A/N: It has been forever, but one of my favorite authors on here has asked me not once... but twice for me to continue this. So I looked to see if I had any of this written... and I did, so I decided to give her an update because she has blessed me with like 30 LOL I can't wait to read more of her story, and I hope you all enjoy this chapter. It has just been sitting in my Drive for a year because I hate Translating LOL, and this story is up both in English and Spanish. Maybe I will get to write some more soon. Let's hope this is a good sign. I have to ask you though. Please leave a comment. Your reviews are everything, and I love to hear from you. Later~ S.K.
Strength of Character
Regina lay in bed until mid-morning. That was when Henry finally came into her room. His grandmother had warned him that his mother's state of mind was not receptive, but he didn't care; he wanted to know what was going on. He thought an I told you so was in order.
Regina was not asleep; she was lying there staring at the right side of the bed. She couldn't sleep without him there. She stared in wonder at how it was that in four short years she had grown accustomed to the feel of his body there next to her. It wasn't that she was no longer angry with him, but she was only human. She hadn't shed a tear since she was in the hot tub the night before.
"Mom!" Henry shouted from the foot of the bed staring at his nearly catatonic mother. "Are you even listening?" Regina had not moved an inch. Her gaze had not even flickered toward her son. "He hated the fact that you were president anyway, why would you even want him around. Not that I blame him, I mean I gotta be sorry for the guy...Mom?" He looked at his mother and started to worry; His words weren't penetrating. It was as if he weren't there, and as much as he tried to rebel against his mother, However busy she was, Regina always listened. He dropped to his knees next to her. "Mom?" Henry stopped and looked at his mother, really looked at her.
Regina slowly began to focus on whom it was that was raging at her. She saw how scared Henry looked, then looked around and saw Roland at the door. "Hey!" She turned and focused on her alarm clock. "What are you going on about Henry?"
"Mom," Henry began as Regina sat up in bed. "Why did you kick Robin out?" Henry was gentler with his mother this time.
Regina stood up and walked stiffly to the hook that held her robe. "Guys, I'm so sorry you're going through this." Regina said, "It's just for a little while, we had a little disagreement that is all, we'll work it out."
"But mom, You've never…" Henry began.
"There's a first time for everything," Regina said taking the robe from him, whom had taken pity on her sore body and had gotten the robe off the hook for her. "Thanks," Regina said tersely and headed to the bathroom.
"What happened to you, mommy?" Roland asked, "you can't even move."
Regina smiled at the little boy as brightly as she could muster and ran her fingers through his curly hair. "You gave me a hell of a workout yesterday Roland. That was a great match." Roland smiled back at his adoptive mother. But Henry still had many questions for his mother. He stood unsure whether he should ask. Regina looked at him. "Please, drop it."
"Okay," Henry said hesitantly. He had never seen his mother so hurt before, and was determined to find out what it was that had sent his stepfather to the doghouse to be a guest in his own home. Henry walked out of the president's bedroom angry and confused. He took Roland's hand and led him over to their grandmother. "Great, there's lunch!"
"Are you having some?" Cora asked as Roland surged toward the table.
"Yeah, in a minute Grandma. I'm just going to go finish up my homework then I'll eat." Henry said and headed out toward the guestrooms.
Henry made his way over to where the secret service agents were patrolling the hall where Robin now resided. He didn't know what was happening but decided that he was going to find out, and to find out, he needed to make Robin think he knew everything. He didn't know if it would work, but he had to try.
He nodded a greeting to them and stepped around them to knock on Robin's door. Robin opened the door immediately, cell phone up to his ear. "Hey listen, My kid is here, I'll talk to you later," Robin said as Henry glared at him. Henry stepped inside as Robin hung up and put the phone down on his dresser. "Hey, Henry."
"Hey…" Henry said folding his arms in front of himself.
"How's your mom?" Robin asked tentatively trying to figure out how much Henry knew. He knows the kid's intuition is sky high, and god knows what his mother may have told him.
"How is she supposed to feel Robin?" Henry asked, "What were you thinking?"
"Henry, I didn't mean to hurt your mom. I certainly didn't want her to find out like that." Robin said.
"No, you didn't want her to find out at all," Henry said. "Yet here we are. You've probably destroyed her."
"That bad?" Robin asked not able to believe that Regina had told her son about the affair. But then again, the media would have let him know about it soon enough. He had just gotten a call from Zelena, which she was thinking of selling her story.
"Maybe, I'd understand it better if I understood why..." Henry said hoping he would give him something.
"I don't know why." Robin said, "There is certainly no good excuse to cheat on your mother."
"You what?" Henry said his face growing more enraged as Robin spoke. This wasn't just some little argument; this prick actually thought he could find someone better than his mother? Henry cocked his arm back and let his fist connect with Robin's face.
"I know son, I'm sorry." Robin said."
"You are not my father! Do not call me son." Henry said and walked out of the room.
Inside the presidential bedroom, Regina sat upon the lid of the commode. She was dazed, she hated lying to her children, but she couldn't seem to bring herself to besmirch the image that they may have of Robin. Even if they are bound to find out about the affair eventually, It was only a matter of time until that little bitch talked to the press.
She looked around the room, lost in thought. "Fuck you, Robin." She said grabbing the soap dish and throwing it at the ground. She watched as it shattered into a million pieces. Finding the action cathartic she reached for the hand soap pump and did the same. It felt good to destroy everything she could get in her hands. She could feel the years of pain, not only by being left and betrayed by Robin but for Daniel's premature departure.
She screamed out her pain at the top of her lungs as splintering shards of glass and ceramic fell around her until she finally collapsed on the floor racked with sob from the pain she had until Monday Morning to heal from.
Just outside, Cora heard the noise as she passed the bedroom. She stepped inside and found her sobbing on the floor. Cora kneeled down next to her and wrapped her arms around her daughter. There they sat, Cora, rocking her, and Regina sobbing, every moment feeling better to have the only person that she could count on to love her through this with her arms firmly gripping her and bringing her back from the edge.
She sunk into her mother's embrace and cried. "How could he do this to me," she sobbed.
"Go on," Cora said stroking her daughter's hair, and somehow she knew Robin wasn't the main source of her pain. Regina didn't love Robin enough. She hoped, however, that one day she would be able to love again the way she had loved Daniel. "Let it all out."
"I gave him, everything I could give him, and he betrayed me," Regina said.
"That's it." Cora continued to soothe Regina tracing soft circles on her back.
"It should have been me; I should have died…" Regina said. "It hurts so much."
"I know," Cora said kissing the top of her daughter's head. "Come let's go to bed, and If I know you well, you haven't slept at all."
"It smells like him," Regina said rising off the floor as her mother brush the glass off of her robe.
"Your linens are changed every day," Cora said incredulously.
"The pillows," Regina said sitting on the couch on one side of her bedroom suite. "They smell like him."
Cora walked over and took all of the pillows off of the bed and took them out of the room. She asked a maid to get her some new ones and by the time she had returned with the new set of pillows, Regina had already cried herself to sleep on the couch. She gently placed a pillow under the president's head and covered her with a blanket. "You'll move on, just like I did," Cora whispered softly and kissed the top of her daughter's head. "He needs you to move on, for Henry."
Henry ran all the way back to the residence. He only slowed down when he saw his mother's door was ajar. He took slow tentative steps toward it and peeked inside. There was a lump on the couch. Henry got closer and saw his mother's sleeping form. Her messy brown hair framed a face that looked so tired and old compared to the usually more vibrant woman he was used to seeing. The stress of being president never made her look this bad. The presidency made her glow. This was not the woman he had always known. He kneeled in front of Regina and watched her a bit until the maid came into the room with a broom and dustpan. "Hi," Henry whispered walking to her.
"Hello, Henry. I'm just here to clean this mess." The maid said.
"What Happened?" Henry asked noting the smashed soap dish and ceramics all of his mother's make up compacts and cosmetics bottles smashed and splattered over the walls and floors.
"The president had an accident," The maid said.
"Oh," Henry said imagining what it could have been. His mother wasn't someone that he had ever seen angry, but he could relate. "Hey, let me clean it for you," Henry said taking the broom from the older woman.
"But…" The maid hesitated.
"Please?" Henry asked. The maid nodded and headed toward the door. She turned back once more and Henry had put a finger to his lips so that she would not tell anyone. The maid smiled at him and headed out of the room with a wink.
Regina stirred as she heard the mess in the bathroom being picked up. She sat up as she heard the soft sniffling that emanated from the bathroom, and walked stiffly to the door. She saw her son cleaning up the mess that she'd made. Regina reached out and ran fingers through Henry's short hair. "I came to check on you and found the bathroom a mess, so…"
"It's not your mess to clean," Regina said taking her son's hands in hers.
"Are you okay?" Henry asked noting the dark circles under his mother's eyes and her hands were cut. So were her feet.
"I will survive," Regina said, beginning to clean her own mess. "I'm the President of the United States."
Henry began to help her silently for a moment, then he stopped. "Mom, can you forgive him?"
Regina looked at her son and realized that he knew what had happened. She sighed, "I don't know Henry," She said sweeping the last of the glass on to the dustpan that Henry was holding. "Can you?"
"It wasn't me he cheated on," Henry said tossing the debris into the trash can.
"I need you to be able to forgive him. For Roland sake." Regina answered.
"Why? I mean he is his kid, I'm not his kid."
"You are Roland's brother, and I am the only mother Roland knows. Legally I am Roland's mother and he will be here with us, just as much as he will be with him."
"That's fine, let Roland forgive him then, I will never."
Regina sighed. "Aside from what he has done to me, He's a good dad. He needs your forgiveness."
"Well, I can't right now," Henry said heading out of the bathroom and sitting on the couch his mom had been sleeping in.
"Fair enough," Regina said sitting next to him.
Henry smirked. "You should see the shiner I gave him.
"Henry…" Regina scoffed, then they sat there in silence for a few seconds. "A shiner huh?"
Henry chuckled, "Yeah…" Regina couldn't help but chuckle with him.
Robin walked toward the West Wing. He had to see Regina, and he knew that she had a few things pending at the office. The oval was probably the only place he would probably be able to see her. He looked around the workspace and noticed how empty it was. Kathryn came out of her office and they nearly collided. "Oh! Hey Robin," Kathryn said looking up at him oddly.
"Hey Kath," Robin said
"Been in a bar brawl?" She asked jokingly walking past him.
"Oh," Robin said touching his eye, "I had a run in with Henry…"
"Teenagers…" Kathryn said distractedly and opened the oval door. It was empty.
"Have you seen Regina?" Robin asked the chief of staff.
"No, she's in Residence, she was not feeling well today," Kathryn said with a surprised expression. Robin nodded to her and walked back to the East wing without explanation. He should have known Regina wouldn't have discussed what had happened with anyone yet, and Henry had conned the information out of him.
He took the steps to the residence by two. When he got there, the Secret Service agents posted stopped him from entering. "Come on Guys, It's just me," Robin said reaching for the door.
"Sorry sir, President's orders," one of the two men said ready to beat him down if necessary.
"I need to see her now!" He demanded.
"The president has ordered for the first Gentleman to stay at least fifty feet away from her at all times. Right now, sir, she is in Residence," the other said.
"This is ridiculous!" He tried to get past them, but the two men pinned him down unapologetically.
"Just doing our jobs sir." They said as Cora came out to see what the fuss was about.
She looked down at Robin and then back to the agents. "The president is resting right now." She said.
"Cora!" Robin said shaking the agents off of him. "Cora, how is she?"
"How the hell do you think she is doing?" Cora hissed.
"I need to speak with her," Robin said.
"That's not up to me, she isn't ready to see you yet. I've never seen her so angry." Cora said.
"But I…" Robin started but Cora cut him off.
"Give her time," Cora said, "Maybe she'll let you come to Thanksgiving dinner. Just don't push it."
Just then the doors open and Regina stepped out of the residence stiffly. She looked at Robin and he watched as a flash of anger and sadness came to her eyes before she looked away. She turned to the agents and nodded a greeting to them. "Follow me," She said to Robin taking tentative steps toward the elevator. "I need you to shut up and listen to me for a minute."
Just then the elevator doors opened and they stepped inside. Regina pushed the button for the gym floor and as soon as the elevator shifted she pulled the stop lever bringing it to a stop. They were alone in the elevator save for the cameras, but what she had to say she didn't really want the agents to hear.
Regina rounded on Robin. Her anger beginning to surface again. "It is only a matter of time 'til everyone knows what happened. I can't stop it and frankly, I don't really care right now. If you ever want to be able to talk to me again you need to give me space. Don't try to talk to me until I am ready to talk to you. I don't want a repeat of today because the secret service will kill you.
Robin stood there a bit stunned, then a bit angry. He opened his mouth to say something but again she cut him off. "Stop, you lost your right to be angry with me. I don't want to take legal action yet. I want to wait until your little bitch goes public, and then I will see how I feel about the whole thing. I will see if you are worth keeping around." Then she pushed the stop lever back to its original position.
Once the elevator reached the gym, Regina brightened, "Oh, and congratulations, I've made a few calls… Seems like John Jacobs rejected the position and you are now in charge of the Olympic Committee… What were you and archer?" Then she walked away from the elevator and into the Gym as Robin watched her. Mulan peaked out at him and glared. Through the glass walls of the gym, he watched as his wife walked stiffly to the locker room and the Masseuse, a beautiful brunette woman set up her table near the pool. It was Mulan's wife Rory, and he could not help but feel jealous.
"What the hell Robin?" He scolded himself, "Your wife is straight." Then the elevator doors closed.
