A/N: Thank you for reading and reviewing!
Regina was already sitting at a table when Henry arrived at the ice cream shop. She smiled at him as he walked over to the table.
"You haven't ordered anything yet?" Henry asked as he sat down.
"No, I was waiting for you," Regina replied. "Did you want a butterscotch sundae?"
That was what Henry frequently ordered when they came to this place.
"Sure," he said.
Regina walked up to the counter and came back with Henry's sundae and a bowl of mint chocolate chip ice cream for herself.
"Thanks," Henry said.
Now that he was here, he was feeling a little nervous again. How was he supposed to bring up his plan for them to talk to Archie? He had an idea of how to do it, but he was worried that it might just make Regina upset.
"So, how is your summer going?" Regina asked.
"It's going okay," Henry said.
"Have you done anything fun?"
Henry shrugged. "I've mostly just been reading and hanging out at the arcade."
They both ate their ice cream in silence for a couple of minutes.
"It's nice to be back here again," Regina said. "You've had a few good birthday parties here. Do you remember the time we ordered scoops of all the different flavors?"
Henry smiled. "Yeah, that was fun. I never knew there were so many different kinds of ice cream."
Regina smiled. "Henry, there is something that I would like to show you."
Henry was curious. "What is it? Did you bring it with you?"
Regina shook her head.
"I can't show you right now," she said. "There's someplace that I have to take you."
Henry frowned. There was no way that Emma, Snow, and Charming were going to let Regina take him anyplace unless one of them was going, too.
"Can Emma come along?" Henry asked.
"No, Henry, it's something from my past," Regina said, "and I don't want to show anybody but you."
Henry was very curious about what she wanted to show him, but he remembered Snow and Charming's concerns that Regina was planning something. What if she was?
"You'll have to tell me where we're going so that I can tell Emma, Snow, and Charming," Henry said.
Regina frowned. "They won't want me to take you anywhere. You can just tell them that you're going to the arcade."
"I can't lie to them," Henry said.
"Oh, so it's okay to lie to me but not to them?"
"I don't want to lie to anyone!"
Henry saw the shop owner staring at them and realized that he was yelling. He and Regina both finished their ice cream in silence.
Henry checked his watch and realized that he needed to say what he came here to say now. Emma would be by to pick him up in just a few minutes.
"So, you know how you accidentally poisoned me?"
Regina gave him a pained look. "Henry, I already apologized to you for that. You know how terrible I feel. There's nothing else I can do."
"Maybe there is," Henry said. "I know a way that you can make it up to me."
Regina raised her eyebrows. "What do you want me to do?"
"I want you to go with me to talk to Archie," Henry said. "He might be able to help us."
"Help us with what?"
"You know…help us have a better relationship or whatever."
Regina crossed her arms. "Why do we need Archie's help? Whose idea was this?"
Henry was getting frustrated. "It was mine."
"Henry, I don't need therapy," Regina said. "And, Archie isn't even a real therapist. He's a cricket."
"Oh, but I needed therapy for knowing about the curse? You tried to make me think I was crazy!"
Henry knew that he was yelling again, but he didn't care.
"Henry, I just wanted you to talk to someone…"
"Why? Because I knew the truth? Because I knew who you really were, all the terrible things you had done? Do you have any idea what it's like to be the only kid getting older? To find out that everything in your life is a lie?"
There were tears in Regina's eyes now.
"Henry, I was just trying to protect you."
"No, you were just trying to protect yourself!"
Henry was crying as he got up and headed for the door.
"Henry!" Regina called after him.
Henry didn't turn around. He ran out the door and along the sidewalk. Emma's yellow Volkswagen was coming down the street. She stopped the car, and Henry climbed inside.
"Henry, are you okay?" Emma asked. "What happened? What did Regina say to you?"
Henry just shook his head and looked out the window. He didn't want to talk about the failure of his new mission.
When they got home, Henry told Emma, Snow, and Charming what Regina had said to him about showing him something.
"I don't know what it was, though," Henry said.
Emma, Snow, and Charming exchanged looks.
"Henry, you might wonder why I was asking you so many questions earlier," Emma said. "We have been hearing that Regina might be planning something, and we were afraid of you possibly getting in the middle of it. I don't know if whatever Regina was going to show you had anything to do with it, but I'm glad that you told us."
"What could she be planning?" Henry asked.
A loud noise shook the house, and they all rushed outside to see what it was. There was smoke pouring from someplace across town. Whatever Regina was planning, it seemed that it was happening right now.