As always, parent/child incest. Don't like it, don't read it.
Between Regina and Gold, they'd managed to come up with a way to bring Henry back that they were reasonably sure of, and the entire family found themselves in the hallway in front of the bathroom, right where Neal had accidentally sent Henry through time.
Before getting started, Regina knelt in front of Neal, smiling warmly at him. "We're going to get Henry back, okay, sweetheart? You just do what Mr. Gold and I tell you, all right?"
Neal nodded solemnly. "I will, I promise."
"I know you will, brave boy." Regina kissed Neal's forehead and stood again, nodding to Gold.
"Miss Blanchard, if you would step back, please," Gold said to Snow, prompting the woman to hurry to the end of the hall, gripping the corner of the wall nervously as she watched. "Now, Neal, I need you to stand in the doorway of the bathroom, yes, just like that," he nodded as the boy moved. Thinking back to the layout of Zelena's spell, he moved to Neal's left, and directed Regina across from him, and David to his own left. "Now we hold hands," he added with a twist to his lips.
David put his hands out, taking one of Regina's and one of Gold's. He looked at the mother of his grandson beside him for assurance.
Emma watched from beside Snow, praying to any gods available that this would work.
Regina gave a reassuring smile and turned to look at Neal. "All right, sweetheart, I need you to think about Henry. Don't think about going to Henry, or even bringing Henry back, just think about Henry. Think about playing with him at the park, and eating dinner with him. As long as you think about Henry, okay? Can you do that?"
"Uh-huh," Neal nodded, and almost immediately the magic began to flow from him, into Gold, David, Regina, and back to Neal, a visible vortex of magic swirling to life in the circle they made.
"Emma," Regina called. "You need to go through and get Henry. The portal should open right where he is and stay open long enough for you to grab him and pull him back."
Emma nodded and moved forward, ducking under Gold and David's arms. When Regina nodded, she jumped through, landing on a hard dirt floor. She sighed in relief at seeing her son sitting on the ground in front of her.
"Henry!"
"Ma? What are you doing here?"
"I'm here to take you back home," she said, her tone expressing her assumption that he would know that.
"I can't leave. She'll... she won't know-"
Emma cut off his words, "It's not like she's going to yell at you, come on!" His meaning had passed over her head as she searched for a way to pick a lock—a lock she realized wasn't there. "Why are you sitting in a dungeon not even locked up? Why didn't you leave?"
"Whatever, let's go," he answered, standing and making his way to her, grasping her hand.
They felt a pull as they jumped into the portal.
Several stories up, a guard knocked on the queen's chamber door, informing her that her visitor had left, the clothes she had given him stacked neatly in his chambers, and no trace of him in the castle. The guard backed away and left the room as the queen let out an agonized wail, feeling as if her heart had been ripped out of her chest and crushed. Unlike with her first love, this was metaphorical, and it hurt all the more that the man who had managed to take her heart had willingly left with it.
In Storybrooke, Regina collapsed with the weight of the sudden grief in her memories, breaking the portal just as Henry and Emma appeared from it.
They landed roughly, Henry on his knees and Emma on her back. Instinct had him searching for Regina, and his eyes flitted to her on the floor.
"Mom!" he said, a pang stabbing his gut as he looked at her and realized he didn't really see his mom anymore.
Regina's head shot up, tears filling her eyes as pain and happiness warred within her. "Henry..." She scrambled over to him on her knees, desperately searching his gaze with her own. Then one hand came up, slapping him hard across the face, leaving a handprint on his cheek. She immediately followed the motion by grabbing his collar and hauling him against her, kissing him passionately. After a moment, her brain filtered in through her emotions and she pushed him away with a gasp, jumping to her feet and running past the others in the hall, fleeing the house.
"Well," Gold said, his eyebrows up around his hairline.
"It's a long story," Emma said, and Henry tilted his head in wonder of what exactly she knew.
"Uh... yeah, I should..." he let his sentence trail, starting to leave, but looked down at Neal quickly and crouched in front of him. "Hey little man, you doing okay?"
David shook his head at what he'd witnessed, but didn't say anything since it was obvious no one wanted to talk about it.
Neal burst into tears and threw himself at Henry. "I'm sorry, Henry!" he cried into the older boy's shoulder. "I didn't mean to send you away! I promise I'll never, never do it again!"
Gold only chuckled at the drama going on around him and excused himself to return back to his home.
"David!" Snow hissed, grabbing her husband's arm and pulling him down the hall. "Do you have any idea what's going on?"
Henry held his uncle for a moment before he pulled away and ruffled his hair. "It's okay. I promise, I'm good and everything is fine. I do need to go and check on your aunty though, so I'll see you tomorrow? We'll go get some ice cream."
David shook his head at Snow. "No, I just know that it was very strange to see that."
Emma patted Henry on the back, half tempted to tell him she would check on Regina herself, but decided to let him go.
"Okay," Neal agreed, sniffling and wiping away his tears. "I'm glad you're back, Henry."
"Very strange," Snow agreed.
"Me too, buddy," Henry said, unsure if it was true. He squeezed Emma's shoulder as he passed her, then headed to the mansion.
Regina paced the length of her study, her emotions in turmoil as she tried to process everything that she'd felt in the last few minutes. Pain, betrayal, happiness, relief... it was too much for any person to handle at once.
Henry arrived at the mansion and searched the house for Regina. When he pushed open the door of the study and saw her walking across the room, he sighed and stepped inside, closing the door behind him.
"Hey," he said quietly.
Regina stopped dead, turning to face Henry, even as her gaze flitted around the door, noting the closed door with rising panic. "What are you doing here?" she asked shakily.
"I came to see you. I... I had to check on you," he answered, cautiously stepping closer to her.
"Don't..." Regina stepped back, shaking her head. Tears slipped down her cheeks as she asked in a strained voice, "How could you do that to me?"
Henry shifted his eyes to the side, each tear she cried felt as bad as the whipping she gave him.
"I'm sorry," he offered, moving closer to her. "You... she gave me two choices, so I chose the one that would keep me alive. And then... and I..." Shaking his head, he let the sentence trail.
"You didn't have to fuck me to stay alive!" Regina screamed at him. "I have never and would never kill anyone for saying no! Not when I spent an entire marriage not having a choice!"
"I would've had to find a way to survive on my own! There was no way for me to know how to survive there!" he reasoned.
Wrapping her arms around herself, Regina shook her head, her entire body trembling. "You took away my choice," she whispered. "You knew who I was. You knew. And now I have to deal with those memories. I have to deal with knowing what I've done... to my son. Because I didn't know. You did that to me."
Looking at her with wide eyes, Henry nodded, tears rolling over his cheeks. "I didn't think of it like that. I'm sorry, I'm so sorry. I promised I wouldn't hurt you and I did. I... I don't know what else to say."
Turning her head to the side and grimacing, Regina whispered, "Please leave."
"Don't make me leave you again, please? You already tried once," he protested.
"Get out!" Regina screamed then, picking up the nearest object - a glass tumbler from the sidebar - and hurling it through the air at Henry.
Henry ducked to avoid the glass flying at him. The sudden movement had him hissing and collapsing to the floor in pain. Reaching back, he touched his backside beneath his jeans, bringing his blood-covered fingers back to look at.
Regina inhaled sharply, a cry falling from her lips. Processing the image before her, she threw her hands up, a purple cloud enveloping Henry. When it dissipated, she was alone in the house again, and Henry was at Emma's apartment.
Henry searched the room, pleased to find that Emma at least wasn't around. He hunted for the first aid kit and took care of his ripped open lashes. Sighing, he pulled on clean boxers after he was bandaged and laid down on his stomach on his bed.
At the mansion, Regina was nearly hyperventilating, and with another flourish of her hands, Archie appeared in her study.
In his sleep clothes, Archie looked up from the book he had been reading and glanced around the room, eyes settling on Regina. "Hello, Regina? I... you summoned me?"
"Henry's back," Regina blurted, pacing again with her arms tight around herself, holding herself together as much as she was able.
"I see. Well... shouldn't that be good? I mean, he's back and home and nothing further can develop in the past, right?" he asked, eyebrows furrowed.
Regina's expression crumpled and she found herself sitting on the floor, hugging her knees. "I realized I loved him. So I sent him away. And he obeyed, he left, and it hurt so bad. And then he was here. He was in front of me. And I just felt so... much. I felt so much, and I was so angry that I slapped him, but I was so relieved that I... I kissed him. In front of everyone... Snow, David, Gold... Emma. Neal."
Archie squinted his eyes as he processed everything she said to him. "Have you spoken to him about it? I understand it's a tough situation, I can't imagine what you're feeling, but I think that discussing things with him would help you the most," he said.
"He followed me home. He... I..." Regina shook her head. "He basically said he had sex with my past self because he didn't know how to survive on his own. I told him that he took my choice away, because he knew whom I was but I had no idea. I told him to leave, but he said no, and I... I lost it. I threw something at him. It didn't hit him, but he ducked and fell and the... the wounds I left on him... they opened and started bleeding. I used magic to send him to Emma's."
Wincing, Archie nodded, "I know that this situation is hurting you and making you angry, but... anyone who knows won't blame you for your feelings. But I do think you need to sit down and discuss the... uh, the deeper parts of what happened between you two, in the past."
"I can't," Regina whispered, shaking her head. "It's too... It... It was real. How do I... process that? He's my son. What if... what if I still feel...?"
"If I recall, Daniel was the only person you loved before coming to this world, aside from your father. If you fell in love with Henry, you will probably still feel that way, and I'm sure it will be hard. But I think you need to talk to him. Closure is important, and if you're going to continue with him in your life in any manner, you need to figure out your situation," he reasoned. "But if you find that you do, you know I am here and I will not judge you for it."
"You would be the only one." Regina rubbed her hands over her face and sighed before pushing herself to her feet. "Thank you, Dr. Hopper. I... apologize for bringing you here without warning. I wasn't thinking clearly."
"Regina, there are people who care about you here, and I think if they knew the situation, they would at least be sympathetic to what you are going through," Archie countered, trying to comfort her. "But I really can't encourage you enough to speak with Henry. And as far as bringing me here... I shower in the mornings, so just don't do it then."
Regina let out a little chuckle, nodding. "I'll keep that in mind, doctor." She smiled at him before waving her hand and sending him back to his home. Alone again, she headed upstairs, drawing herself a bath to help her relax and trying to put thoughts of her son out of her head.
Sleep wouldn't come for Henry, not when he knew how much he'd angered her. He decided to redress himself completely and drive over to her house. Sneaking in, he made his way to her room, knocking softly and pushing the door open when he didn't receive an answer. He heard the movement of water from her bathroom, so he sat down on her bed, wincing slightly, and waited for her.
After she'd soaked until her fingertips were water-wrinkled and her muscles relaxed, Regina drained the tub and dried off, wrapping a towel around herself before stepping into her room. She startled at seeing Henry sitting on her bed, and her eyes widened.
Green eyes gazed too long at Regina's small form wrapped in a towel, but eventually, he dropped them, bowing his head slightly. "Sorry. I just really need to talk to you."
She tried to glare at him, but his gaze was too familiar, too comfortable in her memory. Instead, she huffed a sigh and disappeared into her closet to dress in a satin pajama set with a thick robe over top. "What do you have to say?" she asked when she came back out.
"I'm sorry. I can't tell you enough. I didn't mean to take something from you, I didn't think of it that way," he said in an attempt to explain. "I would give anything for you not to be hurting."
"Why did you do it?" Regina asked softly, moving to sit on the chaise across from the bed. "You said it was fear of death, but... I... felt you. You were aroused, that first night."
Blushing, Henry looked away for a moment, but he looked back to her when he spoke. "You were flirting, and touching me, and it turned me on because you're beautiful. I'm your son, not blind. Even I know how... hot you are."
Regina looked away as well, closing her eyes. "The day of our picnic... you spoke of a woman. Who is she?" she asked, terrified of the answer.
"You," he answered quickly.
"Why?" Regina's voice was a strained whisper, and she couldn't help but wonder what she had done wrong. What had she done to warp her baby boy so badly?
"It started when I didn't know who you were to me. I always dreamed of you, sort of you, when Ma and I were in New York, and when I met you as the mayor I knew it was you who was in my dreams. I thought... you know, you weren't my mom, as far as I knew, so I thought there was a reason I was dreaming about you."
Henry scratched the back of his neck and looked down at the floor before he continued. "I knew I couldn't do anything about it, after the curse broke and my memories came back, I dated other girls and slept with others, but you were always this thought... this fantasy in the back of my mind."
"Henry... you're my son." Regina shook her head, brow furrowed. "Do you realize how wrong this is?"
Henry's head jerked up, looking at her, his eyebrows sticking together. He jumped from the bed, moving to kneel on the floor in front of her. "This is?"
Regina actually whimpered as she looked down at the boy—no, the young man—at her feet. "What are you doing?"
"My Queen," he whispered, reaching for her hands. "I... I'm yours, remember?"
"Henry... no," Regina shook her head, pulling her hands away. "That was... wrong. This is wrong. Don't..."
"I vowed I would always be yours. I swore it on my life that I wouldn't leave you, I wouldn't look at another, touch another." Henry shifted his eyes between hers, his heart on the verge of breaking when he spoke again. "Do you... are you going to release me, unwillingly, of my pledge to you?"
"I can't do this," Regina whispered. "Please, Henry, stop this. I can't... I need..." She shook her head, a tear falling down one cheek. "You have always been my weakness and my strength. You are the one who can break me or put me back together. But you're my son."
"But I love you. I'm... I don't care that I'm your son. I fell in love with you and you started changing. Your father said he hadn't seen you so happy in such a long time!" he countered, his gut tightening.
"My father died for loving me."
"I'm alive and I'm here, and I'm on my knees for you. You're My Queen. You're all I want."
More tears followed the first, and Regina closed her eyes again, her words coming out on a breath, "You left the castle."
"What? No I didn't. Ask Emma, she brought me back here from the dungeon," Henry countered. Reaching up, he cradled her face and wiped her tears. "I took myself to the dungeon. I put myself in a cell. I had no intention of ever leaving the castle."
Regina took a shaky breath, summoning her cell phone to her hand and opening her eyes to type a quick text message to Emma. When you got Henry, where was he?
Yeah, I was gonna ask about that. He was in an unlocked cell in your dungeon. What was the point of that? Emma sent back, staring at her phone, confused.
Nothing. Thank you. Regina tossed her phone aside and met Henry's gaze. "You stayed."
Nodding, he reiterated, "I stayed. Of course I stayed. How could you think I could ever leave you?"
"That doesn't change how wrong it is," Regina insisted. "Henry... it wasn't just thinking that you left that hurt me. I hurt much more now than I did then. In many ways... I was unable to give full consent."
"I do apologize for that, I hate myself for that. I would take it back if only to save you that pain, if I could. But as for how wrong it is... why? Why does that have to matter? I love you." He put his confused thoughts together and nodded slowly. "I... uh, I guess if you didn't fall in love with me, too. Of course, that makes total sense."
It would be so easy for Regina to let him believe she didn't share his feelings, but instead of an agreement, what came out of her mouth was, "This isn't about my feelings, Henry. It's about the fact that I raised you."
"So?" he asked. "You... us being together will always be in my mind, I will always see you as the beautiful woman who made me know what falling in love feels like. Tell me you didn't fall in love with me."
"You know it would be a lie if I told you that," Regina admitted, looking to the side. "But what I felt in the past when I had no idea who you were to me is irrelevant. What do you think will happen, Henry? That we'll live happily ever after having kinky sex while the inhabitants of Storybrooke aw over how cute we are together? I've spent the last week and a half hating myself and being very literally sick because of the memories we made."
Sighing, Henry shook his head. "It's nobody's business. I love you. I want you. And I'm going to stay kneeling before you forever unless you free me of my vow. Just... stop thinking of me as your son. Let me make you feel the way I did in your memories, I'll show you that, us together, it's worth some weird looks. To me it is."
"I can't simply forget that you're my son, Henry," Regina protested. "I can't... turn off the way I feel when I think about the first time you said 'mama' or when I see the 'world's best mom' trophy you made me when you were six."
"And I can't forget every thing I love about the other parts of you! The way you hold yourself back, refusing to say my name when you'd come. The way you loved for my mouth to please you. Or how taking a beating with a whip may hurt, but it couldn't faze me because you enjoyed it!"
"Henry, stop."
He held her cheeks, keeping her face in place. Leaning up, Henry moved his face toward hers, and he kissed her softly, but with desperation, to make her understand.
Regina squeezed her eyes shut, accepting the kiss, but not returning it as she struggled to keep more tears from falling.
After a few long moments of trying to earn a response, Henry pulled away, sitting once more on his feet and bowing his head. "Forgive me, My Queen."
"Don't call me that," Regina whispered, shaking her head. She stood up, stepping around him to the window, looking out. "You need to leave. Please. I need time."
"I will be waiting. I'll wait for you always, just as I'd intended back in your castle," Henry promised. Shaking his head, he walked to the door and glanced her over before exiting to go to his own room.
Once he'd left, Regina leaned heavily against the window, letting out a shuddering breath.
