"What have they been finding out from him for so long?" Henry nervously walked along the corridor in the courthouse and stopped near one of the doors, listening. "He's been there for about forty minutes. They listened to you only for ten minutes." He turned to his mother.
"It's good that they agreed to listen to me in general." Regina said, sitting on a sofa, not far from the door of the courtroom. "I have nothing to do with this matter and they could have not considered my request as a Senator at all".
"And why can't they make the process open?" He walked along the door again. "What is such a great secret being examined there?"
"Well, you know!" The Senator raised her eyebrows. "This is a unique case in general: that the case of premature release is being considered in the courtroom with the participation of the concerned parties and not in the judge's chambers personally by him. It's a mystery to me how Gold got it. Maybe you should try to peep through the keyhole?" She grinned, as she was watching her son movements.
"Actually, this is an idea," Henry stopped and very quietly and carefully opened the door slightly, so that a little crack appeared.
"Henry, I was joking." Regina clarified.
"Sshshh" He put a finger to his lips and pressed his ear to the door.
"... from the start was inadequate to the crime committed by Miss Swan." Gold's voice came through to him. "She was only an accomplice, the organizer was Killian Jones and he was the one who threatened Mrs. Savage with a weapon. Additionally, Miss Swan has provided an invaluable favor to our family. It was she who was able to persuade Jones to surrender when he broke into my house, so my wife wasn't hurt during his detaining…"
Henry walked away from the door.
"Well? Did you satisfy your curiosity?" his mother asked.
"Yes." Henry answered absentmindedly, sitting down next to her.
"Dad!" A girl of about five years old ran up to him and hung at the end of her run on his neck.
"Lucy, hello!" He hugged his daughter and put her on his lap.
"Grandma Regina!" She reached for the Senator to kiss her. "I've missed you!"
"Hi, honey." Regina kissed the girl in response. "Have you and your mother arrived long ago?"
"Just now." the girl answered. "We immediately came here from the airport. Mom will be here too. She was asked to move the car."
A dark-haired woman in a gray suit was already hurrying towards them along the corridor.
"Lucy! Thank God you are not lost!" She squatted down next to her daughter. "Never do that again! Don't run away from me!"
"Did you move the car? So fast?" The girl was surprised.
"No, of course not." her mother answered. "As soon as I realized that you were not following me, I immediately ran to look for you."
"It might be taken away." the baby-girl recalled.
"Oh well." The mother stroked her shoulder. "The main thing is that you are here."
"Well, where else could I be." She sighed. "You and I found out together in which room the hearing is taking place, did you forget?"
"Okay, it doesn't matter." The woman smiled. "Just don't do it anymore, okay? Hi!" She reached for Henry and kissed him. "Good afternoon." She nodded to Regina.
"Nancy, don't worry. She won't get lost and if she gets lost, she knows what to do." Henry pulled her up, sitting her on the sofa. "I thought you were going home."
"We were going home." Nancy nodded. "But upon remembering you were in court, we came here. We couldn't leave you at such a moment." She put an arm around his shoulders. "What's going on there?" She nodded at the door.
"I don't know yet." Henry shrugged. "Now my grandfather is in there, then they will interrogate more officers who participated in Killian's detention, their captain, the head of the prison ... So far, only Emma, mother and have been listened."
"Where's Emma?" His wife asked. "Is she in there, in the courtroom?"
"No, she's in the waiting room." He nodded off to the side. "Under guard."
"Is it not allowed to see her?" Nancy asked.
"Yes." Henry shook his head. "She is under arrest until the hearing ends and then ... depends on the outcome of the hearing. How are you? How was your visit to your parents?"
"Don't ask." She sighed. "I'll tell you later, at home."
"It's going to be an interesting story." His daughter whispered to him.
"Lucy! " She looked sternly at the girl. "Okay, I'm sure everything will be fine." She stroked her husband's shoulder. "Listen, I really need to park the car elsewhere before it gets towed."
"Of course, go." Henry nodded. "I'll keep an eye on Lucy so she doesn't get lost." He grinned.
"Very funny!" She kissed him again and headed for the exit.
"Well, what's the story?" He leaned towards his daughter when her mother disappeared from sight. "Are your grandparents unhappy, as always?"
"Mom asked me not to tell you anything".
The doors of the courtroom opened and Gold appeared in front of them. After him, the bailiff came out, inviting into the courtroom a man in uniform sitting nearby, at the opposite side of the corridor.
"Grandpa!" The girl jumped up to meet Gold.
"Great-grandpa." He recalled. "I did not expect to see you today." He leaned over and kissed the baby-girl on the cheek. "Oh, what do you have there?" He ran a hand through her hair and took out a coin from behind of her ear.
"How do you do this?" She, turning the coin in her hand, hid it in her pocket.
"It's magic, honey." Gold smiled, sitting down on the sofa next to Regina. "How are you? What's new in the kindergarten?"
"Things are not really going well in the kindergarten." Lucy frowned. "We fought with Jenny and now she is not friends with me."
"You're going to make peace again." Gold assured her.
"Will this go on for a long time?" Henry wedged in. "How many more people are they going to be interrogated?"
"Relax." His grandfather put a hand on his shoulder. "You've been waiting for this for fifteen years; you can wait a few more hours."
"Yes, I could wait a few days even." Henry agreed. "If I were sure of the result."
"Be sure." He leaned back on the couch, legs stretched out. "The hearing is being led by Judge Harrison. I know him. His son is in the same class as Charlotte. I think for several years now, he has already realized that it's better not to irritate Charlotte's dad".
"Is this the same Harrison whose son Charlotte had a fight with in the second grade?" Regina said enthusiastically.
"That one." Gold nodded.
"Then you definitely have nothing to worry about." She laughed, looking at her son. "Charlotte had a bruise as a result from this fight and poor Harrison hasn't stopped apologizing since then."
"Two bruises." Gold clarified. "And he will have to apologize for many more years. Where is Nancy?" He turned to his grandson.
"She's coming soon." Henry answered. "She somehow parked wrong here."
"How is she doing?" his grandfather asked. "What did she decide to do with work? Is she going to Baltimore?"
"No!" Henry raised his eyebrows. "Thank God no! She'll stay here with us."
"As far as I remember," Gold thought, "she had brilliant prospects in Baltimore."
"Yes, that's right." Henry confirmed. "And that's why no one is happy about it: neither her superiors, nor her friends, nor her parents. Especially her parents." He looked at Lucy.
"I can't tell you anything." the girl recalled.
"The main thing is that you are both happy with that, aren't you?" Gold asked.
"I hope both." Henry nodded.
"If I were you, I would clarify this matter." He looked at his great-granddaughter: "Do you want some ice cream?"
"I do!" The girl was enthused.
"Let's go." He stood up and held out his hand to her.
"Well, what news do you have here?" Gold returned to court with Lucy. "Hello." He nodded to Nancy.
"Mr. Gold." She stood up to greet him. "Thank you for helping Henry!"
"Henry, at least one polite person has appeared in our family!" Gold rejoiced. "However, you have nothing to thank me for, my dear." He smiled at the woman.
"Mom, look!" Lucy held out her hand. "Grandpa bought me a bracelet!"
"Lucy!" The woman gasped, looking at her elegant bracelet made of white gold. "This is a very expensive bracelet." She looked at Gold.
"Not at all." he assured her.
The bailiff stepped out of the courtroom and headed for the waiting room.
"Looks like that's it." Henry froze, staring at the bailiff.
"Don't worry." Regina stroked his back. "Everything will be fine."
A minute later, Emma was already led into the hall. She walked, staring strictly down at the floor. With only one brief glance at Henry and Lucy, she disappeared behind the door of the courtroom. Henry jumped up off the couch and clung to the door again.
"Released ahead of schedule." he repeated in a whisper after some time, and, having recoiled from the door, repeated louder already: "Released ahead of schedule!"
"Congratulations, darling." Regina went to her son and hugged him.
He kissed his mother quickly and slightly opened the door again, listening.
"Within two months, you must undergo rehabilitation at the New York Prison Center." the judge continued. "You will also be assigned a supervising officer for six months. You are not allowed to leave the county during this time. Now the bailiffs will take you back to prison, where you will receive your documents and personal belongings…"
After the judge finished reading out the decision, Emma went out into the corridor, accompanied by the bailiff.
"Mama!" Henry rushed to her and hugged her tightly. "Finally, it's over. Is she free already?" He turned to the bailiff. "Can I take my mother to get her documents and things?"
"You can come with us." he answered. "Until I pass the court decision to the prison office, Miss Swan is still considered a prisoner, so I must deliver her back to prison and you can pick her up from there. I need to get another stamp in the court registry, after that we can go. You can wait for me here." He nodded to Emma and walked quickly down the corridor, soon hiding behind one of the doors.
"Emma." Regina went to Miss Swan. "I'm so happy for you!"
"Thank you." Emma said uncertainly, glancing at Gold sitting next to them on the couch.
"Don't worry, dearie," He grinned wryly. "I do not expect you to say "thank you" to me as well."
"And don't wait for it." Emma frowned. "It's all because of you! Don't think that someday I will come to forgive you for everything."
"You know, Miss Swan…" He also got up and went to her. "I think you shouldn't make me regret I helped you. Without me, you wouldn't have come under this wave of amnesty. However it's not only me, but also my wife and Senator Stern - we all made efforts to release you. Enjoy your freedom, your son, your granddaughter. And six months later, my advice to you is to leave for Storybrooke. To your mom and dad, your brother and your old friends. And live there happily ever after."
"I know what you did to Killian." Emma hissed, looking into his eyes.
"Keep this knowledge to yourself." Gold smiled. "For your own good."
"Mom, you know, we have to go." Seeing the bailiff coming out into the corridor, Henry put his arm around Emma's shoulders and carried her away. "Everything will be fine." he mouthed silently, turning to his grandfather.
Nancy and Lucy hurried after them.
"Don't do any good to people." Regina grinned, slightly hugging Gold.
"She will calm down soon." He dismissed her.
"But at least you did the right thing?" Madame Senator said with irony.
"Yes." Gold answered calmly.
"Well, how did it go?" The Queen asked, taking off her husband's coat.
"Fine." He hugged his wife from the waist and, pulling her to himself, kissed her. "Miss Swan is free, Henry is happy, everyone is happy."
"You don't look too pleased." she said, wrapping her arms around his neck.
"It's alright." He kissed her again.
"Do you want some dinner?" Regina rubbed her nose against his nose.
"Not now." He gently freed from her hands. "First I'll go for a shower, to wash this day off me".
"Do you want me to rub your back?" The Queen looked at him slyly.
"Rub it." Gold smiled.
He stood in the shower with his eyes closed, having his head thrown back and warm water surges falling on his face, listening to the sound of water and feeling the Queen's hands, which glided all over his body, gently massaging him, rubbing oil with a faint smell of neroli and lavender on his skin. After standing like this for a while, he turned to his wife and kissed her.
"Come to me." He turned her back towards him and kissed her neck inch by inch, from the back of her head to her shoulders.
Leaning her against the wall, he rubbed his hips against her, pressing his stomach against her lower back, continuing kissing her neck and shoulders. Regina, with a sigh, arched towards him, bowing her head, offering for a kiss a sensitive spot behind her ear, which he also did not disregard.
"Let's go to bed." he whispered to her in a couple of minutes.
"Why not here?" The Queen turned to face him.
"It's inconvenient here." He turned off the water, wrapped his wife in a towel and carried her to the bedroom.
Having laid the Queen in bed, he wiped himself dry and lay down next to her.
"You are still very tense." She ran a hand over his shoulder. "That is no good. Turn your back."
Laying him on his stomach, she sat on his hips and began to massage his shoulders and back. At first it is very smooth and gentle, barely touching the skin, gradually increasing the amplitude of movements and pressure. Then she went to the neck and the back of his head, gently kneading the hardened muscles. She returned to his shoulders once again, alternately massaging and kissing them.
"That's already much better." she whispered to Gold, laying down on him and swaying a little, massaging him with her body.
A minute later, the Queen sat down again and slid her hands along his back, now paying more attention to the lower part, making her husband fidget under her.
"Much better." Gold repeated after her. "Although not all body parts have relaxed with that." He reached for her and Regina leaned over and kissed him.
Then she continued to rub his back until he turned around under her and rolled her over onto her back. Laying all his weight on top of her, he entered her impatiently, getting a sweet sigh from her lips. After a few sharp thrusts, he stopped, clutching at her, pressing her into the mattress, moving his hips slightly from side to side. After some time, he began thrusting again: at first very slowly and smoothly, but gradually increasing the pace, losing himself into it more and more. Somewhere on the edge of the sweet bliss, he heard her orgasmic moan and almost immediately followed her. Having finished, he leaned back, panting, stroking a little his still hard dick.
They both lay silent for a while, leveling their breath.
"Let's go have dinner now?" Regina asked.
"No." He pressed her to him and kissed her on the temple. "I won't go anywhere, I feel good right here."
"I'll bring it to you." The Queen smiled, kissing him softly on the shoulder.
"Don't leave." He held onto his wife as she tried to free herself from his embrace. "Lie down for a bit and then we will go again."
"We can do that after dinner." She slipped out of his hands. "I don't think you ate anything during all the time you spent in court."
"Lucy and I had some ice cream." Gold smiled.
"Well, then my cooking it wasn't in vain." The Queen threw a robe on and headed for the door. "I'll be back soon." she promised.
"You know that I love you?" He settled on the reclining bed, wrapping himself in a blanket.
"I guess." Regina grinned, leaving the bedroom.