the Heart

Chapter Three

"Oh Henry, I know sweetheart," Regina sighs, turning in her seat to face Henry directly. "I never should have just left like that. I should have said goodbye to you but…I didn't think I could leave if I did. I am so sorry Henry," she continues, taking both his hands in hers and squeezing them gently in apology.

"Well if you're so sorry why'd you leave to begin with?" he asks stubbornly, hands slipping from her grasp. Regina grasps at them however holding tightly, never wanting to let them go again.

The pregnant brunette studied her little boy carefully; taking in his older features. She smiled wistfully, a hand coming up to brush a stray strand of hair away from his forehead, causing him to look at her intently. Regina smiled slightly as she saw the love still shining in Henry's eyes, however diminished and scarred.

Taking a deep breath to settle her emotions Regina spoke, "I know Henry. I know I shouldn't have left like I did. It was wrong of me to just leave you like that but…I couldn't stay Henry," she tells him, hoping he'll somehow understand but knowing he won't.

"Why?" Henry asked, as confused as she knew he would be.

Regina sighed; how could she explain to a 14 year old, to her son the reasons she couldn't stay in Storybrooke. How could she tell her baby boy that she'd felt so sad and alone that she had been close to killing herself. That her sanity had been slowing slipping away as she was exiled to her mansion, shunned by the rest of the town as punishment for her crimes. Oh, she knew she deserved it; in fact, it was almost merciful of them to let her live except for the fact that she craved and fed off human contact.

"Henry…it was…a lot of things. It was better if I left Henry," she tells him, trying her best to convey to him what she meant without having to actually tell him.

"Was it because of me? Did you think I didn't love you anymore? Is that why you left?" he asks, voice thick with emotion.

Her heart breaks at the question and she feels the tears start to pool in her eyes. She didn't know how to answer because if she was honest with herself, that had been part of the reason why. She hadn't thought Henry loved her anymore and she couldn't go on living in that town seeing him from afar but never having her love returned. She couldn't tell him that though, she'd never tell him that she decided as she pulled him into a hug.

"Of course not Henry. Of course not," she lied, reassuring the emotional teenager.


Two and a Half Years Ago

Regina stood from her small, cramped desk, stretching as she did so. She looked out of the window of her tiny office, smiling at the view is afforded her. She'd only been working here as the general manager for three or so months and already she'd fallen in love with the Bellevue Stables. She handled the day to day running of the stables, a task not dissimilar to running a town; only she enjoyed this much more.

She stood by the window, looking out over the main paddock area, where several young children were learning to ride. It was a beautiful, warm sight and although it filled her with a sort of happiness, she couldn't help but think of her home, of Daniel and of Henry.

The sound of knocking pulled her from her reverie and she turned, arms folding across her chest. She smiled slightly at the man standing before her, knowing he looked familiar but not having spoken to him before. She figured he must have been one of the casual stable hands, although he looked a little too old for that.

"May I help you?" she asked, stepping away from the window to stand in front of her desk.

The tall, muscled man grinned, extending at hand for her to shake, "I'm Jack Johnson. I'm the horse trainer here…well actually, George and I take turns with that really. We hadn't met yet so I thought I'd come up and introduce myself," he explained, shaking her hand firmly.

Regina shook his hand, her brow furrowing as she took in his words. The owners of the stables had said something about two horse trainers but that one was away for business or something. She smiled, relaxing a little as she took in the man's friendly and comfortable demeanour.

"It's a pleasure to meet you Mr. Johnson, I'm Regina Mills," she tells him, pulling her hand back against her body.

Jack chuckled, "Please, call me Jack."

Regina nods at the request, "Alright. Jack," she says after a moment's hesitation. Her time spent as a Queen and Mayor made her unaccustomed to informalities like this. She rarely addressed anyone by their first names, hadn't for quite a long time and most people just let her. Even someone did dare to contradict her like that she usually just kept on calling them by their titles but, this was a new her; one free from being the Evil Queen or Madame Mayor. That's why she acquiesced with his request, finding it odd yet altogether comfortable in saying his name.

"Well," Jack started, hands falling to rest on his hips casually, "I better get back to it. It was lovely to meet you Ms. Mills," he said, turning to leave.

"Regina," she blurted out as he turned away from her. She had no idea what had possessed her to say it but it'd come out of her mouth before she could stop herself. "If you're allowing me to call you Jack, please, call me Regina," she tells him, staring at him with a funny feeling bubbling in her stomach.

"If you insist," Jack grins as he turns back, nodding his head at her. "I'll see you later Regina."

Regina watched him leave, leaning against her desk as she did so. There was a feeling in her stomach, one she was trying to quell. It was odd, the man's whole persona, his aura seemed to be calling to her and she didn't know what to make of it. She shook her head, trying to dispel herself of the silly thoughts, moving around her desk to sit back down and resume her work. Her mind however, couldn't help but drift back to Jack Johnson repeatedly.


"Look Mom, I don't know when we'll be back okay. Things seem to be…a lot more complicated then we thought," the blonde Saviour sighs, running a hand through her hair as she listens to Mary Margaret speak on the other end. "I know mom. I'll talk to you later. Yeah, bye," she says, disconnecting the call and shoving her phone back in to her pocket.

Emma's standing just outside the front door, leaning against the brick wall as she was talking. Looking around the garden she can't help but wonder if Regina planted any of these or if she tends to the garden at all. She shakes her head then, she couldn't see Regina on hands and knees tending to a garden, at least not while she was so pregnant.

That little detail had been quite a surprise actually, out of all the states she'd expected to find Regina in, pregnant was not one of them. Pregnant with an apparently hunky boyfriend for that matter, was not how Emma had pictured Regina outside of Storybrooke after all these years. She wondered if the man, Jack if she'd heard correctly, knew anything at all about Regina's past lives; but judging by the fact that he didn't know Henry was Regina's son she highly doubted it.

She stood awkwardly by the front door for a moment before deciding that Henry and Regina had been left alone for long enough and made her way back inside the house. Closing the front door behind her, she frowned at the silence, having expected to hear Henry's now much deeper voice or even Regina's but she heard nothing. Emma walked back towards the kitchen, freezing at the sight before her; Regina and Henry wrapped up in each other's arms, engaged in a tight hug.

She knocked against the wall a little awkwardly, alerting them to her presence. She watched as the pulled apart and noted with sadness the tearstains on both their cheeks. Henry's eyes were long dried but she could still see the slightest of tears in Regina's eyes. The other woman looked away from the impromptu eye contact and so instead Emma focused her gaze back on Henry.

"You right kid?" she asked, walking over and ruffling his hair affectionately.

"Yeah," Henry nodded, trying to wipe at his eyes inconspicuously.

"Good," Emma replies. She looks over towards Regina, silently asking if she can sit. The brunette nods tightly, a hand moving down to rest against her swelled stomach. The three of them sit there for several moments in an almost awkward silence as each of them try to figure out what to say. It's Emma who eventually breaks the silence, the awkwardness almost stifling. "So uh…who was the man?" she asks, cringing as the words leave her mouth.

Regina glances over to her, eyes wide and eyebrows raised at the question. She sighs however, sneaking a peek at Henry who is attempting to be uninterested by the question but really isn't.

"His name is Jack. He's my…partner," she eventually says, blushing only a little at the words.

"Partner?" Henry asks confused.

"She means her boyfriend kid," Emma tells him, saving Regina from trying to explain it herself.

Henry's face falls a little. His mom had a boyfriend and she was having a baby. She was creating her own new little family and he wasn't apart of it and that hurt him more than he thought anything could. It hurt even more than when he'd found out his mom had left.

"Oh," he replied, sinking into his seat, glaring at the wooden table in front of him.

"Henry," Regina started, sensing that something was wrong.

Henry glared at her, standing up from the table abruptly. "Don't. It's fine, I get it. You don't love me anymore. That's why you're creating a whole new family with your boyfriend Jack and your stupid new baby!" he spat angrily, the angry tears spilling over onto his still young cheeks. He turns away, running from the kitchen and from the house, kicking at the garden fence as he went by.

Emma called after him in shock as Regina just sat there sadly. "Regina…hey…you know he didn't mean it. He's just surprised and upset is all. He'll come around," she tells her, trying to comfort the brunette even though she knew it wouldn't work.

Regina stands, shaking her head as she does so. "It's fine Emma. This is a lot for him to take in," she says, moving over to the sideboard and writing something down on a piece of paper. She comes back over to the table, sliding the paper over to Emma. "This is my cell number and my home number. In case Henry ever wants to talk," she says, smiling wistfully at the younger brunette.

"Okay," the blonde sighs, picking the paper up and tucking it into her pocket. "I uh…better go check on him," she continues, heading towards the front door.

Regina follows her, opening the door and ushering the blonde out. They stand on opposite sides of the threshold, both watching the other awkwardly. Looking over the blonde's shoulder Regina see's Henry slumped against their car, head down and hands in his pocket. Emma turns, following her gaze and sighs resignedly before turning back to face the ex-Evil Queen.

"We're going to be here for about a week. So…" she sighs again, not sure what she's trying to say, "Look, I'll try and get him to call you okay. We can go out and have lunch together one day alright? This was his idea and…he'll come around Regina. I promise."

Regina shakes her head, "Don't make promises you can't keep Miss Swan. They don't ever work out well."


AN: Hi all! Long time not update but I do have a good excuse. I moved right and I couldn't get internet for about two months and I had this full chapter saved on my computer with no way to move it. Basically, I was stuck editing and re-writing this while waiting for my internet to get put back on. Well anyway, I got may internet back on my computer so therefore here is an update! Yay!

Also, the flashback was set for Jack and Regina's first meeting! It was originally going to be a different flashback but I liked this one better. I think their meeting was kind of cute but I could be biased. Anyway, please tell me what you thought!

Please review. :) LT.