The phone was the best thing Henry had seen since they were flipping through snacks. He wished the bags of treats hadn't been littered at their feet like weeds as he had been pressed against the soft body of the man who had pressed a gun into his back before dragging him backwards. Then there would have been at least something to eat. A phone, however was a magical thing that might be better than the ability to go invisible.

Henry closed his gaping mouth and searched for words. "Do you have a signal?"

Roland's eyes grew round as the thought settled in his brain. No signal, no way home. Henry waited as his friend illuminated the room with the screen. The smile drifted off of Roland's face while it remained blanched by the light of the phone. "No. It just says E. And the battery is super low."

Henry could see the glimmer of something wet gathering in Roland's eyes as he continued to stare down at the screen. The other boy's voice came out rough and choked as he said, "Shit."

A lack of a signal could not be the end of this little miracle that had remained in Roland's pocket. That phone was the key to getting out of this mess. "Why don't you try moving around?" Henry suggested, hoping that he would not be wrong this time. "Just because we don't get a signal on this side of the cabin doesn't mean there's not a signal somewhere. Maine is a patchwork of crap signals, you know that."

Roland looked at him with disbelieving eyes. All of the hope that had been in them was extinguished. "We're in the middle of the fucking woods," Henry's friend spat.

"Yeah, but they have all those pine tree towers out in the woods now."

Nostrils flared as Roland took a deep breath and shook his shaggy locks out of his face. Henry watched as Roland repeated the motion two more times, a veil of calm falling over his face. "Ok," he said finally, exhaling heavily as he did so. "I am going to find a place in here where I can call my dad. You keep watch and let me know if he's coming back in."

"What do you want our signal to be?"

"Signal?" Roland asked, turning back.

"Roland," Henry huffed, wishing his friend were a little less dense sometimes. "I can't just yell, 'He's coming,' because he'll know we were up to something."

Roland frowned, his brows furrowing as he thought. "Can you start having like a coughing fit?"

"What?"

"Just cough really loudly," Roland answered, waving a hand in Henry's direction while he stared at his phone, frowning. "We'll pretend it's some allergy or something."

"You don't want a code word?"

Henry kind of really wanted a code word. A code word would let him pretend this was a secret mission that he was on rather than something that was happening to him. If this was an operation, like Operation Freedom they might call it, then there would be so much more Henry felt he could do.

Roland rolled his eyes as his head tilted to the side. "Dude, I will forget all the code words, you know that."

"Coughing it is," Henry agreed.

Roland crept off into where the shadows stretched their long bodies over the wall. Henry hugged his knees to his chest and tried to see anything in the ever growing darkness. There was the occasional flutter of movement and he could make out the round body of the man who had grabbed him earlier. Other than that he couldn't figure out what was going on.

Every once and awhile, he could hear Roland mutter "Shit...shit...fuck...come on!" under his breath. The sounds of feet scuffling and shifting furniture helped Henry keep from listening to his own breathing and the pounding of his own heart. This morning, had someone asked him, Henry would have explained that he was most certainly nearly a grown up. Right now, Henry just wanted to see his mother and have her wrap her arms around him. If he could crawl into her lap in the way he used to when he was small and have her sing him to sleep, Henry would have given the world for it.

Henry tried to choke back tears that wanted to fall again. His mother was the best mom a kid could ever ask for. Now he was trapped here and she was nowhere to be found. What would she be doing right now? Had she realized he was missing? Robin would have gone to tell his mother by now.

Fear rarely worked its way into her eyes, but he could picture it sitting there, like it did when Grandmother came over. This would have to be worse, though, wouldn't it? Grandmother was only constantly disappointed.

A flash ripped through the darkness with a rumble and for a moment, Henry thought it was an explosion. When the light remained and everything was settled, it was clear that they were the headlights of a car of some sort. "Hurry up," Henry hissed at Roland."Someone is leaving."

"Leaving's a good thing, isn't it?"

Henry sighed as his nerves crawled like spiders through his skin. Henry twisted himself on the couch to look at Roland who was still wandering through the house. "I don't know. But if it's whoever the guy was talking to, he's probably coming in. You should put that away."

Roland didn't turn to look at him, but kept his eyes on the phone. "No, I'm close. There's a bar but it still says E. Maybe I should go in the bathroom."

"Roland."

A sound had Henry's attention and he turned to see the door opening.

"YES!" Roland exclaimed, his voice raising an octave, "A few more minutes."

Henry exploded into a fit of coughs. Forcing the air out in rough, full blasts grated his throat but Henry was hoping Roland understood that there was no more time. Hopefully the fake coughing fit would throw their kidnapper off for a little bit and give Roland time to get a message to his father. If only it would save them he would remove all of the layers of his throat coughing. It was all he had to give.

"What the hell is wrong with you?"

Meaty hands grabbed his shirt, but Henry kept right on coughing. His breath sounded hoarse and wheezy, which was good. Had to be if this guy would focus on him long enough for Roland to find a signal and get a message out. The hands started shaking Henry and he closed his eyes to focus on coughing rather than the bobbing of the man's red knit hat. "You know you can't kick it yet. Your mom is still going to want to have proof of life!"

Henry choked a little on spit and rather than continuing to cough sputtered. He sucked in a stuttering breath and felt the hands fall away as he tumbled back on the couch. Henry tried to get a solid breath to get the henchman, and really that's all Henry could see him as, to focus back on him. Nothing solid would come.

"Where the hell is the other one?"

Henry shrugged and continued to suck wind into his lungs that were struggling after their forced trauma. "I think...he went to pee."

Hamhands, as Henry would now think of him, wobbled his way over to the bathroom and wrenched the door open. Henry tried to see around him and into the bathroom to get a feel for what Roland was doing. "The fuck are you doing?"

"A guy can't have some privacy here?" Roland squawked. Henry closed his eyes and sent a silent prayer that Roland could talk his way out of it.

"What did you stick in your pocket?"

"A tissue," Roland said hastily before adding, "Some tissues, for Henry, 'cause you know, his allergies are killer and really you wouldn't want anything to happen to him. He's the valuable one."

The man glared at Roland. "Why don't you just take the whole fucking box?" He reached a chubby arm past Roland and snatched the box off the back of the toilet. The round man turned away from the door, muttering, "Dumbass."

Henry sighed and let a bit of the anxiety that had been holed up inside him go. He didn't know if Roland had gotten anything out with the phone but at least he hadn't been caught. His throat felt like warm sandpaper and he wanted a glass of water more than anything at this point. Henry wasn't sure if pushing his luck was worth it at this point.

Roland gave a shrug Henry's way as their captor lumbered his way towards the couch. "Didn't know how you felt about moving things in here. I've never been kidnapped before."

Hamhands shot a look to Roland and grunted. "Just stay here where I can see you both."

Roland came out of the bathroom, hands in his pockets. Flopping back into the chair he had occupied before, Henry almost thought he looked as relaxed as he would at home. It was an act. Henry knew it was. Still, his friend was "How about you get Henry some water. He's clearly not feeling well. You wouldn't want to be responsible for damaging the goods, would you?"

Hamhands rolled his eyes but wandered off to the kitchen. Henry closed his eyes and sent up a small prayer that maybe, just maybe, Roland got a message out and that his father would actually receive it. They could use all the help they could get at this point.

Regina cast her eyes around her now empty office and wondered if she had made a mistake, asking to be left alone. Now that the officers and Robin had gone home, the crisp, white lines of her office left her feeling cold. The sharp black and red accents only increased her sense of fear. The office exuded power most of the time. Decorating it had been a source of pride for Regina and now she wanted to break everything inside the room. If only breaking things would bring her boy home.

Clicking through the files on the screen, Regina opened the ransom note once more. Whoever had taken her son wanted to take her job and run the town while holding her at their mercy. Could she throw over the entire budget for the wishes of a madman? Or madwoman?

Closing her eyes, Regina clicked back to the budget. She would have to trust that the police would figure this out. Regina ceding power to the kidnappers would be the first thing that would put her out of office and out of a job. Would Walsh be so desperate for her job that he would kidnap Henry and a friend to become mayor? Walsh had never been her favorite person nor she his, but this was not something you could casually accuse anyone of. Taking a child was worse than anything she would have thought anyone she knew capable, and Regina could name so many terrible people: Mother, Mr. Gold, Walsh, and even Zelena when she wanted to be. Regina had her own darkness. Mother tainted everything with it.

Rather than reflect on who might have done it, Regina opened her browser and quickly typed kidnapping statistics into the box and hit send before she could think better of it. She should have thought better. Most children under the age of twelve were kidnapped by family members in order to gain custody. Most children over the age of twelve were kidnapped for sexual reasons. The longer they were gone the less likely the children were to come home alive.

Her heart spasmed at the thought of losing her son. Henry had been the only thing that got her through those dark days after losing Daniel. Days revolved solely on Henry back then. Her whole life, even her career in politics, had to do with her son and making the town safe and happy for him to grow up in. Giving her son a legacy that he could be proud of, a mother that he could be proud of rather than one he reviled. Proving to Mother that she could be a single mother, a good mother and a powerful woman all at the same time.

Henry was what made the sun shine and life worth living. Without him...without him Regina would just as soon rip her heart from her chest rather than live without him.

Exing out of the window, she stared at the budget. The demands would rip her plans to shreds. The demands might just bring her son home.

Another email popped up at the base of her screen with the subject all in block letters reading URGENT.

Dread flooded her veins as she went to click on the mail.

WE KNOW YOU HAVE BEEN TALKING WITH THE POLICE. WE HAD THOUGHT YOU SMARTER THAN THAT REGINA. IF YOU WANT TO SEE YOUR SON AGAIN, YOU WILL STOP COOPERATING WITH THE POLICE AND DO WHAT WE ASK YOU TO. WE ARE WAITING, REGINA.

The stone in her throat made it hard to breathe. She tried to swallow it and gain her composure again but Regina was just left with a dry mouth and rattling breath. Calling in the sheriff had been a logical step. The last note hadn't said anything about not calling the sheriff. They were trying to catch her, purposely, in a trap they were setting. Nottingham wouldn't stop looking and she didn't want him to stop, but the kidnappers let her know something important; they were watching her.

If nothing else they had eyes on her office and were making sure she was making the moves that they wanted. They would know anything that happened here. They might have eyes on her home. She could not meet with the police in secret right now, not while they were watching and thinking she was uncooperative. Robin might not even be a person to contact right now. If she picked up her phone the second after she received the anonymous message, it could put Henry into even more danger. Regina was not about to risk her son by jumping too quickly. This all needed to be orchestrated carefully.

Regina pushed herself away from her desk and stood on shaky legs. Control was the one thing she had always prided herself on and now...now she wasn't sure if anything was even in her control anymore. Her son was missing and in the hands of people that had nothing but the worst of intentions. She couldn't even say that he was remotely safe. Regina had always kept Henry safe, for all of those years. He was her baby and the only thing she would do anything for.

Trying to blink back the tears in her eyes, she headed for the closet and snatched out her jacket and purse. Regina shoved her arms through her sleeves, pushing her hands out and her thoughts to the back of her mind. If she just focused on the menial steps of getting herself home she just might make it.

"I'm going home."

Trina popped out from behind her desk, green skirt fluttering as she put her body between Regina and the door. "You want me to drive you, boss? I really don't mind at all. I can walk back home from your place, get my car tomorrow."

She was so damn eager to help. It was annoying, but Regina had never had a better assistant. Regina waved a dismissive hand. Clucking in the way "Trina, it's cold and that would be silly. I am fine."

The blonde tilted her head and her bun with all of its decorations flopped to the side as she frowned. "I really have to disagree, 'Gina."

Regina straightened her spine and tried to look as capable as ever. "Even when I am not fine I can take care of myself. I have for this long, have I not?"

"That doesn't mean you have to do it alone."

Trina's smile was brittle but still bright. It was the hope in her voice, the hope that Regina would let her in, let her help. "You've been here all day. What else can anyone do? I am going to go home and put myself into bed. That is all."

"If you're sure."

"I am. Can you lock up?" Perhaps throwing the flighty girl a job would give her something to focus on rather than try and drive Regina home. She needed to leave her sterile office and the memory of having her whole life shaken when Robin had come in. There was a part of her, that knew better of course, but hoped that she would find Henry to be safely in the house and this whole day to have been a dream.

"Of course. I can run the office tomorrow, if you'd like."

Regina shook her head. She focused on slipping on the gloves she had worn in the morning. "That won't be necessary, Trina," she answered, rubbing the soft leather of her driving gloves. "I will be here, per usual. They expect me to be."

"I will have your coffee waiting."

It was a kindness, Regina knew. It had taken her airhead of a secretary six months to get her simple coffee order completely right. Particularly considering Trina had a habit of wanting to infuse fun and excitement into Regina's life where Regina wanted order and structure. Had Robin entered her office under different circumstances, Regina was sure that their conversations would be full of Trina filling her head with ideas about his attractiveness and Regina's need to date.

Thankfully, she would not have to deal with it.

When the tears finally ran dry, Robin found himself on the middle of his mudroom floor. There were worse places to lay on the floor. Robin had lain in those once upon a time. He took in a shaky breath and placed the shoe he had clutched desperately aside, putting the pair safely under the bench where they belonged. Roland would be back to put his shoes on, Robin was sure of it (aside from the small quiver in his belly at the thought that his boy might not be). Alternatives were not an option.

Nottingham was not going to be helpful. He had hated Robin ever since Marian had agreed to a date with him while she had never agreed to date Nottingham. The fury in his face as Robin and Marian had left the dispatch office and headed out into that brisk October night, Robin had never forgotten. Nottingham had then made it his mission to destroy Robin. Little things, like trying to take the dates off of Robin's logs or misreporting information, or trying to beat Robin to any crime scene to make himself look better.

No, Nottingham would see to it that Robin got no information. Even if Roland was Marian's child, she was long since dead. That old connection would not earn him any points, but only continue to be an age old bitterness. Worse, Nottingham would likely feel that if he were to find Henry on his own, it would give him a leg up with Marian's ghost, wherever she might be. Nottingham on a mission might be worse than the casually inept man Robin often knew him to be.

Silence continued to haunt him in a house that had so rarely held the lack of sound. The echoes of the noise that should have been nearly deafened Robin as he made his way into the kitchen.

Pulling out his phone, Robin realized he had some calls to make, if he was going to get his child back. The place to start would be local. The big guns could wait a day or two. If someone in town knew anything, Roland could be found much faster than by any outsiders. He needed at least twenty four hours before he called in a trained professional.

The first contact came up quickly. The word Whiskey was all the contact had ever gone by on his phone and was all anyone who hacked his phone would get. He pressed the number and the ringing bloomed in his ear. The reverberating continued longer than Robin would have liked, there was no answer. The answering machine was just a computer spitting out the phone number, but luckily the mailbox wasn't full.

"Meet me in our old place. I need a favor."

Storming to the basement, he grabbed a torch and headed for the safe he rarely entered. Flipping past the combination that was, foolishly, the date of his first date with Marian, Robin waited until he heard the right creak, and levered the door open. His hand slid past the passports and the box of wedding rings he stored there because he couldn't bear to part with them. Robin's hand closed around what he was looking for.

He pulled out the .9mm handgun and felt the heft of it in his hand. Robin hadn't touched the thing since he had left the force. The service revolver he had needed to return but he had kept one of his own. Marian had never liked having guns in the house once they had a child. The rifle he had kept for hunting purposes, family traditions and all that drivel, but the revolver stayed in the safe, waiting for the day he would actually need it.

He wished he had gone against Marian's wishes and had taught Roland more than the basics of firearm safety by now. It might give him more of a chance. Or get him killed if he reached for it.

Robin shoved the clip into the gun and stuck it in his holster. If nothing else he was going to do something to find his son.

Pulling into the driveway, Regina looked up at the house she shared with her son. It was not the home she had shared with Daniel, but the one she bought later, after the wrongful death settlement and her father's will left her more. The house was one befitting of a mayor, even if Henry sometimes found it excessive. It would be even more excessive now that he was not home to fill it.

Knowing it would be best to get it over with, Regina stepped out of her car, her footsteps clicking on the pavement and later on the flagstones. The wind tugged at her coat as she walked, but the chill didn't touch her. Coldness had seeped into her bones before she had even left her office. Closing her eyes, she breathed a moment to give her strength to open the door.

She reached out to place her key in the lock. Before she could insert the thin grooved metal into the slot, the door swung wide and she found herself enveloped. Her hands remained wide as her step-sister curled into her on one side and her oldest friend was on her other side. In the background, Archie just stood awkwardly, looking like someone had shot his dog.

It was Mary-Margaret who pulled back first, staring up at her with giant eyes. "God, Regina, where have you been? Have you been with the police all this time? What did they say? Are there any leads?"

Regina turned her head away from the endless prattle, not wanting to look at Archie. His eyes saw everything and she worried that he could look right inside and pull out everything she had shoved down. Instead, she found herself watching the strands of Katherine's hair slip in and out of contact with each other. Katherine pulled back and stared at her with eyes looking like clouds on the cusp of unleashing a torrent of rain.

Struggling to keep her composure, Regina pushed both their hands away and choked out the word, "No."

Even with the three people that Regina would most consider family in her home, the echo of her shoes on tile as she started inside made the entire house that much emptier. There was no responding sneaker squeak as Henry careened around the corner of the second floor and flew down the stairs. The sun had set an hour ago. He should have been frowning at her, telling her she was working too hard and with a frozen pizza in the oven. Regina would feel guilty for not being a better mother, for not being the one taking care of him. Henry would be here.

"You can all go home," she dismissed them much as she would a meeting with the board.

"Regina," Mary Margaret exclaimed. "You can't be serious to think that we would just leave you here alone. You need people right now."

The words, her step-sister's phrasing, brought up Trina's words earlier which were nearly identical. Turning slowly on her heel, Regina eyed them all carefully. "I did not think word of this had gotten out. How did you all know to be here? Was it on the news?"

Guilty looks shot between them like laser blasts in Henry's comic books. She was all too familiar with this version of figuring out a lie. Henry and Roland had been doing it for years. Her favorite was the time that they had broken the vase her mother had given her for Christmas. She had not particularly cared that the vase was broken, though her stomach had clenched as Regina thought of the next time Cora visited and couldn't find that very expensive piece she had generously given. Watching the boys try and invent a story that included an open window and a bluebird had been endlessly amusing however. Keeping her serious face had been hard.

Watching her friends eye each other suspiciously, however, gave her no such pleasure. "That damn flighty fairy of an assistant."

Mary-Margaret's eyes were wide and the damn tears were falling down her face. "What was she supposed to do, Regina? Just let you come home all by yourself to an empty house?"

"Yes," Regina insisted, thinking of curling up in her son's bed and just smelling the vestiges of his fading child smell. "It was what I wanted."

"Oh, Regina," Mary Margaret sighed, as if she had somehow managed to break her sister's heart further.

The pressure her sister's feelings lodged in her chest. Why did she always have to hold not only her own feelings but the feelings of everyone else? Bitter, old feelings rose in her throat as she bit out, "You're not really here for me. You're here for you."

"Regina, let's step back and look at the situation-"

She growled at Artie. "I think you ought to respect my wishes."

Frustratingly, the psychologist didn't even flinch. Bastard. Instead, his eyes continued to overflow with compassion and she wants to punch him in the face. "I do but I am not going to let you act against your own best interests."

"What is in my best interest is having my son home. Unless you can do that, I suggest you leave."

Regina wished for just a moment she had fire in her hands, that would appropriately show the rage that was building inside her. Having people in her house only made her feel more when all she wanted was to feel less. She wanted to leave her feelings and just be the empty shell she should be.

"Regina, we have done this before and we will do it again. We did this over Daniel and over James. You have tried shutting me out and I have tried shutting you out. When the worst happens, you have to depend on the people who love you."

"Henry depends on me. Daniel depended on me to watch our son and now- now-"

Regina choked on the knot forming in her throat. The flood had been hiding behind thick levies and now she felt them crumbling. Katherine's arms banded about her. Sobs hitched, rocking her whole body. She crumpled against Katherine's body feeling helpless as the tide swept over her body. Her baby was missing. All she wanted was him back.

The woods were a carpet of pine needles and leaves that no one had ever cleaned. They crunched under his feet as he headed to the familiar spot in the woods. Even if it had been years, his feet still knew the way. He would rather not have to be here, creeping through the woods. Still, if things were going sour in the area, Will Scarlett would have an idea of what was going on. The thief had his ear to the ground more often than not.

Right now, the man in question was leaning against a tree. He had a familiar flask in one hand and "Oi, Mate," Will's face tipped into a grin. "Haven't heard from you in awhile. Thought you gave up the nasty habit of policing the free world."

Ignoring the barb at his former job, Robin stared at the thief, schooling his face into a facsimile of a stone. Roland needed him to be strong today. Roland needed his father to be the hero he used to believe in. "I need some information."

Hands instantly raised and a familiar chuckle passed Will's lips. Any other day, it might have amused Robin. "I haven't been - "

Robin waved a hand in front of his chest. "Let's not lie, Will. I'm not really worried about what you have and haven't been up to. I need some information about a kidnapping."

"A kidnapping?"

Just the facts, Robin, he reminded himself. If he kept it to the facts it would be more like a case and less like his life. He made his voice clipped and careful. "Yes. A kidnapping. Two boys, aged twelve." Short. Sweet. Just the facts.

The wind whistled through, creaking the boughs overhead and creating the only noise that came through the quiet woods. He could almost see the gears in Will's head turning as he thought about the information he had just been presented with. Robin pulled his leather jacket tighter around his body, shoving his hands in the pockets. He wondered, while the silence stretched on, if this had been a mistake. There were other avenues to take.

"Oi, ain't your son-" Robin's jaw twitched. He clenched it tight and tried to keep the bile from rising higher in his throat. All humor dropped from Will's face and he was left open. "Oh. Shit, mate."

This was not what he had been hoping for. His hope that Will would know something and he would be able to bring the boys home tonight, came crashing down around him. He blew out the fantasy with a long breath. When Robin felt able to speak, he said, "I take it you haven't heard anything."

"No. Nothing from the usual crowd. Nottingham's a right bastard, putting everyone away even for the most minor things. Some are suggesting he's faking evidence. No one wants to take a chance."

"Keep your ears to the ground. See if you can sniff them out. If they're strangers, they're more likely to show up as strange."

Will nodded, but even Robin could see that he seemed shaken by the news. The other man's eyes kept shifting over the leaves as if he could make sense out of them. "It's a small world up here," the thief commented absently. "The usuals are the usuals. Don't know who'd make the mistake of taking the son of a former cop."

Robin supposed there were new people who didn't know that he used to be a police officer. Still, that would be the only reason to target his child that he could think of. Not that they were targeting him. If he was going to have Will keep his ears out, he might as well give him the whole story. "And the mayor's son. They took Henry. We think he is who they're targeting. Only Regina has gotten ransom notes."

Will nodded. "Look, Robin, you were always fair, s'far as cops go. I'll put it out that one of my mate's kids got snatched. When I get anything, I'll tell you."

It would have to be enough, Robin decided. "Thanks. You can get in touch the old way."

Will nodded again and slid back into the shadows, the leaves barely crunching under his feet. Robin turned and made the long walk back to his car. There would be more calls to make. He would have to call the girls. They'd be mad enough that they hadn't been his first call. Not to mention with the business they ran, Emma and Mulan could pretty much find anyone they wanted to. Will was only helpful because he was local.

Swinging himself back into his truck, Robin pulled his phone out of his back pocket. He held his finger over the start button to open it and found a little 1 sitting above his message button. Robin quickly clicked on it and found his lungs emptying of air as Roland's name came up over the top of the phone.

Dad. We're OK. In a cabin - one room. Don't know

And that was the end of the message. Robin's breath came back in gasps. His son was alive, by some miracle had his phone and had gotten him a message. Robin wanted to yell at the phone, ask it for more information and the end of that sentence.

He was half-way through a response before he stopped himself. There was no way to know if Roland's phone had been taken after he had sent the message or if his phone was on silent. Even if it was, a phone vibration could still signal contact. If the kidnappers didn't know that Roland had his phone, Robin could put his son in danger by messaging him at all. His finger held the backspace button as he watched his words to his son disappear. For a moment he just sat and stared at the message his son had sent him. It would have to be enough for now.

Instead, Robin called another familiar number. The only other person that could really understand what he was going through. The endless ringing reminded him of the calls he'd made just a few hours ago trying to reach his son. Finally it beeped, and he was met with Regina's curt voice instructing him to leave a message.

"Regina, it's Robin." He took a deep breath and let it out. "Meet me at the beach when you get a chance. We need to talk."