Thanksgiving that year was a bit dampened, if only for the fact it was exactly two weeks after the birth and death of Regina's baby. She still took Henry to see Emma, though. It was something they had done the previous year, and it had been one of the last good times Regina could recall having before Cora upped the ante and threw more shit her way. Before she was forced to share her living space, before her pregnancy.
Christmas was a sour event. Leopold had ruined it the previous year with his proposal, and Regina would never look at it the same way again. Though she did have to admit it was much more easy going without him present, even though his daughter was.
Suddenly it was 2003, the beginning of Regina's fourth year as mayor, also the last year of the term. Though seeing as how there was no term limit and no one was making an effort to put themselves against her, it was fairly obvious Regina would be getting at least another four years as mayor. Who knew, by the time those four years were over, Mary would be turning 20 that year and would perhaps take over. Though Regina finally did see the potential for her in politics, the more time passed the more it became apparent Mary had a natural instinct when it came to the care of kids. Henry was starting to grow attached, which prompted Regina to at least attempt to care about the future of the girl she was currently living with. Her being good with kids gave her the idea to suggest a career in education as opposed to politics, though she hadn't quite worked up to it. She'd allocated numerous points as to why it would be preferable, such as far less emotionally and mentally taxing, though she knew facts from another's perspective could be manipulative from experience. She didn't want to do to someone else what her mother had done to her.
Valentine's Day arrived and Regina wasn't quite sure how she made it through the day. It had been bad enough that it was the anniversary of the death of the only person she'd ever held a deep connection with. But now there was Leopold to deal with. He'd done something that day on the previous year that she would never forget, because the damage was irreversible. It was bad enough having one person she couldn't say no to, and then he'd gone and added himself to that list. As if that wasn't bad enough, the consequences of that day were still very raw. The unwanted pregnancy, along with the loss of the daughter she'd pushed herself to love so hard that when all was loved and lost she'd nearly destroyed herself. Every single thing connected to that day in some way, shape, or form had replayed in a merciless loop in her head that was never ending. She finally had enough when at four in the morning she still couldn't sleep and had taken a dose of strong sleeping pills to escape into the depths of sleep, brain so exhausted it didn't provide nightmares to taunt her with.
Mother's Day was particularly hard, and Regina was rather possessive of Henry the entire day. The only time that let up a little bit was when they went to see Emma. From the very beginning she'd said they would be there each Mother's Day until she woke up, and she wasn't about to break that promise.
By June Mary was 16 and Regina considered Emma to be 20. She didn't know the woman's exact birthday, but if she was 18 in June of 2001, it only made sense for her to be 20 in June of 2003. Regina herself felt older, knowing that come July she would be closer to 30 than 20. She liked being where she already was, smack dab in the middle. Of course if she were honest, she hadn't felt young for a very long time. She was an old, broken soul in a young body.
July 19th was a bit of a walk on eggshells day, being the first anniversary of the death of Mary's father. As a salve, Regina let her be with Henry longer than usual for the day. She didn't need the girl becoming an inconsolable mess once more, the first time had been one time too many. The girl's clinginess had certainly risen in the ranks on Regina's list of pet peeves and she would do just about anything to avoid dealing with it again. One couldn't entirely label giving up some time with Henry as a selfless action, as she held plenty of benefit from it.
October was upon them in a blink, bringing them to Henry's second birthday. He'd grown and made such progress throughout the year since his first birthday, many pages filled both notebook and photo album. His vocabulary had grown considerably, and he could form short sentences such as the most adorable 'trick or treat' Regina had ever heard. Red continued to be his 'favoritist' color. His new favorite activity consisted of the theft of noses and the pursuit of getting them back. Mary was dubbed 'May-ee' because while his speech had greatly improved, there was still plenty of room for improvement. His ls and some of his rs turned into ws in the cutest fashion. He protested to not being 'wittle'. Mama was 'pwetty'.
November dared to show its face once again. Fourteen days in, Regina started a new tradition of lighting a jasmine scented candle in honor of her deceased daughter. The birth certificate had been framed and the candle guarded it protectively. Thanksgiving brought Regina and Henry back to Emma, third year in a row. It had been nearly two and a half years, and the woman still showed no signs of waking up. That didn't stop Henry from updating her in his own words of what she was missing, though. Except, he didn't really know that she was missing out, just that she was really really 'sweepy' like bears during really cold months. He kept repeating with a confident tone that 'Mommy's wittle cold' and would 'warm up and unsweep'. It was heartbreakingly adorable. A child's mind and heart were the eighth and ninth wonders of the world.