AN: Here's the next chapter. I pulled some dialogue from the pilot episode but I altered it to fit my story. It occurred to me that, if Regina and Henry don't know about the curse, how is Emma going to break it? Wouldn't it be easier if she knew about it to break it? So now I had to figure out a way to tell Emma about the curse. It took some thinking but I finally figured out a way. It won't be revealed for a few more chapters yet, but I did figure it out. Hopefully, it won't disappoint or be too contrived and "convenient". Anyway, enjoy and as always let me know how I'm doing so I know I'm on the right track! This is my first ever OUAT story.


Chapter 3: We Have That in Common

Emma managed to find Granny's Bed & Breakfast and she rented a room, stating that she was only staying a week so as not to spark any early rumors about her presence in the town.

Emma settled down onto the bed, surprised at how comfortable it was, and quickly fell asleep, it had been a long and exhausting day.


Regina walked into her house and headed for the living room where she found Katherine watching TV as she waited for her. Regina smiled at her friend, "Thanks for watching him on such short notice Kath."

Katherine turned to her best friend and smiled, "Not a problem, I wasn't really doing anything anyway." She paused a moment then, "So...you ready to tell me what's going on yet?"

Regina sat down on the couch and took a moment to think about what she was going to tell Katherine. She decided on a cleaned up version of the truth. "Henry ran away today, this morning. He skipped school and just ran off...to Boston. He came home tonight with...his birth mother, Emma Swan."

Katherine was a bit surprised at the news that Henry had run away, she almost missed the 'birth mother' part...almost. "Wait, what do you mean his birth mother?"

"I adopted Henry when he was three weeks old, I never told anyone. No one really asked. So I just let everyone think he was my biological son. He found out the truth shortly after his accident and he began looking for her. He never even told me he knew, he just...he decided that since I hadn't told him about it that he was better off with her. So he tracked her down and brought her back here." Regina wanted so badly to tell her friend the rest, about her relationship with Emma and that Henry was sure to think they had both lied and betrayed him if he ever found out about the time they shared in Boston years ago. But she knew she couldn't, in all honesty, it wasn't just her story to tell, it was Emma's as well.

Katherine took a moment to process it all and she turned to look at Regina, "So, let me see if I got this right. Henry was adopted, you kept it from him, he found out anyway and then somehow tracked his birth mother down and brought her back here? Why would he bring her back here?"

Regina just shrugged, "I don't know. I didn't get that far when I was asking him about it."

Katherine just nodded, not knowing what to say to that. It was quiet for a few moment as they sat there. Then Katherine noticed the time, "Well it's late. I should get going, but Regina, if you need to talk to someone you know where to find me."

Regina smiled, suddenly very tired. "Yes I know. Thank you Katherine, you're a good friend. Let me walk you to the door."

Regina walked with Katherine to the door then locked it behind the blonde before she secured the house for the night and set the alarm. She trudged upstairs and checked on Henry before she went to her own bedroom.

She got ready for bed and was asleep almost as soon as her head hit the pillow.


Regina awoke the next morning at her usual time but this morning, rather than jump out of bed to begin the day, she laid there for a few moments, remembering the night before. She smiled as she remembered the look on Emma's face when she told her she was going to 'woo' her. It sent a surge of warmth through her at the thought of how Emma was going to tackle the challenge. Not that she had much of a challenge, per se, but Regina wasn't going to just give in...she wasn't lying about having an image to protect in Storybrooke.

Dating Emma, re-kindling the flame that had once burned so hot, and keeping it under wraps was going to be difficult. Regina wished she was the type to just ignore what other people said and thought about her and allow herself to be happy, but she couldn't seem to do it.

Reluctantly, she climbed out of bed and got ready for her day. When she was dressed, she walked to Henry's room to wake her son for school. To say he wasn't a morning person was an understatement so Regina had fully expected to open his door and find him still asleep in his bed, like she had every morning since he was 7.

This morning, however, she walked in and immediately noticed that the bed was immaculately made and the room was empty. Regina felt a rise of panic in her chest as she realized that Henry wasn't at home. She quickly searched the rest of the house to confirm what she already knew to be true...Henry had run away again.


Emma woke up slowly, the light from the window gently drawing her out of a very pleasant dream. She carefully stretched and then lay there for a moment, taking in the room and remembering where she was and why she was there; Regina...and Henry.

The woman she'd lost a year ago and the son she'd given up a decade ago...each of them represented something that she'd never had before, the potential for a family. She just had to convince Regina to give her a second chance. Emma grinned as she thought about how much fun it was going to be to woo Regina the right way. Before, they'd skipped some major steps and just fallen into bed together on their first meeting. Emma was determined to not repeat that mistake. She was going to do whatever it took to make Regina fall in love with her again before she allowed herself to be seduced by the dark haired woman's skills.

Before she could dwell on the memories of just how skillful Regina was in bed, there was a knock on her door. Frowning and curious, Emma slipped out of bed and went to answer it, not remembering that she was only wearing a tank top and panties.

She opened the door and was surprised to see Regina standing there, looking worried and upset."Regina, what are you doing here?"

Regina was almost too worried about Henry to notice Emma's attire...almost. She took a moment to compose herself as memories of their time in Boston came flooding back. She needed to focus on finding Henry right now, not her hormones. "Emma, is Henry here?"

Now Emma was confused, "What? No he's not here. Isn't he at home, or at school?"

"No he's not. I woke up this morning and he was gone. I checked with the school and he wasn't there. Emma, I'm worried about him, what if he left town again?"

Emma reached out and pulled Regina into her room and closed the door. She pulled Regina into a hug and tried to soothe her, "He didn't leave town. He knows I'm still here and that's what he wanted, to have me here. So just relax. He's probably just at a friend's house or something. Did you call his friends?"

Regina savored the feel of Emma's arms around her for a moment before she pulled away, "He doesn't really have friends, he's a bit of a loner."

'Must get that from me.' Emma thought, then, "Every kid's got friends. What about online? Maybe he was emailing someone."

Regina looked at Emma as if she was talking a different language. "I'm not...I don't know I didn't think to check his computer. How do you know all of this?"

Emma smiled, "It's my job to know. It's what I do, I track people down for a living...though for the life of me I never could find you after..." She trailed off, not wanting to rehash the past right then.

Regina gave a wry grin, "After I ran away like a scared virgin?" She could make a joke about it now, because she knew that Emma wasn't going anywhere.

Emma grinned, "Yeah...anyway, um...if you want I can go with you to check his computer."

Regina smiled, "I'd really appreciate that, I'm afraid I'm not very good with computers."

Emma just nodded, "Not a problem, just give me a minute to get dressed."

If Emma expected Regina to excuse herself from the room or even turn away to give her some privacy, she was mistaken. It honestly never occurred to Regina to turn away, she was too preoccupied with thinking about all the dangers she'd read about concerning the internet and pedophiles and predators. Her brain was too busy conjuring up nightmare scenarios of Henry alone with someone like that to notice that Emma was changing her clothes.

Emma shrugged, realizing that Regina wasn't going to leave or turn around, and remembering that she'd seen it all before so she just went about getting dressed. They were working against the clock as it was, so she just hurried through her routine and threw on a pair of jeans, her boots and a new tank top. Before too long she was ready to go and she pulled Regina out of her thoughts.

They walked to Regina's car and got in, heading to the Mayor's house.


Emma was sitting at Henry's computer, impressed that he'd had the forethought to clear his browser history. She grinned as she murmured, "Clever kid, but not clever enough." She took out a flash drive she always carried with her and before long, she had the kid's full browser history.

She clicked on a few links and found out how he had tracked her down, again impressed with his skills, he was obviously smart and resourceful. She turned to Regina, "He paid for a website called 'who's you momma' and it's expensive. Does he have a credit card?"

Regina looked at her like she was crazy, "He's ten, of course he doesn't have a credit card."

Emma shrugged, ignoring the edge in Regina's voice and chalking it up to the stress of the moment. The woman had not stopped pacing from the moment they entered Henry's room. "Well, he used one for the site. Let's just check the payment history." She clicked on another link and the credit card information popped up. It wasn't a name she recognized, so there went her theory that he'd swiped Regina's card. "Who's Mary Margaret Blanchard? It's her credit card."

Regina stopped pacing when she heard that name. She felt the usual, if unexplainable, animosity rise up in her at the sound of the woman's name. She could never figure out what, but there was something about the sweet, innocent-looking school teacher that Regina couldn't stand. She had always figured it was because the woman was too nice and sweet and always in a good mood. No one was ever always in a good mood and it made her suspicious."That's Henry's teacher. Come on, we're going to the school to talk to her. She has some explaining to do."


Emma had gone with Regina to the school, curious as to why Henry was using his teacher's credit card in the first place, but also wondering what this teacher had done to make Regina look like she wanted to rip her apart.

They got to the school just in time to hear the bell for recess. The kids ran all around them and Emma suddenly got very nervous. She wasn't really very good around kids.

They walked into an empty classroom and Emma hung back a bit as Regina began...well interrogating was the only word for what Regina was doing to the poor teacher.

Mary Margaret Blanchard noticed the Mayor's arrival in her classroom and became wary, "Miss Mills, what are you doing here?"

Regina didn't waste time with small talk and she certainly didn't think to regulate her voice. She had an image to protect and despite the fact that Emma was standing behind her, she was determined to protect that image, even if it meant that Emma had to see her being a major bitch to someone as sweet as Miss Blanchard. "Where is my son?" There was no mistaking the menace and anger in her voice.

Mary Margaret was confused, "Henry? I assumed he was home sick with you."

"Do you think I would be here if he was?" Now Regina's voice took on the tone of someone speaking to a stupid child. She was getting annoyed just being in the same room as this woman.

Mary Margaret noticed movement behind the Mayor as a blonde in a red jacket shifted from one foot to the other. She wondered who the woman was but then turned back to the mayor in time to see her spare a glance at the stranger. "Did you give him your credit card so he could find her?" At this, Regina jerked her head in Emma's direction, knowing she was going to have some explaining to do later to Emma about her attitude right now.

Mary Margaret saw this as an opportunity to find out who the woman was, and possibly to stall for a moment to give the Mayor a chance to calm down a bit. "I'm sorry, who are you?"

Emma, not expecting to be part of the conversation, and certainly not expecting to have to answer who she was, stuttered a bit as she thought about what to say. She didn't want to let the cat out of the bag if this teacher didn't know about the adoption but she also didn't want to say she was his mother...that was Regina's title.

Luckily, Regina came to her rescue, sort of, and said, "The woman who gave him up for adoption."

Emma flinched a little at the tone in Regina's voice. It was cold and hard, as if she truly didn't see her as anything more than the woman who gave Henry up for adoption. It hurt a bit but she forced the pain away to focus on what was happening right then. She notices the look on the teacher's face, "You don't know anything about this, do you?"

"No, unfortunately not." Mary Margaret said before she checked her wallet and saw that a card was missing, she had to hide a tiny grin, Henry had taken the card that offered double miles. "Clever boy." Mary Margaret said under breath.

Emma couldn't help thinking, 'not clever enough though, he didn't think to return the card before it was missed.'

Regina sensed that there was nothing more to be gained here. It was obvious to her that Mary Margaret didn't know anything so she turned and walked out of the classroom, fully expecting Emma to be right behind her. In her haste, she accidentally knocked down some books off a desk. She might've stopped to pick them up but then remembered where she was and just kept going.

Emma followed her to the door then stopped her. She looked into her eyes and said in a low voice so the teacher wouldn't hear her, "I'm going to stick around for a minute. There's something she's holding back and I think it's because of you."

Regina spared a glance at Mary Margaret who was standing there trying not to look scared. She grinned and turned back to Emma, "Okay, but I want a full report. And Emma, please just find him?" Regina allowed her eyes to soften briefly so Emma could see she wasn't the bitch she'd just pretended to be in there.

Emma nodded, hiding a grin, "I'll find him. You go to work okay?"

Regina was about to argue, saying she would take the day off and wait for Henry at home but her cell phone rang before she could say anything. She answered it and realized it was her secretary, reminding her of her busy schedule. Regina hung up the phone and sighed, "Alright, I'll be at my office. But I'll be at home for lunch." The implication was clear to Emma, find Henry by lunch and bring him home.

Emma just nodded then watched as Regina left.

Once Regina was gone, Emma turned to face the teacher, Mary Margaret, and saw the other woman visibly relax once Regina was no longer in her classroom. Mary Margaret walked to the mess Regina had made and knelt down to pick up the books and papers.

Emma went over to help her, deciding that she needed to pretend as if she didn't like Regina, that she wasn't on the Mayor's side if she wanted to get any information out of this woman. Her first step was to establish some rapport. "Sorry to bother you. I'm Emma, by the way. Emma Swan."

"Mary Margaret. It's okay. I fear this is partially my fault anyway." Mary Margaret sensed there was something about this woman that she could trust. Something about her was slipping through the normal defenses she had around her and making her look at her like someone with a good heart.

"How so?" Emma was curious now.

Mary Margaret sighed as she began to explain, "When Henry had his accident, there was some internal damage and he'd lost a lot of blood. Regina wasn't a match for his blood type, that's when Henry overheard her telling the doctor that he wasn't her biological son." The women straightened up and Mary Margaret invited Emma to have a seat on one of the desks as she moved to put the books on a table by the wall, the whole time still talking. "I volunteer at the hospital in my spare time and I realized that my blood type matched Henry's so I donated blood for the transfusion. When Henry was in the hospital recovering from his operations and his injuries, I stopped by to visit with him. His mother was working longer hours, in Henry's mind he saw it as avoiding him. But the truth was, she must have been scared to see him like that, the boy she'd raised hooked up to machines and lying in a hospital bed." She shook her head in sympathy, "We talked a lot during my visits. He found out that I had donated the blood and...I guess it formed a bond with him. After he was released, he would stay after school almost every day to talk with me. I didn't mind because, he's such a lonely little boy. He doesn't really have many friends his own age and, with the adoption revelation, he seemed to withdraw further into himself. So I tried to draw him out of his shell a bit."

Emma listened and tried really hard to find some sinister motive to the teacher's visits and talks with Henry but she couldn't find any. This woman just seemed far too innocent and sweet for something like that.

Mary Margaret realized that recess would be over soon and she still had to run to the office to make some copies of the worksheets she was assigning as homework that night. She began to lead Emma out of the classroom.

"You see, Henry hasn't had the easiest time of it lately."

Emma, thinking she was referring to Regina, and against her own feelings she decided to keep playing her role of anti-Regina confidant. "Yeah, she's kind of a hard ass."

Mary Margaret just sighed, "It's more than her. He's like any adopted child, he wrestles with that most basic question that they all inevitably face: why would anyone give me away?" Suddenly, she remembered she was talking to the woman who had given Henry away and she felt bad, not wanting this woman to think she'd been judging her in any way. "I'm so sorry. I didn't mean in any way to judge you."

Despite the fact that her words caused some pain and guilt in her chest, Emma just said, "It's okay." Not wanting to end up defending her choices to a total stranger...even if she did feel a strange kind of kinship with her.

Mary Margaret felt the need to make it up to her anyway so she explained, "I spent time with him and talked to him because I wanted to give him the most important thing anyone can have: hope. Believing that there's even the possibility of a light at the end of the tunnel, in a chance at happiness, is a very powerful thing."

There was something in the other woman's eyes that had Emma thinking once again that the teacher knew more than she was saying. "You know where he is."

Mary Margaret grinned and leaned closer as she said in a low voice, "You might want to check his castle."

"His castle?" This was the first she'd ever heard of Henry having a castle.

Mary Margaret just nodded, "It's his hideaway. His...fortress of solitude if you will. It's south of town, by the waterfront. When you leave here, take a right for two blocks until you see Forest Avenue, then turn left. Three blocks down Forest, you'll reach Weeping Willow Drive, take a right. Follow Weeping Willow Drive to the end, there's a small park that no one even remembers is there, not since the bigger one was built closer to the center of town. That's where he's probably retreated to."

Emma smiled at the teacher, glad that she was cooperating and had given fairly clear instructions. "Thanks."

Emma left the building then, jogging to where she left her car. She got in and drove back to the school. From there she followed Mary Margaret's directions, hoping that she'd find Henry there because if he wasn't there...she didn't know where else to look and she was going to have to go back to Regina and tell her she struck out. Emma was not looking forward to that conversation.


Emma found the small park with no problem and she parked in what used to be a tiny parking lot. She got out of the car and looked around. She spotted a jungle gym type of structure that did kind of look like a castle. She grinned, it was something she would've loved to play on as a kid, if she'd had the kind of childhood that allowed for trips to the local park.

Emma approached the structure and saw Henry sitting down just staring at the town from across the bay. He looked a little lost and alone. Emma sat down next to him and waited a moment before she broke the silence, "You're a hard person to find, even in a small town like this one."

Henry grinned in spite of himself, "Guess we have that in common then, don't we?"

Emma smiled, "Yeah I guess we do. But I found you, just like you found me, so we have that in common too." She leaned over and bumped his shoulder with her own, playfully, trying to cheer him up.

Henry stared at the town for a few moments before he worked up the courage to ask Emma the question he'd been meaning to ask her ever since he found out he was adopted. "Why did you give me away?"

Emma sighed, "You start with the hard questions huh? Okay well...truth is, I was 18 when I found out I was pregnant. I wasn't anywhere near ready to be anyone's mom. I knew that the only way for you to have a good life was with someone who could give you the things I couldn't. I put you up for adoption because I wanted you to have your best chance at a great life." She didn't know if any of that made any sense but she hoped he would just accept it.

Henry thought about what she'd said and realized she was right. It was probably the best solution, and until he'd found out he'd been adopted, his life had been pretty good. But ever since his accident, things were different. His mom had seemed to pull away from him, like there was something different about him that made her stop loving him. At the time it had hurt, and he'd focused that pain into finding his birth mom, thinking if he did, she'd love him and take him away from his mom who didn't love him anymore.

Henry turned to look at Emma, "Now that you're here, maybe we can be a family? You and me."

Emma sighed, "Henry, I have to take you back home to your mom. However, I am staying in town for a bit, to get to know you. Your mom already agreed that she won't stop us from spending time together as long as I have you home in time for dinner every night."

"You're sending me back to her?" The pain in the little boy's voice tore at Emma's heart.

"I have to, the law is on her side, and I promised her I would." Emma somehow felt like she was betraying him by bringing him back to Regina, but she knew it was the right thing to do.

Emma may have given birth to Henry, but Regina was his mom. She was the one who had raised him and loved him and given him a life she could never hope to give him.

Emma hopped down from the little bridge they were sitting on and began walking to her car, knowing Henry would follow.

Henry tried one last time to convince her to not send him back home. "You can't send me back there. You don't know what it's like with her! My life sucks!" Living with a mom who didn't love you was worse than not having a mom, in Henry's opinion.

Emma had reached her breaking point and she began to cry, seeing just how much Henry didn't like Regina. She turned to him and said, "You want to know what sucks? Being left abandoned on the side of the road. My parents didn't even bother to drop me off at a hospital! I ended up in the foster system, and I had a family until I was three, but then they had their own kid so they sent me back." Emma crouched down now and looked Henry right in the eye for this next part because she wanted him to see she was telling the truth, "Look, your mom is trying her best. I know it's hard, and I know you think she doesn't love you...but at least she wants you!"

Henry wasn't going to be convinced so easily. "She doesn't want me, she wants a trophy kid for her political image."

Emma's voice became stronger, "No she wants you. She loves you." Emma sighed, then she got an idea. "I'll make you a deal. You go back, really try to give your mom the benefit of the doubt, and I'll work on softening her up a bit, deal?"

Henry thought about it for a moment, then smiled, "Deal." He knew that if Emma had gotten his mom to agree to let them see each other, then surely she could get his mom to loosen up a bit, maybe even to love him again. It was worth a shot.

Emma smiled, she held her hand out to Henry and they shook hand, sealing their deal. Together, they walked to her car.

Emma made sure he was buckled in before she began driving towards Regina's house. She was silently hoping that, while she was wooing Regina, she could get the other woman to lighten up a bit around Henry and not be such a hard ass with him. It was worth a try, and this way, Henry went back home without a fight. She just hoped that Regina didn't find out about their deal, because that could undo any progress she made towards winning Regina's heart back.

TBC...


So, since Henry doesn't know about the curse and isn't thinking Regina is the evil queen, I made his angst be related to the whole adoption issue and his belief that, since he was adopted that Regina doesn't love him anymore. This will be Henry's main issue with Regina, his belief that, since the accident that basically pointed out that they are not related, Regina stopped loving him. Like she was reminded that he wasn't really her son. Is that confusing? Hope not. Let me know!