A/N: Okay so in this chapter I'll be introducing Robin! (Still can't decide what I'm going to do about romantic ships for if I should just focus on Regal Believer. As a result you will be hearing both Robin and Emma's thoughts.) So in this story Robin came with Emma and August through the portal before the curse. Emma and Robin met when Emma was 20 and have been good friends ever since. I know this doesn't exactly add up with the whole Roland thing but I'll figure that out later, It's not important for this chapter anyways. Also I just realized I never told you guys how old Henry is, he is 10 in this story and it's sometime after the curse broke. Better late than never right?
"Why would she just give me these videos? It doesn't make sense." Emma said while pacing the room.
"Well, if I had to guess, I would say she gave you the videos because she intended for you to watch them." Robin sarcastically responded.
"Robin! This is serious! I mean Regina is usually so guarded and cold." Emma explained to Robin who was content watching Emma pace back and forth as he sat on the couch.
"Well, worse case scenario, they're death threats that she will use to get you to give up Henry." Robin said, now leaning back on the couch.
"What if they are?" Emma nearly shouted.
"I was kidding, Em." Robin said while rolling his eyes at her.
"Sorry, I know I'm being ridiculous but I can't help but think by watching these videos I will just be confirming Henry's terrible childhood." Emma explained while wiping the sweat off her forehead.
"How do you know he had a terrible childhood, exactly?" Robin questioned her, tilting his head in curiosity.
"Why else would he want to leave her? I practically had to force him to go see her last night. I don't really know if I can trust her around him." Emma said, her pacing now getting faster.
"Well, then I'd suggest you watch the tapes." Robin replied while looking through her fridge for something to eat.
"How did you come to that conclusion?" Emma asked, totally confused.
"If you want to know if it's still safe for Henry to see her then I would watch the tapes and find out what his childhood was really like. If he really did have a bad childhood then, yeah, don't let her see him, but if he had a good childhood then it's wrong to keep her away. After all she did raise him." Robin explained his reasoning.
"Okay, fine. I'll watch them. Do you want to join me?" Emma asked as Robin sat down on the couch after finding some chips to eat.
"Yeah, I'd like to see what the Evil Queen looks like, I've heard about her but I've never actually seen her." Robin told Emma.
"What type of things have you heard about her?" Emma asked, concerned if she should let her son go near to former Evil Queen.
"I've heard many tales about the destruction she caused, about the thousands she's killed, and tales of how fearsome she'd looked. To me it just seems as if she got lost. I can't blame her, there was I time when I almost got lost too. I know how easy it is to be consumed by the darkness." Robin told her while looking at the ground. "And Emma?" He asked, looking up to meet her eyes. "Don't judge her based on her past, of all the tales I've of heard, not one involved any concern for the Queen herself. Don't be another person who doesn't consider her pain."
After staring at him for a few moments she finally replied. "Okay. I'm just worried, that's all."
_
Regina sighed as she crumbled up the fifth piece of paper in the past two minutes. She took a deep breath and tried again. She put the tip of the pen back down on the paper and started to write.
Dear Henry,
I know I haven't been the best mother but if you would please
Regina stopped writing and reread what she just wrote. She took the paper in her hands and crumbled it up. She threw the ball of paper in the pile with all the others. She sighed in defeat before deciding to try again.
Dear Henry,
I know you don't want to see me right now but I need to see you.
She once again grabbed the paper, crumbled it, and threw it in the pile.
Useless! I can't let him know how much pain I'm in, he would blame himself.
So she tried again.
Dear Henry,
I am totally fine, how are you? I'd like to see you more if you let me, but you don't have to because I know that you don't really want to see me right now but I would really like to see you because without you it feels like a piece of myself is missing and I need you so please, please, please come home baby.
The words now blurred as they collected in her eyes. They came faster as she looked back at the page.
Great, now I'm rambling about nothing! I just sound desperate and insane.
She looked over to the mountain of crumbled up paper, it had to be at least a foot high. She had been trying to come up with the right words to say for three hours now. She closed her eyes and forced the tears away.
Okay, just one more time. Just write what you really want him to know.
She got ready to write, but only one thing came to mind.
Dear Henry,
I love you.
She folded her arms and rested her head on them.
I give up.
_
Emma put the video in and turned the TV on. When the TV came on, a picture of Henry and Regina appeared on the screen.
"Wow... You never said she was hot." Robin said, his mouth hanging open in shock as he stared at the former Evil Queen.
Emma rolled her eyes. "She's not hot."
"You're right she's not hot, she's gorgeous. You still date girls?" Robin smirked as Emma rolled her eyes.
"Shut up!" Emma said while laughing.
She does look gorgeous though... No, I didn't just think that. I'm just tired.
She hit play on the first video, closing her eyes just in case this was the proof that Henry had a terrible childhood. Her eyes flashed open when she heard laughter. On the screen was a video of Henry, looking around three years old, playing on the playground. Regina wasn't on camera so Emma assumed she was the one filming it.
Henry's laughs filled the air, his squeals causing Regina to smile from behind the camera. He climbed the rock wall and went down the tallest slide just to hear his mother's praise. Of course it wasn't necessary, she would praise him for breathing if he wanted her to.
Emma smiled as she watched Henry play.
Henry ran across the playground to go play on the slide, but instead he tripped on a rock and fell a few feet in front of Regina.
Suddenly the video became blurry as the camera dropped to the ground. It was a miracle that the camera stayed all in one piece. The camera landed so you could still see Regina and Henry.
Regina ran up to her son, immediately wrapping her arms tightly around him.
Robin's eyes widened as he watched the screen.
This is the Evil Queen I've heard such terrible stories about? Robin thought.
"Are you okay, baby?" Regina asked, still not letting Henry out of her arms.
"It hurts mommy." Henry said as he held onto her closer.
"Where does it hurt?" Regina asked, trying to pull back to look at him but couldn't due to the death grip he had on her.
"My knee." Henry told her as she tried to pull back, again she failed in doing so.
"Baby, I can't look at your knee if you don't let go." She gently told him. He slowly let go of her but wouldn't stop holding her hand.
Both Robin and Emma were in shock over what they'd just seen.
Henry hadn't wanted to let go of Regina. Emma thought in confusion.
Regina inspected his knee, but found nothing. "Well, I think you're going to live." She told him with a smile.
Henry's eyes widened with worry as he asked, "You think?"
Regina laughed, "Okay, I know you're going to live."
The video came to a stop and Emma was still in shock, that was no where near the video she had been expecting. The Regina in the video wasn't the Regina she knew at all. The Regina she knew was cold and guarded. The Regina on the video was warm and loving.
She looked over to Robin to see he was just as shocked as she was. Before either got the chance to talk about it the next video played.
On the screen, a video of Regina cooking appeared. It appeared she hadn't noticed she was being filmed but Emma suddenly understood as barely contained laughs filled the air.
Henry brought the camera closer to Regina as she turned away from him. He continued to get closer and closer until he finally got caught.
"Are you spying on me?" Regina teasingly asked him. She pretended she hadn't heard him laughing when he first started spying on her.
Henry nodded his head up and down to answer her question.
"You do know what happens to children who spy on their mothers, right?" She asked as she walked closer to him.
"No, what happens to them?" He asked curiously.
"They get tickled!" Regina said as she rushed forward before he could escape. Both Henry's and Regina's laughs fit together in perfect harmony as it flooded the speakers. As their laughs died down Henry placed the camera on the counter so you could see both him and his mom.
Robin smiled at the screen, but couldn't help thinking about how much his own son, Roland, was missing.
"What now, my little spy?" Regina asked while playfully tapping his nose.
Henry looked less than pleased. "Mommy! I'm not your little spy, I'm your little prince, remember?" Henry asked with his most serious face.
"I remember dear. You're my everything." Regina said while gazing into his eyes. He smiled in return before turning off the camera.
Emma sadly looked down as she realized what Regina must be going through.
A new video of Henry and Regina wearing matching homemade paper crowns came on the screen. There were two cupcakes sitting in front of them on the table. The one in front of Regina had a candle on it.
Emma smiled at how ridiculous the so-called serious mayor looked in a paper crown.
"Happy Birthday to you, Happy Birthday to you, Happy Birthday dear mommy, Happy Birthday to you!" Henry sang as Regina smiled brighter than Emma had ever seen.
"Thank you, baby." She said before she blew out the flame on her cupcake. "This has been the best birthday ever."
"Oh wait!" Henry shouted as he ran from his seat to go get something.
After about thirty seconds, Henry ran into the room at full speed and ran into Regina side. As he ran into her she reached out and pulled him closer so he wouldn't hit his head on the table.
Robin smiled as he recognized the touch of a mother.
"Here." He said, handing her a card he had made her. On the front it said 'please open', so Regina did as instructed and opened up the card. On the inside it read 'To the bestest mommy ever. I love you!" and then she read in parentheses at the bottom 'By the way this is from Henry.' She smiled as read it. "Do you like it?" Henry asked excitedly.
Regina smiled back up at him. "I love it." Regina pulled him into a hug so he wouldn't see her tears, but the camera saw them.
Robin and Emma both looked at the video in shock. This couldn't possibly be the same Queen who had killed thousands or the same mayor who Henry swore he hated so much, right?
The next video was of the mother/son dance.
Henry and Regina were dancing in the center of the room, commanding the attention of everyone with Regina's grace and Henry's lightheartedness. Regina smiled down a her son, not caring that she didn't know how to dance because neither did he, they were just having fun. They would occasionally look at other people to find out what they were supposed to be doing. They both laughed as they tried to keep up with what everyone else was doing but were failing miserably. So they did their own dance and though they got a few weird looks, they really didn't care.
Robin stared at the screen, taking in how beautiful the former Evil Queen truly was. Emma found herself doing the same, but immediately stopped when she realized it.
They looked over at the other's and everyone was spinning their mothers around, so Henry gestured for Regina to do the same. Regina laughed as she tried to bend down low enough for Henry to twirl her.
After the dance was over, Henry jumped into Regina's arms shouting "We nailed it!"
"Is that what happened? I don't think we nailed it exactly but it was fun." Regina said, still smiling at her optimistic son.
"Yeah, I think we should skip the dancing and go get dessert." Henry said, still excited from his first mother/son dance.
"You do? Well we'll see about that." Regina said as the video faded to black.
In the next video Henry was proudly showcasing his drawing of his stuffed horse with the name, Gala, written across the bottom.
He was displaying his artwork with a big grin on her face. "Mommy, what did you draw?" He asked her.
"Nothing, sweetie. Why don't you show me the drawing of our house?" Regina tried to change the subject.
"But I want to know what you drew." Henry prodded, ignoring her question.
"Henry, I don't really like showing my drawings to people." Regina said from behind the camera.
Robin curiously looked at the screen.
I wonder if there's a story there. Robin thought to himself.
"But you can show them to me right?" Henry asked looking up at her with eyes she couldn't resist.
"I suppose so." Regina said while handing the picture to Henry.
"That's me!" Henry squealed before showing the camera. It was an incredibly detailed drawing of Henry. "Mommy it looks like a photograph!" Henry said still amazed by the drawing.
Emma was just as amazed as Henry, she had no idea that Regina could draw like that.
"You like it?" Regina asked, smiling at her son's approval.
"Of course!" Henry excitedly said.
The final video began with Henry on screen in a puppy costume. It appeared to be Halloween by the decorations in the background.
Emma smiled at how adorable her son looked in his costume.
"Mommy come here! The camera can't see you if you stand over there." Henry explained.
"I'm fine Henry, I'll just stand here and let the camera see you." Regina said, trying to avoid documentation of her current outfit.
"But if you don't stand by me then how will the camera see your costume?" Henry asked, not aware that his mother was avoiding it on purpose.
"I think the camera is fine just seeing your costume." Regina said hoping to convince her son.
But Henry had other plans. He walked over to her and grabbed her hand, then he proceeded to pull her so the camera could see her.
Robin tried to hide a smile as he looked at the adorable woman on screen.
She came on screen dressed in a black bodysuit complete with paws, cat ears, a tail, and drawn on whiskers and nose.
Emma tried not to laugh at the woman she once thought to be fearsome.
Regina looked at the camera like it had been the one to force her to wear the costume. She tried to hide her face by looking down but that didn't work, you could still see her entire face.
She looked over to Henry who was staring at her before whispering, "Say the line." in her ear.
Regina looked at the camera like she was dead inside as she said "Have a Happy Meoween." She ended it with a fake smile to please Henry.
The video then ended as both her and Henry exchanged smiles.
_
"So what now, do we have play rock, paper, scissors for who gets to date her?" Robin teasingly asked her.
Emma just lightly smacked his forearm. "Robin this is serious! Now I know I can trust her, but what am I going to now?"
"Well you could give her number to me." Robin replied with a smirk. After Emma glared at him he replied with a more serious answer. "You go over to her house and apologize to her. Tell her so long as Henry wants to, she may see him whenever she wants to."
"You really think that would make up for everything?" Emma hesitantly asked.
"Not everything, but it's a start. I also think you should take me with you when you go." Robin replied with a smile that revealed his dimples.
"If I give you her number will you shut up?" Emma asked, reaching for her phone.
"Deal! I won't talk for the rest of my life if you'd like." Robin replied before adding, "You're sure you don't want to go out with her?"
"I'm sure she will reject you anyway, she's not very open to new people." Emma replied, dodging the question.
_
Henry had been watching every video from the hallway, by the time they were over he couldn't stop crying. He ran upstairs as fast as he could. He laid down on his bed, and sobbed. As much as he tried to deny it, he missed his mom who would do anything to make him happy, even if it caused herself pain. He half expected Emma to come rushing into the room, hold him close, and take away all his tears. Because that was what Regina would do, it wasn't Emma's fault, Regina seemed to have a sixth sense for telling when Henry needed her.
I don't miss her, I'm just crying because I didn't get to do those things with Emma.
Henry told himself, not ready to admit the truth. He fell asleep with Gala in his arms. He told himself it was because the stuffed horse was something familiar, but in reality it was because it still smelled of Regina's vanilla perfume.
A/N: So if you couldn't tell at the moment I'm leaning towards Outlaw Queen but I left it open for Swan Queen! I love both ships which is making this more difficult to choose. Does anyone have anything they would like to see in the next few chapters? It can be anything Regal Believer (I need some flashback ideas), Outlaw Queen, or Swan Queen.
Update: After seeing how many of you still want Swan Queen I've decided to create a poll to see which one is most popular. Link: poll/polls_tab_ ?pollid=476492 I'm going to bed but will check it when I wake back up :) Oh and I will definitely have the next chapter up tomorrow, I already have most of it written.
