In the Lonely Hour
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Chapter Twelve: It Only Takes a Moment
There wasn't a question in her mind about what needed to be done. It didn't matter to her that he didn't remember her. All that mattered was that there were flying monkeys roaming around Storybrooke and wisking people away, and she would die before she let her son be one of them.
Her laser focus was disrupted by the passing reflection she saw in the mirror. She stopped, carefully combing through her hair and pulling back into place the strands that always found themselves straying. She took a deep breath, knowing her stubborn will wouldn't protect her from how difficult today would be. It was easier to protect her son today than it was to protect herself, and it would always be more important. She broke away from the mirror, heading for the door.
When she made it to the Charming's apartment, she took a deep breath before opening the door. She didn't bother knocking. Snow greeted her with a smile, and Emma instantly began asking her questions about the mythology of flying monkeys and the Wicked Witch. If she'd admit it, it amused her that Emma thought she knew everything about magic, even flying monkeys. The truth was, she knew as much about flying monkeys as anyone else who had seen the Wizard of Oz.
She hadn't watched it until Henry was nine years old. He asked to watch it, but before she agreed to a movie night, she stayed up late one night to watch the movie before her prince. She wasn't sure what it was about, but she knew, better than anyone, that witches and magic could be scary. She needed to be sure. Even after a conversation about what to expect, he was a bit spooked by the Wicked Witch. She remembered how he asked to sleep with her that night, and as much as she hated the thought of him being afraid, she relished being able to comfort him. Soon after, Henry would start to ask questions about his adoption. She wondered back then if the stories they read together and the movies they watched together had been how he pieced together his perception of her. To him, she was Volemort or the Wicked Witch. She was just another villain who was incapable of love. Regina always found it unfortunate that any person could be painted in such a limiting light, no colors or texture just flat and one-dimensional.
"So now that we know who we are dealing with, how do we find this Wicked Witch?" Charming seemed as eager and determined as always.
"Might I suggest we start by asking if anyone has seen a woman with green skin running around," Hook chimed in.
Regina often wondered how Hook got in from the rain, much less survive as many close encounters with death as he had. "We're cursed in Storybrooke. She'll look like any one of us." She could hardly hide her annoyance.
"Let's start somewhere we know she's been, Regina's office," Emma offered up.
"I went over it with a fine tooth comb. She left no trace."
"But you were combing for magic, maybe there's physical evidence that you missed."
"Good idea. We'll track her," Charming agreed.
"If you want to waste your time playing Nancy Drew, then be my guest. But, we can't let Henry wander around alone with that Witch and her flying monkeys out there," Regina did her best to redirect everyone.
"Especially since one of those flying monkeys could turn out to be his father." Hook was always well-timed.
"Still no sign of Neal?" Snow asked.
"No," Emma told her.
"Point being, someone needs to protect Henry. He doesn't even know what is going on," Regina interrupted them.
"I'm guessing that you are volunteering?"
"If you find anything, then call me," Regina told her starting for the door.
"Just remember, he thinks we're here because I'm on a case."
"Well, look whose gotten good at lying," Regina knew where this was headed.
"Just don't let anyone slip up. As far as Henry knows, you're just Madam Mayor and that's it."
"I'm well aware of how Henry sees me." The pain rose in Regina's chest, but she turned to leave before any more could be spoken about it. Henry may not remember who she is, but that wouldn't stop her from being his mother.
It wasn't until she reached the door of the diner that she realized she did not have much in the way of a game plan for the day, but this was her son. She would figure it out.
"Henry?" She barely recognized her own voice; it was timid and shy.
The boy looked up from his book, smiling back at her with wide eyes. "Good Morning, Madam Mayor." His tone was exactly what she would expect from a child speaking to someone they barely knew. It was formal and clearly a bit distracted.
"What are you reading?" She took a seat beside him, fighting the urge to nudge her shoulder into his.
"Harry Potter," he smiled. "It's the Half-Blood Prince."
"Haven't you already read that one?" She couldn't stop the words, and out of the gate, her one-sided ease with him was betraying her attempts to keep up the ruse.
He looked over at her, ready to question how she knew, but before he could, she finished, "I mean, hasn't everyone?"
"You've read Harry Potter?" His smile made her stomach flip. There it was, the smile she had seen a million times.
"Sure, I have." She turned to look for Granny, hoping to distract herself with coffee. "So, I talked to Emma, and she said it was," she paused, "Well, I would like to spend the day with you if that is alright." She waited, silently praying that he would say yes.
"Oh, where's my mom?"
She hoped he hadn't seen her breath hitch at his question, "She's working on her case today, and she asked me to keep an eye on you, not that you need a babysitter." She smiled at him.
She secretly hoped that he would suddenly remember her, that her voice or her smile would have the magic effect of sparking his memory. If ever she longed for one of those unexplainable moments, it was now. She wanted more than anything for her love to be enough to bring him back home.
Henry's eyes brightened, "You did promise me ice cream."
For a moment, she felt the familiarity of family, his quick wit and her inability to keep from being amused by his antics for ice cream.
"Ice cream sounds wonderful, after lunch that is," she added that last bit after a beat and watched as the boy responded just as he always had to her, with a solemn nod of his head as if they had found the terms of a peace treaty.
"Deal."
They sat for a while, enjoying their breakfast. Regina expended all of her recollections on the Half-Blood Prince and prayed that she wasn't overdoing it with conversation. Henry, though, would get so lost in telling her about the book that he didn't notice her anxiety at all, the tentative way she asked him questions or how she stole moments to just watch him. She could see Emma and Neal in him, undoubtedly, but she mostly saw herself in him. His hands moved expressively while he talked, much in the same way that hers do when she is lost in conversation. The rhythm of his words sounded all too familiar to her. They spoke on the same beats and found humor in the same things. She let herself forget for a moment that he didn't remember staying up all night finishing The Half-Blood Prince together; she just enjoyed the sound of his voice and felt for a moment that she was whole again.
"So, whereto now? Can I make some kind of decree or give someone a speeding ticket?" He kept a straight face, knowing neither was likely but still willing to give either a try.
Regina finished the last sip of her coffee, a drop falling down her chin when she laughed at his request. "I let the police department handle speeding tickets, but the decree might be worth a shot," she winked.
After making sure Emma was done super-sleuthing, the two of them headed to her office. She didn't want to bore him to death, but she did need to finish up a few things before lunch.
"This looks like a room from a magazine," he told her as he looked around her office.
She took a seat at her desk while he plundered through the office, giving special attention to the various trinkets throughout the room.
"You must really like horses."
"I loved them when I was about your age. I rode all the time."
"But not any more," he asked turning to her.
She smiled and held up the papers she was working on, "Not much time for it with all of these to do." It hung in the air, a much deeper story to be told.
"I saved up my allowance once, and I took my mom on a carriage ride through Central Park for her birthday. That's as close to horses as we've been being in the city."
Regina stopped writing, touched—but not surprised—by how thoughtful of a gesture that had been. "Maybe while you are here you can find your way out to the stables. I'm sure you'd love it."
"Well, maybe you could take me."
This time, Regina kept her head down, fighting the threatening tears. She swallowed, "That would be lovely, Henry."
They left it there, but the promise of another day spent together made her heart leap.
A few hours passed, the two of them in the office. He busied himself with the next level on his Gameboy while Regina finished budget reports. The sound of jumping and clashing and animated music filled the room, and to Regina, it was the most wonderful sound she had heard in a year.
She looked at the clock on the wall, "How about we take a break for lunch? Your thumbs must be exhausted from saving the world," she teased.
He shot up from his seat, matching her steps to the diner.
"Hey, mom." Henry noticed Emma sitting at a table with Snow and Charming.
"Hey! So, how's your first day in politics going?"
Regina came over to the table, standing behind Henry.
"It's great. Have you ever been to the Mayor's office? It looks like those rooms from your magazines."
Emma laughed, "You think so? It's definitely dramatic."
Regina rolled her eyes, before taking the seat next to Snow. "Any progress," she asked.
"They found traces of berry on the floor in your office," Snow turned to her while the others were chatting, Henry about his latest level of Zelda.
"Berry? Well, I'm glad the trip didn't prove fruitless," she smirked at her own joke.
"How's the day been?"
Regina sighed, giving Snow a half-hearted smile, "It's been good." Snow patted Regina's arm, knowing it must have been a sublime mix of idyllic and torturous for her.
They ate fairly quickly, and soon, Regina and Henry were left to their own devices again, standing in front of the ice cream counter as promised. Ingrid, the ice cream shop owner, greeted them with a kind smile and commented on how the chill in the air should never discourage someone from indulging in a bit of ice cream.
"Chocolate ice cream in a waffle cone, please," Regina told the woman.
Henry smiled at her again, "You must be psychic!"
She laughed, quickly changing the subject. "Do you want to walk down to the lake? There is a nice park close by."
"Yeah. That sounds great."
They walked along the sidewalk, as they had done many times before. Henry asked about some of the buildings they passed, and Regina pointed out their house along the way. Henry stopped for a moment, taking in the home. She held her breath, again hoping that it would remind him of their life together. He kept staring and looked over the tree in the front yard, the one with the tire swing hanging from it. Regina didn't move; she didn't want to break the trance he was under, but the moment was fleeting. Before she knew it, they were continuing along the path, and she was thanking him for the compliments he paid the house.
Just around the corner, they found the entrance to the park. The lake was eerily busy despite the cool air, geese and ducks populating it. A few people wandered about jogging, walking dogs, or sprawled against a tree reading, but for the better part of their time in the park, it was just the two of them. This was something they had done often when he was young. In fact, his first steps were taken one afternoon as they picnicked by the lake. A duck waddled up to convince Regina to share their meal, and Henry fearlessly toddled toward it. She startled him with her excitement, and when he turned to smile back at her, he fell backward onto the ground. Regina swooped him up in her arms and told him how proud she was of him before setting him firmly back on his feet.
Regina loved being a mother. Every moment they shared together was equally new and exciting for them both. She tried hard to be everything for him that her mother had not been for her. She was kind and patient; she read endless books on parenting, and she filled the house with music and art and new experiences. Most importantly, she showered him in love, attention, and acceptance. They were happy, until suddenly they weren't.
"The ice cream good?"
"Delicious," he told her. "My mom used to take me for gelato in Little Italy, but this is just as good."
"Well, Storybrooke has its own charms. Though, I know it must seem quaint compared to the big city."
"It's nice actually. New York is great, but there's so many people. It can make you feel," he stopped looking for the right word.
"Alone," she finished. She knew what it felt like to feel lonely in a crowd, or better yet, in a castle full of people.
"Yeah," he looked at her thankful to her for completing his sentence.
"Hmm… Yeah. That's the best part a small town. Everybody knows everybody. It's like," she thought for a second, hesitant to say, "It's like a big family."
She could see that Henry was considering something she said for a moment, then he started, "Can I tell you something?"
"Sure," Regina tried not to sound too eager.
"I don't think it was just the case that brought my mom to Storybrooke."
She scrambled for words, "Umm… What do you mean?"
"I think she wanted to get out of New York for a while."
"Why, why do you think that?"
"My mom's boyfriend—his name was Walsh—he proposed to her."
"Oh," this was news to Regina. She was honestly a bit surprised, knowing that Snow would have told her if Emma had offered up the news.
"And, two days later, she's taking me out of school for some job in Maine. She wouldn't take a job in Queens if it meant I'd miss school."
Part of Regina felt that she owed Emma; Emma had clearly been a wonderful parent to their son in her absence. She smiled, "What do you think happened?"
"I don't know, but I doubt that we would be here if she had said yes."
"And, how do you feel about it?" She went into what felt natural, mothering him. "Did you like him? This Walsh?"
"I liked how happy he made her. Plus, it might be nice to have more than two place setting during the holidays."
Regina felt for the first time that Henry could possibly feel the void of his missing memories. "I think one day you'll have more family than you know what to do with."
"You think so?"
"I really do," she smiled, and they continued their way down the path.
"Do you have any family here," his question was unexpected, but the obvious next step in their conversation. Her face went a bit white, and her eyes shot to the grassy area near the lake. Regina felt satisfied with how well she had kept her emotions and motherly habits to herself today, but Henry's question shook her.
"Oh, I'm sorry. My mom says that I can be a bit," he searched for the word, "forthright at times. I just saw the tire swing in your yard and wondered."
She quickly found resolve, "Who says that I don't enjoy an occasional swing out there?" Regina smiled, hoping she could pull off sincerity.
"Well, I think you'd be a great mom," he told her in the casual way children sometimes do. Of course, he didn't know quite know the weight of his statement, but he was genuine.
She forced a weak smile, and for the first time that day, she didn't stop herself from reaching out to touch him, placing a hand on his shoulder as if to convince him of her next statement. "That means a lot to me," and she left it at that.
As they made their way back into town, Regina's phone buzzed in her pocket.
"Emma?"
"Something has happened to David. How fast can you get to Granny's?"
She tried to sound composed for Henry's sake, "We're just around the corner. I will see you in a few minutes." She smiled at him, "Your mom needs my help with something, so how about we get you back to Zelda?"
After safely depositing Henry at Granny's, Regina found Emma and Hook waiting for her outside.
"Where is Snow," Regina asked as she sat down in the Bug.
"At the loft. I told her to stay put," Emma said hurriedly.
Emma flew through town, until they come to a break in the trees. They didn't know what they were running in to, but they were all prepared for a fight. This Witch would eventually show her face.
"David? Are you okay?" Emma was the first one to reach him.
He nodded in response, clearly exhausted by whatever happened.
"Well, where is she," Regina asked him.
"It wasn't her."
"Then who was it? You look whiter than a fresh sail," Hook spouted.
"Myself," David told him.
"Come again?"
The pieces fell into place quickly for Regina, "It's the witch. She's toying with us."
"Did you guys find where she might be hiding?"
Hook and Emma looked at one another, "A farmhouse. We think its hers."
"Then, let's end this," David told them with a nod of affirmation from Regina. "Let's send that witch back to Oz."
When Regina made it home late that night, she sat in her study nursing what she felt to be a well-deserved whiskey. She tilted the glass, swirling the liquid around and around. She had not made it into her bedroom to change yet, still in the same clothes she wore throughout the day. She mulled over the day's events, meticulously sorting through the puzzle pieces and working to find their place.
Rumple was alive.
Regina couldn't help but feel a bit of pleasure in this knowledge. As much as she shouldn't, she was glad to know he was not dead just yet. But how? She knew better than to seriously ask that question considering the man she had come to know. For better or worse, he would always find a way to survive. Besides, if he were to die, she would want it to be on her terms.
The Witch.
She had been hiding in plain site. They still did not know who she was or what she wanted. All Regina knew was that she had Charming's courage. Totems were incredibly powerful, but what could the Wicked Witch be planning with a symbol of courage and a chunk of missing time?
Henry.
She did the best she could to push his question from her mind, "Do you have family here?" She couldn't concentrate on finding the solution if she let herself get lost in the ache she felt. So, she channeled everything she felt, that ache building into rage at this Witch.
Her sleep was even more fitful than usual that night, a medley of experience and perception. She woke several times throughout the night, always going directly back into the image of the darkened halls of her castle. The dreams weren't entirely upsetting, though; she heard unfamiliar voices echoing within the halls, saw mirrors with reflections of her younger self, and images of a standing lion painted on every door. She woke up the next morning even more perplexed than the night before.
Emma called early that next morning, asked Regina to meet her at Granny's before it opened. It felt like they were making progress, and they didn't need to lose momentum now. Regina beat everyone else to the meeting, even Emma. Granny was wiping down tables when she saw Regina walking up to the door.
"Let me guess. My coffee is so good that you can't wait until we open for a cup?" Granny questioned her dryly as she unlocked the door.
"Hardly," was Regina's immediate response, but she held her tongue any further, knowing that the old wolf wouldn't give her a cup if she expounded. "Emma asked me to meet her here." Regina came in and found a seat at one of the tables closest to the kitchen.
Granny soon sat a large cup of coffee on the table and offered an exaggerated, "Your Majesty," sitting down across from the younger woman.
The two sat in silence for a bit focused on their coffee. Regina reprimanded herself for not intentionally delaying her arrival; she should have known Emma would be late.
Regina considered her question for a moment before asking awkwardly, "When you were a wolf, you blacked out? Did you ever dream about things that happened? Maybe, have a dream that felt more like a memory?"
Granny stopped what she was doing. "Occasionally. It's hard to tell though, fact from fiction." She took a long look at the Queen, "Why?"
Before Regina could skillfully avoid Granny's question, the door flung open with Snow and Charming making their way in. She was thankful for the interruption. Within the span of just a few minutes, Hook and Emma both showed up to the diner. As quickly as the conversation began, it was over, and Regina was out the door for the farmhouse.
She knew the place was inundated with dark magic; she could feel it growing stronger as she walked closer to the house. Even for the former Evil Queen, there was an eerie cloud of darkness that shrouded the place; it made goose bumps prickle up on her arms, not from fear but from sheer anticipation. She wanted nothing more than to casually meet this Witch, but Regina could tell the difference between embodied dark magic and residual dark magic. This Witch was long gone. Resigned to her unproductive effort, she turned toward her car, but her steps were interrupted by the sound of movement near the house.
"Show yourself you winged-freak!" She could use a nice sparring match today. Only, it wasn't a flying monkey. The only thing flying was the arrow that nearly took off her head. Her quick reflexes were matched only by her quick temper in the moment. She stood holding the arrow in hand, a man moving from behind her car.
"Apologies, milady. I thought you were the Wicked Witch," he told her.
"And, I thought you were a flying monkey," her tone clearly agitated.
"I do hope my mistake hasn't cost me my head, your majesty," he said as he tipped his head to her.
"So, you know who I am?"
"Your reputation in the Enchanted Forest precedes you." As he made his way to her, she noticed that he was certainly not a flying monkey, the farthest thing from it perhaps.
"I didn't catch your name."
"Robin of Locksley, at your service," he told her, offering his hand.
Instead of giving him the satisfaction, she simply dropped the arrow in his out-stretched hand, "A thief."
"Well since we are tossing around labels, aren't you technically known as the Evil Queen?" He wouldn't be outdone, showing his fiery spirit matched hers.
"I prefer Regina," she conceded. "You think you can bring down the Wicked Witch with sticks?"
"Well, I'm certainly going to try." His naïve gallantry amused her.
"I'm afraid we're too late; she's long gone."
"Well, perhaps she left a trail."
"I was hoping the same thing."
"Well then, you've got yourself a partner," he told her confidently.
She turned toward the house, "I don't remember asking for one."
"You didn't."
He was from the Enchanted Forest; he hadn't lived in Storybrooke spare the last few weeks, yet he was willing to accompany a woman who he knew as the Evil Queen. She was intrigued.
"Just don't get in my way."
"I wouldn't dream of it."
It hit her, hard. Familiarity.
"Have, have we met before?" She couldn't stop herself from asking.
"I doubt I would ever forget meeting you," he smirked. "Unless, of course, it was during that pesky year no one can recall," he mentioned, walking past her. There it was again, familiarity. Only, this time, it was the vestige of tobacco and honey as he passed that pulled her head to the side in curiosity. "All the more reason to find this Witch. Perhaps she can offer insight into our lost memories."
Regina turned to follow Robin into the house, even though she knew it would be a useless endeavor in terms of finding the Witch. She couldn't break the feeling of affinity she felt toward this stranger. She wasn't sure what it was about this man; she couldn't quite put her finger on it, but the way he looked at her startled her. There was no underlying fear, no question of her motives, and she couldn't reason that away as being due to Henry or his experience of her in this town. If she weren't mistaken, he seemed to be quite happy to be near her. It was a strange sensation for Regina. He made his way around the house, looking in each room before making enough space for her to pass in the doorway. Regina stopped their progress in the kitchen, feeling a particularly strong force within the room. Not only had the Witch been here, but she brought Rumple here as well. She could feel his signature on the room as if it were wallpaper.
Regina fumbled through the jars filled with harmless herbs and spices. "Nothing useful here," she offered, trying to work despite the audience. "Hmm… Unfortunately."
"So, none of these contain magical properties?"
"Well, a good witch covers her tracks," she rounded the table, intentionally brushing her shoulder to his in the process, "but a better one can uncover them." He was like a moth to a flame, and not only did she notice, but she was invigorated by it. It had been a long time, if ever, since a man looked at her the way Robin was now. A bold attraction. "We'll find her; just be patient." It would seem they had some unspoken rule to draw this search out as long as possible, neither complaining at the unproductiveness the effort so far. She knew he was continuing to watch her, but she couldn't have predicted what he would say next.
"You know, I've heard many stories about the great and terrible Evil Queen," he started as she filed through the jars, "but from this angle, the evil moniker sounds a bit of an overstatement. Bold and audacious, perhaps, but not evil." Regina couldn't stop the smile forcing its way to her lips, and when she turned, he was there, blue eyes locked on her.
She wouldn't let herself fall into them though. She went straight to the only way she knew to respond to compliments, with a queen like voice. "The name served me well. Fear is quite an effective tool." She expected him to back down, to be intimidated by her response, but he bucked tradition. Robin stepped into her, not away from her. Where she expected trepidation, she was met with nerve. She surprised herself at her willingness to allow him into her space, but something about him urged her to remain planted, her lips even subconsciously preparing for a moment of impact. Her heart raced wildly, as the faint smell of tobacco and honey once again flooded her senses. He bypassed her, reaching for a bottle of whiskey on the top shelf. When he pulled back, it was barely enough space to pull the bottle up to her hands.
"What about this? Is this magical?"
It took her a moment, maybe half a moment, to remember he meant the bottle, "Not exactly, but it is a liquid that can conjure courage, give strength, or…" her eyes twinkled a bit, "even act as a love potion of sorts." She was teasing him intentionally at this point. "It's called whiskey, and no, it's not magical, especially the next day."
"Ahh," it fell into place for him, and he grabbed the lingering glasses above her.
"You want to have a drink? Now?"
"Well, in the last few days, we've survived a curse, woken up in an entirely new realm, and forgotten a year of our lives. I'd say we deserve it. Wouldn't you?" By the time he turned to offer her share of the whiskey, Regina made sure every hair was in place and every wrinkle was smoothed away. She smiled girlishly at him, reaching to take the glass from his hand.
Earlier in the day, when she asked Granny about recalling memories, she hadn't expected to receive an answer from an oddly familiar stranger in a farmhouse, but in an instant, fact and fiction dramatically parted ways as her eyes connected with the ink on his wrist. Tinkerbelle, Cora, pixie dust, lion tattoos, and soulmates. This was him. She was standing before the faceless man, her soulmate.
"Is something wrong," he asked.
She did the only thing she knew to do; she ran, leaving him standing in the kitchen with two glasses in hand. She didn't stop to think how ironic it was, and she certainly did not wait around outside to meet with the man whose footsteps she could hear following her out the door. Regina made it to her car, hearing her name being faintly called from the porch of the house, and there was a moment, right before she started the ignition to her car that she hesitated. She looked back, Robin standing at the railing of the porch, and she wondered whether this was some trick of fate or the Witch. Or worse, had she just walked away again from a chance at happiness? Regina turned the key, accepting that this couldn't possibly be real.
If someone asked her, she couldn't tell him or her anything about the drive back into town. It was a blur of forest and tattoos, her mind swirling faster than the car's wheels. When the car came to a stop near Granny's, no one was more surprised at her location than Regina. She sat in the car long enough for the chill from outside to replace the lingering heat from the car's heater. She lost herself in her thoughts, an attempt to make sense of all that had just taken place.
Was this real?
Regina's first thought, after the initial shock, was it had to be the Witch's trickery. She had stolen Charming's courage, and maybe this was her next play. Her mother once found out about the fairy's prediction, so maybe this Witch had too. Tinkerbelle clearly had a big mouth.
Even if it was real, she knew nothing about this man or whether or not she believed Tinkerbelle's ramblings.
When she was taken to meet her soulmate, Regina was at a point in her life where she was desperate for a chance at happiness. She wanted to believe it was possible, that anything other than her current hell as Queen was possible. Now, life had further beaten into submission, teaching her that hope was weakening. However familiar Robin felt, she didn't know this man, and the likelihood of the prophecy being true was, let's face it, slim to none considering her gambler's luck. It was a risk she wasn't willing to take.
A light knock on the window startled her, the slight jump and the quick inhale as unavoidable proof.
"Henry," she said breathlessly as she rolled down the window.
"Hey, I was wondering if you'd seen my mom," he asked her, oblivious to the moment he just interrupted.
"Umm… She isn't back yet? I thought she would be here."
"No. I asked Granny, but she isn't here. I went fishing with Leroy today, and I wanted to show her some of the pictures."
"Leroy, huh? How was that," Regina asked, but her tone indicated she already knew the answer.
"Fine," he smiled politely, but his raised eyebrows led into, "He's a bit, well, grumpy, but he knows the best fishing spots. Or, so he said."
She laughed a bit at him, again seeing herself in him. "Well, you can show me. I was just headed inside," she lied, but thought of it as a harmless one considering it would buy her a few moments with her son. "I'll get us some hot chocolate, and we can wait for Emma." If anything, Henry was the antidote to her cynicism.
"Sure. Hot chocolate sounds great!" He backed up, letting her out of the car, and they made their way into the diner.
Regina let herself breath in the moment, recognizing the normalcy there was in sitting here with Henry and having hot chocolate. They looked at blurry pictures of fish from the lake and the occasional picture of Leroy mid-sentence. She had to stop herself from telling him she wanted a copy of the picture of him holding up a big fish, but she made a mental note to ask Emma. Regina did her best to be present and soak in her time with Henry, but in the back of her mind was Robin and his lion tattoo.
"Is there a bookstore in town?"
"Of course, albeit a small one, but what book are you looking to buy?" She loved how much he loved reading. When he was young, she thought he would one day be a writer because he loved stories so much.
"The Deathly Hallows."
"Oh, you've finished your book already?"
"Yeah. It's my favorite of the series."
"Well, I have a copy at my house. I could bring it to you tomorrow, if you like."
"You don't mind?"
Regina thought of how ironic it was that he would be borrowing his own copy of the book. "Not at all. You said the one you finished is your favorite?" Before today, he always claimed the final two books as his favorites, refusing to choose between them.
"Yeah," he was back to flipping through the pictures on his phone, "I really like the last two books, but I realized that Half-Blood Prince is really when Snape becomes a true hero."
She looked up at him, and he kept going despite his distraction with his phone. "I mean, maybe it is the fact that I know how it ends now, but Snape was really a hero the entire time. I kind of wish he could have had a happy ending, though. He could have done the wrong thing, but he didn't. He kind of deserved a chance at a happy ending, don't you think?" He finally looked up and was met with Regina hanging on his every word.
"Yes. I agree," she smiled, more proud of him than he could ever comprehend.
"I think I am going to head upstairs. I smell like a mixture of fish and Leroy."
Regina laughed again at his wit, "Well, I will bring you that book tomorrow."
"Okay. Thanks again for the hot chocolate," and he was out of the diner and up the stairs.
She'd made the mistake of walking away from happiness before. She'd also been defiant against the possibility, especially after Cora returned from Wonderland. Fear, defiance. Whatever the reason, the only love she had ever been able to hold on to was her son's, and even that was a bumpy road. With the heavy weight of guilt she carried, she wasn't sure she could ever convince herself that she deserved a chance at a happy ending, but Henry, even when he couldn't remember her story, believed that everyone deserved a chance at happiness. Who was she to question his believer's heart?
As she approached the clearing in the woods, her steps were tentative. Even with Henry's unconscious convincing, she was still afraid of who she would find. All Regina knew was that she needed to see for herself if he was real. Was this the man she walked away from all those years ago?
She didn't have a plan and had no intentions of speaking with Robin, but as she neared his camp, she heard the sound of laughter filling the air. It was a small child; she recognized the sound a parent playing with their child. She was careful not to reveal herself at first, peering into their world. A father and son. He lifted the boy high in the air, wild cackles emitting from both of them. She felt somewhat like prey being lured into a trap. Fear still threatened her, reminding her of all the experiences she's had with hope. She took step after step toward him, not noticing the abandonment of the tree line's coverage, enchanted by what she was witnessing. His eyes lifted to her, finally catching sight of Regina. He hugged his son, but his attention was drawn to the woman standing in the forest's edge. His eyes met hers, and she felt as if he could see all of her fear and her hope. Even with the camp standing between them, it felt like an intimate moment between just the two of them; it was the sensation of seeing a close friend across a crowded room. It wasn't his watching that caused her to disappear in a cloud of smoke; it was the gentle smile that broke across his face.
