I am so sorry for disappearing, I'll try to update my fics as soon as possible. If you guys liked this story give my other ones a chance too. All mistakes are mine.
Henry sits at his normal seat at Granny's slowly sipping his hot cocoa. He's almost there. He's almost reunited with his mother and a small smile tugs on his lip. Nothing can go wrong anymore. Once his mother is home he'll make sure that she'll never feel alone or helpless again. He'll help her be the hero he knows she can be.
Suddenly a clearing of throat pulls Henry away from his thoughts. He averts his eyes towards the man now occupying the open bench in front of him. "Henry, I-I just want to say that I know you're hurting right now and I'm sorry for any pain that you feel because of my actions." He takes a deep breath trying to get his point across. "I know that I'm not your favorite person right now, but I want you to know…" he pauses and looks into Henry's eyes. "I want you to know that what I felt for your mother was real and I never meant to make her feel that she was something that was disposable and something that could just be put away."
Henry feels the rims of his eyes burning. "If you love her, then why did you hurt her?"
Robin's shoulder droops down, "Because sometimes when you love someone and they love you, you take them for granted."
Henry only nods. "Help me." He says almost inaudible but loud enough for Robin to hear.
Robin agrees and promises him that he will do everything to get Regina back.
"Mr. Gold and I have a plan…" Henry explains the plan of entering the place where her mother's entity might be. "I know, it might not be what you asked for when you said that you'll help, but in a long time you are the only man that my mom has ever loved." Robin's heart is tugged by guilt. "And I know that that love doesn't just go away overnight."
"I know. What do you say we meet Gold and get started."
Robin, Henry, Gold, and Emma stand beside Regina inside her vault.
"I can only transport two people out once this process is started." Gold scans the three others with him. "Which one of you will be going?"
"I think Robin and I should go," Henry answers grinning at Robin with hope that he'll finally be with his mother again.
"Absolutely not!" Emma argues. "If your mother finds out that I let you do such a thing she will have my hind and my head," Emma places her hands on her waist to seem taller and extrude more authority.
"Then who else do you suggest, Mom?" Henry asks frustrated. Why can't anyone just trust him enough to know that he'll be fine, he asks himself.
"Henry!" Emma warns.
"Mom doesn't trust Grandpa and Mom doesn't like you very much right now. Out of all if us four, Robin and I are the only one in Mom's good side."
Mr. Gold snickers in the back, "I'm not very sure about the Thief here. He is the reason why we're here anyways. If he only chose her."
"That's enough!" Henry yells. "If anyone has any better ideas then tell me now, if not it's me and Robin then."
Gold and Emma exchanges looks as if telling each other to say something.
Henry and Robin are dropped on the floor with a loud thump.
"Where are we?" Henry asks observing the brown-creamed color walls.
"I believe we're in the Enchanted Forest my boy," Robin answers rubbing the back of his head that very much hit the floor.
"Mommy!"
Robin and Henry quickly turning trying to identify where the high pitched yell is coming from.
"Mommy!" They hear again.
Out in the corner by one of the pillars they see a small boy that couldn't be more than three. Soon enough they spot Regina appear behind the child.
"Boo!" Regina exclaims, obviously trying to scare the kid.
The boy releases a fit of laughter until his face turns serious and firmly states, "Mommy, hide! Hide!"
Regina crouches down to be eye level with the boy and raises an eyebrow asking for more details.
"Daddy going to find us!" he tells his mother loudly throwing his hands in the air not understanding why his mother won't take the situation as serious it was.
Henry folds his arms by his chest, "Mommy?" he asks a bit mad. No one calls his mother theirs when it's not true.
Robin beside him whispers quietly in disbelief, "Daddy?"
"Did you run away from your father again?" Regina asks.
A deep voice behind her answers for the boy, "He sure did. He was quite adamant on not learning anything unless his mother is there to watch him."
The boy giggles again.
"Is that so?" she questions the older man as she stands up.
"Mmmmhm," he responds pulling Regina by the waist closer to him. "He's quite stubborn you know. I wonder where he gets that from."
"You the bestest wider in the wold!" the kid explains completely amazed by Regina. "You the pwettiest and greatest Mommy too!" He adds as his eyes widen for emphasis.
Regina picks up the young boy in her arms. "So, I'm the greatest and bestest huh?" she asks trying to rub it in to the other man.
The boy takes his two tiny hands and hold Regina's face. "And the PWETTIEST!" he tells her as if in disbelief that she would leave that one out. "I don't need anyone else but you."
The man pretends to be in pain, holding his chest, "ouch! That one hurt my boy.;[
From afar Robin and Henry the difference in Regina. They notice the lightness in her. This is a Regina that laughs like there's nothing else important in the world.
Henry feels a sting of pain on his heart and at the pit of his stomach. "That used to be me," he whispers quietly only able drift back to the past.
Henry wakes up to kisses on his cheeks.
"Good Morning My Little Prince," his mother wakes him in the bright early morning.
Henry rubs his eyes trying to wake up. "Good Morning Mom," he replies before jolting out of the bed and into his mother's arms remembering that it was his birthday today.
Henry examines his mother's face before asking, "are you crying?"
"No. Of course not," she denies.
"Mooooommmm," he whines. "What's wrong?"
She shakes her head trying to get whatever was wrong out of her head. "I just can't believe you're nine now. I feel like just yesterday I was holding a small tiny chubby baby." She wipes a tear away from her cheek. "Sooner or later, you'll be leaving me for a girlfriend."
Henry pairs a loud shriek of "Ewwwww" with a thick disgusted look, "I will never leave you Mom. You're the best mom in the world for me."
Regina smiles and hugs her baby boy. "So what do you want to do for your special day?"
A few months later he finds a file of his adoption papers in the garage and feels completely betrayed. Another month later Ms. Blanchard gives him the book of fairytales. And with a couple more months his mother was now the Evil Queen, his only mother is the one that legitimately gave birth to him, and in a bit more his relationship with his Mother is completely tarnished.
Henry internally kicks himself. So much for never leaving her, huh.
"Why don't we go by the stable and eat together," the older man suggests.
"Yaaaaay!" The kid yells excitedly.
The three head outside together with the older man carrying the boy in his arms while holding Regina's hand with the other.
Robin nor Henry like what they're seeing, not one bit at all.
She's happy. Happy without them.
Robin and Henry watch from a corner, continuously moving around hiding from Regina.
The older man, Regina, and the small boy all sit in the living room, telling him a story.
"Once upon a time there was a lonely princess. She had everything she could ever want but nothing seemed to make her happy," Regina starts.
"Until one day, a man with a beautiful big black horse found her in a big open field filled with flowers," the older man continues.
"When she saw the man, the lonely princess was scared."
"'There's nothing to be scared of princess,' the man called out. 'Forgive me for frightening you. When I saw you I couldn't help but be entranced by your beauty. My name is Daniel,' the man introduces to the princess holding his hand up for her."
"Daniel?" The little boy asks. "Just like you Daddy!"
Robin in the far back corner perks up. No it can't be! He thinks to himself.
Regina's words from that night flow into his memory, "My first love Daniel was killed because of me, because he loved me." The night she told him they were soulmates. The same night his Marian came back. Ain't fate a bitch. Now he's watching his soulmate in the comfort of her first love just as she had when he chose Marian.
Within a few moments the child they were telling a story to is down for his nap.
"Regina, do you ever wonder what it'd be like if we never ran away?" Daniel asks. "Do you ever regret not being the Queen?"
Regina furrows her eyebrows, "Why do you ask? Do you regret it?"
He pulls Regina closer enveloping her in his warmth. "No I could never regret choosing you. I just wondered. When we were telling Xander our story, I forgot how simple you wanted our life to be. Just us as a family was always enough for you, so I wondered…"
"If having this life was worth giving up being a Queen," she continues for him.
Daniel only nods in response.
She stares at his eyes trying to formulate a proper answer. If this is the life she was supposed to have then a thousand times yes she doesn't regret a single thing, but if being Queen means she gets to have Henry then it wouldn't be so bad.
"Do you remember the night of our engagement at the stables, when you compared the life with a stable boy versus being a Queen" she asks.
"I said that life with a stable is a far cry from the life as Queen," he responds. "And you replied that being Queen means nothing because all you cared about was me," he finishes with a kiss on Regina's lips. "I love you."
"I love you, too," she responds.
The amount of times she wished to hear those words and to be able to say them back. The amount of times she wished and imagined what her life with Daniel would be. The amount of times she wanted to be enveloped in his arms just like this, to feel his warmth and soft lips again. But when the time finally came it's no longer the voice she wants to hear, the life she wants, or the arms and lips that she wants around her.
Having Daniel and Xander with her is comforting but she's not the same person that she used to be. She wasn't sweet innocent young Regina. She was the Evil Queen and no matter how much she tries to push it in the back, the pain and experienced she had as Queen will always be there. She's broken.
Henry and Robin stare at the sight in front of them.
"What if she doesn't want to come back with us?" Henry asks.
"Don't be silly Henry. I know Regina and I know for a fact that she'll choose you, she'll always choose you. You're her son."
He shakes her head in disbelief, "But just look at her Robin she's happy, so why would she want to be with us. We've hurt her so many times. I've broken her heart more times that I can count. I've left her for Emma and called her the Evil Queen. I said she wasn't my mom, so why would she come with me when she has a son here that won't turn his back on her. Why would she leave her real son, a son that is half of her."
"Henry," Robin says in disbelief. This boy has so much guilt inside of him that it breaks his heart. "I know for a fact that your mom loves you more than anything in the world. Back in the Enchanted Forest, even when you weren't there she did everything for you."
Henry wipes the few strays of tears that fell onto his cheeks.
"She loves you and don't you ever doubt that."
"But it still won't be enough to get her back. Why would she want to? She has to share me. You're married and can't be with her. Roland has his mom back. The town doesn't even accept her either. When something goes wrong their always quick to judge HER!" Accidentally yelling the last words out of frustration.
Regina's head quickly turns scanning the area. "Henry?"
Thoughts?