I don't really have much to say about this...I've been avoiding a lot of adult responsibilities this week and typing a lot ;)
I would've had this up earlier but work was crazy and then I went out with some high school friends tonight. BUT I'M BACK!
I'm so freaking excited for this week's episode. The Evil Queen is my spirit animal-and THAT VOICE. If a voice could impregnate-I'd be have quintuplets.
Anyway, here's chapter 26 :)

"Regina?" Zelena calls as she walks into the kitchen.

Regina turns from her position leaning against the counter and says, "Yes?"

"You've been standing here for a while. What's going on?" Zelena asks with concern as she moves toward her sister.

Regina looks to her coffee cup and sees that it's already filled and the steam seems to have dissipated. "Hmmm, it seems I was lost in thought," Regina muses.

"Yes I can see that," Zelena says dryly. Regina gives a small smile and grabs her coffee cup with her free hand. "Did you get through to your lawyer?"

"I did."

Zelena waits a moment for more information and when Regina doesn't continue, Zelena rolls her eyes and says, "Are you going to talk about it?"

Regina looks up from her coffee cup startled and says, "Oh yes. He's going to have the paperwork ready by next Friday."

"Really? That's fast," Zelena muses.

"He's good at his job," Regina says offhandedly.

"That's for the best," Zelena says obviously. "How are you getting the paperwork?"

"He needs my signature on a few documents so I have to go and meet him Friday morning."

Zelena's eyebrows rise and she can't help but ask, "Where are you meeting him?"

She watches Regina flinch before she says, "New York."

Zelena's eyebrows grow dangerously close to her hairline as she repeats "New York?"

Regina nods and sets her coffee cup down before resituating her niece in her arms so she is now lying against her chest. Zelena can tell her sister is buying herself time, but she allows it. She waits patiently-or as patiently as she can-and finally Regina whispers, "I don't know what I'm going to do." She doesn't lift her head from where she's looking down at her niece.

Zelena waits for her sister to look at her; when she doesn't, Zelena moves closer to her and catches Regina's eye, "What do you mean?" she asks quietly, afraid to scare Regina off. It's not very often that Regina admits a weakness, and Zelena understands that she is being trusted right now, she's not about to ruin that trust.

Regina looks up and Zelena sees so many emotions swirling in her sister's eyes; she's shocked at the vulnerability she sees before Regina straightens her spine and clears her throat, "I don't know what I am going to do about going to New York. I can't very well just leave Roland and I really don't think it would be wise to take him to New York just for the day."

"Regina, I think you're forgetting that Roland has lived in New York. Not for very long," she muses, "but if you're worried about him in New York, Robin and I would be willing to go with you, if that's what you want," she adds on at the end. Regina gives her a strange look, before Zelena understands, "Birdie. Birdie and I are willing to go to New York with you if you do not wish to go alone."

Regina smiles, "Thank you," she says quietly. "I don't know what Henry will wish to do. I know he shouldn't miss more school, but if he wants to go then I won't stop him."

"Who's stopping what?" Henry asks coming into the kitchen with dishes no doubt handed to him by Granny. He takes them to the sink and starts rinsing them and putting them in the dishwasher.

"I have to go to New York," Regina tells him, turning to look at him as she says, "And I'm not sure you-"

"You're going to New York?! When? Wait-why?" he asks as he turns away from the sink to watch his mother.

She raises an eyebrow as she says, "If you'd be patient and allow me to talk, I will tell you." Henry looks sheepish before he smiles and waits for his mom to continue. "I have to go to New York to sign some paperwork next Friday to make sure Roland stays here with us."

"Whoa. New York is great! Can I go with?" Henry asks with hope in his eyes.

Regina doesn't respond because her breath gets stuck in her throat. This is what I was afraid of. He really shouldn't miss more school. But his grandmother is his teacher; he should be able to catch up, right?

While Regina was debating with herself, Henry's hope flickered out and his face dropped. "You don't want me to go?" he asks, crestfallen.

"Henry," Regina sighs as she moves closer to her son, "of course I want you to come. I just don't want you to be missing so much school."

"But my grades are great! Which is saying something because I've missed a lot of school. Like, a lot, Mom."

"That makes me think that the Storybrooke curriculum needs to be changed," Regina huffed.

This made both Henry and Zelena chuckle in amusement as the Mayor of Storybrooke made an appearance. They watched Regina calculating something for a moment before Henry asks, "So can I go?"

Regina sighs and slowly nods her head, "Yes, you can come to New York with us. I suppose we'll have to leave Thursday after you're done with school and then we'll be back Friday evening. But," she adds as she watches Henry fist pump the air. She waits for his hand to go back down to his side before continuing, "You need to go to school everyday this week and next and if any of your grades on quizzes or tests drop, you'll be staying here in Storybrooke. Understood?"

Henry nods enthusiastically and then pauses, "There's only one problem."

Regina tilts her head in question and asks, "And what would that be?"

Henry points to the clock, "I've already missed the bus and classes are starting in 20 minutes."

Regina is shocked to see how much time has passed. She turns to Henry, "Go get dressed and pack your school bag. I will drive you. We'll leave in 10 minutes."

"Got it, Mom," he says as he takes off toward the stairs.

"Don't forget to brush your teeth," she calls after him.

She hears him mumble something that sounded like, "I know" as he took the stairs two at a time. She rolls her eyes at the stomping occurring on her steps. She sighs and turns back to Zelena.

Zelena smiles and steps forward, taking Birdie from her sister's arms. "Go. We'll be alright."

Regina nods and heads to the backyard, "Roland?"

"Yes, Gina?" he asks from his spot on the swing next to Granny.

"I have to take Henry to school and then get some paperwork from my office. Would you like to stay here with Granny and Zelena?" she asks, hoping he would be okay with staying.

"Can I goes with you?" he asks instead.

Regina smiles, "Of course you can. I'll grab your clothes when I finish dressing. You stay here with Granny and clean up a bit, okay?"

"Okay Gina!" he says as he hops off the swing and Granny says, "I'll clean him up for you."

Regina chuckles since the boy is covered in dirt; nothing a bath won't fix, but they don't have time for that. Granny will be able to handle that, she thinks as she heads back inside and upstairs to get dressed.

Regina, dressed in a black pencil skirt and maroon blouse with black heels and perfect makeup, heads into Roland's bedroom to grab him an outfit. She picks out a pair of jeans, a blue long-sleeved shirt, and a pair of socks. As she walks back into the hallway, Henry steps out of the bathroom and droops his shoulders while whining, "No fair, you cheated."

Regina laughs and stands in front of him, fixing his tie. "Magic can sometimes be useful. But-"

Henry rolls his eyes and says with her, "All magic comes with a price." He grins cheekily when she stops fixing his tie.

Regina rolls her eyes in the same way Henry just did and can't help but internally smile at the fact that Henry picked up some of her traits-even if they are the sassier ones. "I'm glad you picked up on that, but I want to remind you not to try and dabble in magic. It's very dangerous."

"I know, Mom. I'm the author, remember?" he says in his duh-I'm a teenager and I know everything voice.

She smiles fondly and says, "Of course darling. Now finish getting ready so we can leave. Roland and I will be waiting downstairs. Five minutes." When Henry nods his understanding, she finishes fixing his tie and heads downstairs with Roland's clothes in hand.

When she gets downstairs she sees that Granny had cleaned Roland up and had put the rest of the dirty dishes in the dishwasher. She smiles, then hears voices coming from the living room and moves toward them. The sight that greets her warms her heart and she can't help but lean against the doorjamb and smile at her family.

Zelena is kneeling on the floor next to the couch with Birdie on her back in front of her mom. Roland is on all fours leaning over his sister's face making silly noises. Granny is sitting on the chair facing them with a large grin on her face. She looks up to see Regina leaning against the doorway with teary eyes and smiles softy before turning her eyes back to Roland as he animatedly tells his sister a story.

"Gina!" he squeals when he sits up and notices her. The loud noise causes Birdie to jump in shock and then start to cry. Zelena scoops her off the floor and into her arms quickly, making hushing noises as she gently bounces from side to side. "Sorry, Little Sister," Roland murmurs as he stands up and walks toward Regina with a pout on his face.

Regina squats down to be at his level and says, "It's alright, Roland," as he wraps his arms around her neck tightly. "Sometimes babies get scared and they start crying. We just have to remember not to yell when we're with your sister." He nods into her neck but doesn't relax his grip. Regina sighs and wraps her arms around him lifting him onto her hip, "Let's get you dressed so we can take Henry to school and then stop by my office, alright?" He nods again and she turns and moves them to the downstairs bathroom to get him dressed and ready for the day.

When he's dressed, his hair is as tame as it can be, and his teeth are brushed, they head back into the kitchen to see Henry standing there with his backpack on and Regina's purse on the island next to her filled coffee mug. She smiles at how prepared her son was in making sure she was ready to go right away.

"I'm going to be sooooo late," he says with a chuckle.

Regina rolls her eyes as she grabs her bag and coffee, "Yes and I'm sure your grandmother will understand that things have been a bit hectic. Now let's go."

Henry holds his hand out for Roland to grab and together they walk out to the car. Regina pauses when she sees Zelena and Granny putting her niece in her car seat. "We're going out for a walk," Zelena says with a smile as she finishes clasping Birdie into her seat.

"Enjoy the sunshine," Regina says with an answering smile. "We'll be back soon. I just have to grab some paperwork from my office after I drop Henry off."

"Go, go," Granny shoos her out the door. "You're going to be late."

Regina huffs, "We're already late." She's none-too-happy about that. Regina Mills may be a lot of things, but late is never one of them.

She gets outside to see Henry has already buckled Roland into his seat and is sitting in the front seat talking with him. She smiles and quickly moves to get in her seat and starts driving toward Henry's school.

Her phone starts ringing as they drive down Mifflin Street and Henry fishes her phone out of her purse before laughing as he says, "It's Grandma."

Regina rolls her eyes and tells him, "Answer it and tell her we're on our way."

Henry chuckles as he quickly answers the phone. "Hey Gram!" he pauses and listens to what Snow says, "No, we're on our way. We're running a little late this morning." He laughs, "No, we just lost track of time." He looks at Regina, who is pretending not to be listening intently, "Everything's fine." He pauses and then smiles, "I think I'll let you tell her that." After another pause, he says, "Alright, I'll see you in a couple minutes, Grandma," and then he hangs up Regina's phone and places it back in her purse.

Regina glances at him out of the corner of her eye and asks, "What did she say?"

"Oh nothing," Henry singsongs as he looks out the passenger-side window.

Regina rolls her eyes and looks in the rearview mirror to see Roland staring out his own window watching everything pass by. She pulls up in front of the school and stops to let Henry get out.

"Bye Mom. Bye Ro," he calls as he bends down to look back into the car.

"Bye Henry!" Roland yells from the backseat.

"Goodbye, dear," Regina says with a smile, "Would you like me to pick you up after school?"

Henry looks down at the ground and his face scrunches up in thought before he says, "I think I'll go home with Gram and see Gramps and Neal and then maybe get dinner with Ma."

Regina gives a tight smile and nods, "That's fine, dear. Just call if you need a ride."

Henry nods and waves before rushing inside the building.

Alright friends, are you guys interested in seeing the rest of their weekend/week before going to New York or would you prefer to kind of skim over those details and wrap up the story quicker? Please drop a comment or review with your opinion 3