Regina mulled over Henry's mysterious behavior for days after she found him reading one of Leia's books. She felt that something about that incident was important, something that always lurked on the edge of her mind, just out of reach. What was it, and how could she use it to her advantage to get to know him better?
As December progressed, she began making plans for the holidays. All she wanted was to go to a Christmas Eve service, then bring Henry and Leia home so they could spend the rest of the evening starting some holiday traditions that would hopefully last for years to come, no matter where they went in the future. They had already gone to pick out a Christmas tree, and Leia had happily helped Regina decorate it while holiday music played in the background. She had wanted Henry to help them too, but he had been sullen and moody the whole time. Granted, by that time the behavior was no surprise to her, but all the same, she didn't like it.
One day, she received a call from her father and eagerly picked it up, happy at the prospect of hearing his voice. Her parents lived five hours away in New York City (which, if anyone ever bothered to ask Regina, was much too far away from her father and not nearly far enough away from her mother), so she didn't see them often. "Hi Daddy. How are you?"
"Regina, it's your mother."
Her joyful attitude dissipated at the sound of her mother's voice. "What can I do for you, Mother? I assume it's important, otherwise you wouldn't have resorted to the underhanded trick of using Daddy's phone."
"I want you here for Christmas this year," her mother informed her. "We haven't seen you in ages, and it would be nice if you kept up appearances. After all, you missed Thanksgiving, so this is the last occasion for the family to get together this year."
She sighed. She was sure Granny and Ruby would be there, so it would be more tolerable. She had another idea to make the evening more bearable for her as well, although a part of her hesitated. Her plan would mean putting innocent people in her mother's path, and she hated it. "Fine, then I'm bringing Robin and the two kids we've taken under our wing- oh, and his wife and son as well." It was always said that misery loved company, right? Besides, it wasn't like she would leave Henry and Leia alone for the holidays for days even if she wanted to.
"Regina!" her mother gasped. "Taking children in off the street? I thought I raised you better than that! They could have all kinds of diseases, have terrible habits and manners… I'm very disappointed in you."
Her immediate dismissal of people she didn't know and people who were significantly more kind and less fortunate than her roused Regina's fury (which, admittedly, wasn't very difficult when Cora Mills was the one speaking). "Mother, you don't know them, These kids are so sweet, and suffered so much. Of course I'm not going to leave them behind and have Christmas with you. As for Robin, he's come to family gatherings in the past, why would that change now?"
"I never liked him, and you know it," Cora pointed out. "I expect you to be at this dinner alone Regina, and that's final."
"I'm not coming without them," Regina stated firmly, hoping that her tone would help her win the argument. "Besides, Robin and his family will only be coming if they're not going to celebrate with Marian's family anyway. So you may only have Henry and Leia."
"Fine, you can bring the hooligans, even if one of them has a ridiculous name," Cora said with more than a hint of resignation. "Naming a child after a fictional princess of a pretend planet, honestly. Just make sure they know they need to behave."
"Of course, Mother," Regina assured, trying to hide the touch of sarcasm in her voice. "We wouldn't want them to act like wild animals."
"This isn't funny, Regina," Cora scolded her. "I'm being serious. How long have you known these children?"
Careful to be vague, Regina replied, "Long enough to know that nothing will happen to ruin your precious dinner, Mother." She hoped she was telling her the truth. Henry's strange vendetta seemed to be against her. She hoped for everyone's sake that he wouldn't pull her parents into it. She hated to admit it, but her mother didn't deserve it- and quite frankly, she didn't want to deal with the consequences.
"You should care about this dinner too, Regina," Cora admonished. "After all, these are your family just as much as they're mine."
"You're right, they are," Regina answered confidently. "Which is why I know that no one will care if they act as all children do."
Cora sighed. "Very well then, you may bring these ragamuffins. But if they put one toe out of line, Regina…"
Regina nodded, even though she knew her mother couldn't see her. "Understood." She was sure Leia would be well-behaved, but she would need to talk to Henry. Somehow, she had to get through to him, and she supposed that observing him might be the best way to do it. She still had a sneaking suspicion that the night he was willingly reading fairy tales was a clue… was it possible he liked them and was too afraid of being seen as immature to admit it? She made a mental note to try to engage him the next time she was reading a story with Leia. If it was really as simple as that, she knew exactly what to do.
She went into the kitchen to find Henry and Leia acting very suspiciously. When she entered, there was a clatter as dishes fell from Leia's hands into the sink, while Henry looked up from where he was standing at the oven, spatula in hand, his face reminiscent of a deer in headlights.
"What are you two up to?" she asked, fighting a smile and crossing her arms over her chest.
"Dinner!" Leia exclaimed.
Regina rose her eyebrows as she looked at Henry. This was definitely unexpected. "You're making dinner? Really?"
He nodded, saying nothing.
Leia, however, put everything she had been holding gently in the sink, then jumped off the stool she had been standing on that Regina had gotten to help her reach things around the house and ran over to her. "It's to say thank you!" she said, looking up at Regina with bright eyes and an equally radiant smile.
Regina smiled back at this little girl, who had stolen her heart from the first moment they met. "Thank you? For what?"
"Giving us a home," she replied matter-of-factly, not knowing how much Regina's heart swelled at the sound of those words.
"Well, you're welcome," she responded, holding the little girl close. She glanced up at Henry, whose cheeks were flaming, and she wondered how much of this, if any, had been his idea. "So what are we making?"
"Leia and I are making jerk chicken kebabs," Henry supplied. "You are sitting down while we do all the work."
She smirked. Apparently someone could be as territorial about their kitchen space as she was. In any other circumstances she would protest- after all, it was her kitchen- but she had a sneaking suspicion that she was actually getting somewhere with Henry if he was agreeing to do this. It gave her some insight into him as well- was it possible he liked cooking as much as she did? She felt like she now had so many clues to who he was, but no confirmation that what she was seeing was real. What she needed was to get him one-on-one, but the last time she had tried that, it had gotten her nowhere. Was this dinner a sign that she could maybe have a second chance at it? "All right, then."
She sat down at the table, watching them carefully, Leia in particular. After all, she was old enough to help in the kitchen a little bit, but far from old enough to be trusted with much more than setting the table. Leia chatted animatedly with her, while Henry worked almost studiously at his task. Regina could tell that he took cooking seriously, and she wondered if it was a hobby to him, something he actually enjoyed doing, or whether his cooking skills had been acquired out of necessity. After all, he had been in school for years. Surely he had become enamored with something enough there to develop his interest.
To her relief, nothing catastrophic occurred between the moment she walked in and when the first round of kebabs was set on the table. She made a mental note to have them both help in the kitchen more often, not as a chore to teach them responsibility (they had already had enough of that in their short lives, she was sure), but as a bonding activity they could all do together.
As they ate, she broke the comfortable silence that accompanies a good meal to ask, "Since you both are such fine chefs, how would you feel about helping me in the kitchen more often? I can always use a couple extra pairs of hands, and we can try out new recipes together. How does that sound?"
"Yeah!" Leia shouted eagerly, clapping her hands. Even Henry smiled, a small thing that nevertheless made him look much younger, more carefree, and nodded. She vowed to make that smile appear more often.
"It's settled then," Regina said. "What are some dishes you'd like to try?"
Leia frowned. "Try dishes?" She giggled. "Silly Gina, we can't eat plates!"
Before Regina could respond, Henry explained, "Sometimes meals are called dishes, like lasagna or a casserole." It made her smile, how well he took care of her, how his natural instinct was to teach Leia and help her grow. How was a boy this sweet so closed off from her? True, it was possible that cooking dinner had been all Leia's idea- she was the one who had explained what they were doing, after all, without a word from Henry- but he had agreed to it, hadn't he?
"Oh…" Leia mused, comprehension dawning in her eyes. Her eyes lit up. "Chicken nuggets?"
Regina laughed, reaching over to tickle her. "I'm sure we can find a recipe for homemade chicken nuggets, even though we can get those at a restaurant. French fries too. After all, what would chicken nuggets be without french fries? They go together like peanut butter and jelly. What about something a little healthier, like chicken noodle soup, or broccoli cheddar soup?"
Leia's eyes were shining. "I like cheese!"
Regina nodded. "Me too." She turned to Henry. "Is there anything you'd like to add to our recipe list?"
He shrugged. "You already know my favorites. But-" he hesitated, frowning. "Can we add some desserts too?"
She nodded. "Of course. What's a good cookbook without desserts?"
They all laughed at that, and Regina's heart swelled. Maybe tonight, learning about Henry's affinity for cooking, was the beginning of a fresh start for them. She certainly hoped so. She wanted him to feel like he belonged for as long as he was with her… however long that may be.
Speaking of belonging, she had an invitation to issue. "Henry, Leia, how would you both like to come with me to my parents' house in New York to celebrate Christmas?"
Leia seemed excited while Henry's eyes went wide, their depths filled with skepticism. "You would really want us to come with you?" he asked.
"Of course!" she assured them both. "You might get really bored though. My mom isn't much fun. My dad will have the time of his life with you though. The house is really big with a big yard, there's lots of places to run and play." She was sure her father would spend the entire dinner on the floor with Leia playing with dolls or out in the backyard playing sports with Henry, completely oblivious to the admonishments of his wife- and she couldn't wait to see it. It was about time he had a little fun.
"So what do you think?" she asked them. "Do you want to come with me?"
Henry frowned. "Are you sure we'd be wanted in a place like that?"
Honestly? "It doesn't matter," she assured him. "You're living with me, which means you're family. I'm not going to leave family behind, especially at this time of year. Besides, Robin and Roland and Marian might be there too." She hoped. She didn't know how on earth she'd survive an afternoon with her mother without Robin. Having to do it for those years he hadn't been a part of her life was bad enough. Now that they were reunited, she needed him more than she'd like to admit. She was supposed to be a strong, independent woman, and for the most part, she was. However, when it came to Robin Locksley, there had always been a special bond between them that prevented her from ever letting him go in any way, shape or form. She felt terrible about it, guilty, but she knew from years of friendship that Robin wouldn't want it to be any other way…
Right? They hadn't seen each other in years. It was very possible, probable even, that he had changed in that time frame. Would he hate her for making his plans for him, dragging him and his beautiful family into a world where how people were judged was everything? Likely not… but they were friends and he'd do anything for her, right? She hoped so- she didn't know what she'd do otherwise. Yes, she had told her mother that Robin may have plans with Marian''s family, but she hated her mother's criticism as it was. Now that she had Robin, who had always been her number one support system, back, dealing with the woman who was supposed to be her family alone sounded like torture.
Then she remembered that her father would be there, and she smiled. He may be terrible at standing up to his wife, but he had always been if not the best, then second best, at cheering her up. She would be fine, he would make sure of it.
"Really?" Leia asked, her eyes lighting up. "I can play with Roland again?" Much like Robin and Regina, the two had become fast friends, and it warmed Regina's heart to see how much Leia enjoyed him already. After all, even though he was the spitting image of his mother (except for those dimples), his disposition was remarkably like his father's.
She smiled. "Yes sweetheart, you can play with Roland again. He may not come for Christmas, but I'll make sure to plan another play date with Robin and Marian so the two of you can have some fun together. How does that sound?"
Leia nodded thoughtfully, seeming to consider the offer. "Okay."
With that settled, they enjoyed the rest of the meal in silence. Regina had no idea how the holidays would go, but she did know one thing: she would protect these children who had stolen her heart with everything she had.
Merry Christmas Andrea! Hope everyone enjoyed this, let me know what you think! This chapter contains a personal prompt from Prompt Party this year: Henry begins to trust Regina.