Chapter Twelve
While Henry was on a bus half way to Boston, Regina was frantically searching the house for him! She scoped out every inch of both the upstairs and the downstairs levels. She even searched the yard hoping to find her son.
Coming to the frightening realization that Henry was nowhere to be found, she called Mr. Gold and asked if he'd seen or spoken to Henry. He had not.
"Henry is missing"! She panicked "Please come home"! Regina pleaded as her hands shook.
"I'm on my way" Mr. Gold replied trying to stay calm "I'll keep my eyes peeled for him on the drive home."
Not being the type of woman who could just sit around and wait, Regina called the only other person she could think of to help in a situation like this, Sheriff Graham. Sheriff Graham assured Regina that he would comb the streets looking for Henry. He also asked Regina to get a recent photo of Henry ready so that he could show it to people.
The Sheriff arrived at the Mills-Gold residence quickly. Regina handed him the picture of Henry and started breaking down. The idea that something bad could have happened to her son was more than she could take. Graham embraced Regina and tried to convince her that Henry would be located safe and sound.
Just as Regina found comfort in Graham's arms, Mr. Gold walked in the door.
"Shouldn't you be out looking for my son, Sheriff"? Mr. Gold asked heatedly
"I'm on my way, Mr. Gold, I was just trying to calm Mrs. Gold down" Graham replied nervously
"I'm her husband that's my job" Mr. Gold retorted "Now go do yours"! He ordered
That being said, Sheriff Graham took Henry's picture and ventured back into town to find Henry.
"My my my Regina, it seems old habits die hard" Mr. Gold snarled
"What the hell are talking about"? Regina asked puzzled
"Well, it took some time but I see you've found your way back into our noble sheriff's arms" Mr. Gold replied irritably
"Our son is missing"! Regina shouted "Henry is the only thing on my mind right now."
"I hope so" Mr. Gold said to Regina as he walked towards her and grabbed her left hand
"It would pain me to think that you've forgotten who you belong to" he continued as he shoved the wedding rings on her finger in her face.
Regina's face turned pale. She had not seen this side of Mr. Gold since the beginning of the curse. She'd forgotten how terrifying he could be when he was angry!
"I haven't forgotten anything" she said precariously "I just want to find Henry."
"As do I" Mr. Gold agreed "I'll forgive this one mistake, but as I told you many years ago, Sheriff Graham is not to be in this house when I am not"
"You don't have to worry about Graham" Regina interjected
"Indeed I don't" Mr. Gold agreed "He should be worried about me however" he continued with a look in his eyes that Regina hadn't seen in twenty-eight years.
Meanwhile, back in Boston, Henry was in a taxi cab headed to Emma's apartment. When he arrived, he paid the driver with Miss Blanchard's credit card. Henry made his way into the building and knocked on Emma's door. She was shocked when she opened her door and saw a ten year old boy!
"Are you Emma Swan"? Henry asked
"Yeah, who are you"? Emma asked guardedly
"I'm your son" Henry replied merrily
Once Emma let Henry in, he began telling her that he was the baby boy she gave up for adoption ten years ago. He then pleaded with her to come home with him to Storybrooke, Maine. Emma reluctantly agreed and they got in her car and began the four-hour drive back to Storybrooke. Shortly into the trip back, Henry began to show Emma his book. He explained to her that all the people in the book were real and all the stories in the book actually happened. Emma couldn't believe what she was hearing and couldn't wait to get Henry back home.
When they finally arrived in Storybrooke, Henry refused to give Emma his home address. Emma got out of the car and slammed the door. While Henry and Emma were standing in the street talking, Dr. Hopper spotted Henry and asked him why he missed his therapy session. Henry lied and said he was on a field trip. Dr. Hopper proceeded to caution Henry about lying and gave Emma Henry's address. Emma was even more stunned when Dr. Hopper told her that Henry's mother was the mayor! Emma immediately ordered Henry to get back in the car and she drove him home.
Emma's eyes grew large when she pulled up to the impressive white mansion. She got out of the car and escorted Henry up the long walkway. Before they could get to the front door, Regina came running out of the house calling Henry's name!
"Are you OK"? "Where have you been"? Regina asked frantically as she hugged Henry
"I found my real mom" Henry replied belligerently as he ran past Regina and Mr. Gold, who was standing in the doorway.
"You're Henry's birth mother"? Regina asked perplexed
"Hi" Emma responded not sure what else to say.
Mr. Gold went upstairs to talk to Henry while Regina invited Emma into their home. Regina offered Emma a glass of apple cider but Emma wanted something a little stronger. As Regina and Emma headed into the study with their drinks, Mr. Gold came downstairs to introduce himself and join the conversation.
"So nice to meet you Miss…" Mr. Gold began
"Emma" Emma replied "Emma Swan."
As soon as Emma spoke her name Mr. Gold knew exactly who she was. He had built her name into the curse to be a trigger for him so that he would know exactly who she was. Emma was the savior. Henry managed to bring the savior to Storybrooke so that she could break the curse! Mr. Gold felt dizzy. One part of him was happy because a broken curse meant finding Baelfire, but another part of him was worried because a broken curse could mean another shattered family.
"I'm so sorry Henry dragged you out of your life" Regina apologized to Emma
"He's been having such a rough time with the fact that he's adopted" Mr. Gold added
"It happens" Emma replied frankly "That's probably why he's so fascinated with that storybook."
"What book"? Regina asked
"You the know the book with all the fairy tales, he thinks everyone is a character from the book" Emma laughed
"What"? Mr. Gold asked in disbelief
"Tonight he told me his shrink was Jiminy Cricket" Emma elaborated
"I really have no idea what you're talking about" Regina replied
"Don't worry about it" Emma replied nonchalantly "He's your kid and I really should be going."
"Of course" Mr. Gold responded as he got up to show Emma the way out
"Thank you for getting Henry home safely" Regina said appreciatively to Emma as they made their way down the long walkway
"No problem" Emma replied "You what's kind of crazy"? She asked "Today is my birthday and right after I blew out the candle on this cupcake I bought myself, Henry showed up."
"Why is that crazy"? Mr. Gold asked not seeing the point
"I actually made a wish" Emma answered "I wished that I didn't have to be alone on my birthday."
"I always knew Henry was special" Mr. Gold responded with a smile on his face "Happy Birthday."
"How old are you"? Regina asked jokingly "The records were sealed so we really don't know anything about you."
"I'm twenty-eight" Emma answered
When Regina heard how old Emma was her blood turned cold. There was no way that a strange woman coming to Storybrooke on her twenty-eighth birthday was a coincidence. Contrary to what Mr. Gold thought, Regina did remember his warnings that Snow White and Prince Charming's daughter could break the curse. Regina was starting to feel sick with worry. All she wanted was for Emma to be gone.
"Happy Birthday, Miss Swan" Regina said to Emma trying to smile and maintain her composure "Please drive safely."
Henry watched from his bedroom window as Emma drove off in her car. As Emma's car approached the town line, she noticed that Henry left his book on her passenger seat.
"Sneaky bastard" she mumbled to herself as she looked up and saw a wolf in the road. Emma swerved to avoid hitting the wolf but instead smashed into the "Welcome to Storybrooke" sign. Emma hit her head during the crash. She ended up on the side of the road, slumped over the steering wheel unconscious.