Chapter Eleven
Five more years came and went. Henry's tenth birthday was fast-approaching and Regina was doing her best this particular evening to find out what Henry wanted for his present. Dinnertime chats were always a family favorite.
"I want a little brother" Henry announced
Regina and Mr. Gold looked at each other in shock. They had no idea this prospect was on Henry's mind. They still hadn't told him that he was adopted. They certainly had never discussed Regina's medical problems with him either.
"Oh honey. I'm afraid that's not possible" Regina answered sympathetically
"Why not?" Henry asked
"I can't have babies" Regina answered carefully
"Sure you can" Henry argued "You had me."
Regina and Mr. Gold looked at each other again. The discussion they'd been putting off for almost ten years was now ready to be had. Neither one of them was prepared, but it was time.
"Henry, you have what's called a birth mother" said Mr. Gold "Your birth mother carried you before you came to live with us" he continued
"What does that mean"? Henry asked starting to get a little upset
"It means that my body wasn't able to carry a baby, so I had to find a different way to become a mother" Regina responded
"Why can't you have babies"? Henry asked Regina with concern
"I'm not sure exactly why" Regina answered "My body is broken" she laughed trying to lighten the mood.
Henry sat quietly for a minute. Regina and Mr. Gold could tell that he wasn't pleased with their news.
"Your birth parents were unable to care for you when you were born" Mr. Gold began to explain to Henry
"You're not my real dad"? Henry asked completely dismayed
"No, but I am your father in every way that matters my boy "Mr. Gold replied trying to assure Henry that there was nothing to worry about.
"Henry, your father and I adopted you when you were three weeks old" Regina joined in "Adoption is permanent, we will always be your parents" Mr. Gold guaranteed
Henry grew silent again. His eyes were welling up with tears.
"Why didn't my real parents want me"? He asked sadly
"It's not that they didn't want you, they just couldn't take care of you" Regina replied
"They wanted to give you your best chance, son" Mr. Gold added
Henry threw his napkin across the table and ran upstairs to his bedroom. Regina and Mr. Gold sat at the dining room table in disbelief. In one short conversation, their family was in an uproar.
A week went by and Henry was still shattered by the news of his adoption. He didn't even care to celebrate his birthday. This was the first year that he didn't have a slice of his birthday cake.
As Regina and Mr. Gold grew more worried about Henry's well-being, Regina suggested that they send him to go see Dr. Hopper, the town psychiatrist. Back in the Enchanted Forest, he was known as Jiminy Cricket.
After Henry's first appointment with Dr. Hopper, he assured Regina and Mr. Gold that what Henry was going through was normal. Every adopted child has trouble dealing with the fact that someone gave them away. He advised the nervous parents not worry and assured them that with time, Henry would return back to his old self.
Later that night Regina and Mr. Gold were lying in bed and talking. Even though Dr. Hopper had told them not to worry, Regina couldn't do anything else but worry about her son.
"He'll be fine my love" Mr. Gold said tenderly to Regina "We've raised him well, he just needs time to adjust."
"I just love him so much" Regina replied
"We both do" Mr. Gold responded as he began to spoon Regina and softly kiss her neck.
"I'm not in the mood" Regina said to Mr. Gold stopping him for a moment
"I gathered that my dear" "Allow me to get you in the mood" he said seductively as he resumed kissing her neck and rubbing the length of her legs.
As worried as Regina was about Henry, she couldn't resist her husband's advances. Even after twenty-eight years of marriage, they still craved each other.
Mr. Gold began pulling the straps of Regina's silky grey nightgown down while he still kissed her neck. He then began rubbing her nipples. This made Regina start to moan. Mr. Gold's touches were still unlike anything else she's ever experienced. Sensing that Regina was now excited, Mr. Gold proceeded to remove her nightgown. He moved his hand down between her legs and was delighted to feel that she was excited for him. He began delicately rubbing her womanhood. Regina's moans grew louder. This encounter with her husband turned out to be exactly what she desired.
"I need you inside of me" Regina groaned as she turned her head back to kiss Mr. Gold's lips. Still spooning her, Mr. Gold freed his erection from his pajamas and entered Regina. His thrusts were slow and tender, while he massaged her love button with his hand. Regina's panting let Mr. Gold know that she was in ecstasy.
"Does that feel good, your majesty"? He whispered in her ear lustfully.
Regina was too enraptured to respond. Little beads of sweat began forming on her forehead as Mr. Gold started nibbling his way down her neck and shoulders.
"Come for me" he commanded as his thrusts slowly grew more powerful.
The mere sound of Mr. Gold's sultry voice brought Regina to orgasm. She turned her head back once again and kissed her husband passionately. Mr. Gold quickened his thrusts and held Regina tightly as he achieved his own climax. They both fell asleep completely satisfied.
The next day at school, Henry's teacher, Miss Blanchard, noticed that he was troubled. Miss Blanchard's identity back in the Enchanted Forest was Snow White. The woman that Regina spent practically a lifetime hating was now teaching her son. After class Miss Blanchard asked Henry if everything was OK. He explained to her that his parents recently told him that he was adopted. Miss Blanchard told Henry that being adopted was nothing to be unhappy about. He was a lucky little boy who had a great life and two parents that loved him. Henry still seemed disheartened.
That night, before she went to bed, Miss Blanchard came across an elaborate storybook that she had never seen before in her bedroom closet. After glancing through the book for a few minutes, she knew that this book would be perfect for Henry. All of the stories in the book had one common element…hope.
The next day, during lunch, Miss Blanchard gave the storybook to Henry and suggested that he read it. Henry wasn't sold on the idea that a book of fairy tales was the answer to his problems. Miss Blanchard explained to him that all of these stories were about hope. Hope was what he needed right now. He also needed to believe in his parents, because they loved him very much.
"Why didn't my birth mother love me"? Henry asked distraughtly
"She did love you Henry" Miss Blanchard replied "That's why she gave away, so you could have the best life possible."
Henry took the book home with him. He ran up to his room immediately after school and began reading it page by page. He instantly felt a connection to the stories and the characters. He analyzed the book every day for about a week, when suddenly he created a notion in his head that these stories were real and so were all of the characters in them. Henry convinced himself that the residents of Storybrooke were cursed fairy tale characters who didn't know who they really were. Worst of all, Henry was certain that his mother was the Evil Queen, the woman who cast the curse!
One afternoon, Henry went through Miss Blanchard's purse after class and stole her credit card. He took the credit card home with him so that he could find out who his birth mother was on a website. Henry gasped when he saw his birth mother's first name, Emma. That was the name of the savior in his book! The savior could break the curse in Storybrooke.
Henry wrote down all of Emma's information on a piece of notebook paper and snuck out of his house. He headed to the bus station with that piece of paper and Miss Blanchard's credit card.
As the sun began to set in Storybrooke, Henry was on a bus headed to Boston. He was on a mission to find his real mom and break the curse!