Part Two: The One With The Blonde Woman
Regina sighed as she dropped the pen on top of a stack of papers on her desk.
She scratched her forehead before cracking her neck to one side and then the other, feeling a slight relief as the pop sound released some of the stiffness that had been accumulating over the day.
Things with Henry were getting harder and harder in the house and Regina was honestly unsure of what to do anymore.
Therapy wasn't helping.
Somehow, Henry find out the truth about everything, about who she was, about who everyone in this town was, and Regina needed Archie to take those ideas out of her little boy's head.
She needed him to be her little Prince again, that little boy who looked at her like she was his whole world, because this…
This was breaking her heart into millions of small pieces and Regina wasn't sure her heart could take it.
The way Henry was treating her, the way he looked at her.
He hated her.
She loved that boy more than her own life and he hated her.
In a blink of an eye, Regina had gone from being his mommy to being The Evil Queen before her little Prince's eyes.
And this was killing her inside.
More than she would ever care to admit.
Regina looked at the clock and frowned when saw the time.
It was ten minutes past five in the afternoon and Henry wasn't in her office yet.
That was odd.
Henry was always there at five pm sharp.
It was their agreement.
He was to come to her office at five pm so she could take him to eat whatever crap he wanted to eat at Granny's before Regina dropped him off at Archie's office for his therapy session.
Regina rose from the chair and walked to the door, opening it all at once.
She stepped outside the office and look to one side and then the other in the hallway.
"Henry?"
No response.
Regina walked the hallway in the direction of the stairs, stopping on top of the first step.
"Henry?"
Nothing.
Regina walked down the stairs to the main entrance of the building and then opened the door.
She stepped outside the building and breathed in the cool air, feeling a drop of water wet her arm.
Regina looked up at the sky and grunted at the grey sky and heavy clouds.
It was going to rain tonight.
"Henry?"
Regina called his name over and over and over again as she walked around the building.
Finally, she accepted the fact that her son wasn't there and walked back to her office, already feeling annoyed at the fact that her son changed his plans for the day and decided not to tell her.
Was this his new act of rebellion?
His new way of showing how much he hated her?
Regina entered her office and slammed the door shut with force, rage already taking over her actions.
She walked to her desk and sat down on the chair heavily, taking a deep breath before picking up the phone.
"Hello?" Came the cheerful voice on the other side of the line.
"Dr. Hoper, it's Regina," Regina said "Could you please put Henry on the phone?"
"Oh, hello, Madam Mayor," Archie said "Henry is not here yet"
"He is not?" Regina asked surprised.
"No, we still have half an hour before his session," Archie said "Is everything okay?"
"Yes, everything is fine," Regina said quickly.
"Okay, good," Archie said "Madam mayor, I was wondering if…"
Regina turned off the call completely ignoring what the man was saying.
Because now, she was starting to get worried about Henry.
Where the hell was he?
Regina took the phone again and dialed her home's number.
The phone rang and rang and rang without nobody ever picking it up.
Regina slammed the phone on the desk and rose abruptly from the chair. She took her purse from the couch and left the office, walking to the back of the mayor's office to get her car, and driving straight to her house.
"Henry?" Regina shouted the second the door was open.
She closed the door behind her and paused by the base of the staircase, looking up.
"Henry, come down here," Regina shouted angrily "This behavior needs to stop"
Nothing.
No answer.
Regina sighed heavily and walked up the staircase, opening and closing her hands on a fist in order to control her anger.
This wasn't right.
He hated her, fine, she would deal with that, but Henry was still a child, he was her son, and he couldn't just disappear or not answer her whenever he felt like it.
Regina walked the hallway to Henry's bedroom, not even bothering to knock on the door before roughly pushing it open.
And then she stopped, looking at everything around the room with her mouth slightly open.
Henry's bedroom was simply neat.
In a way that never was unless Regina herself took upon the chore of tidying up his bedroom.
"Henry?" Regina said again entering the room "Henry, this isn't funny"
She walked to his closet, pushing the door open and the clothes to the side.
Then she kneeled on the floor looking under the bed in the hopes that he was trying to scare her.
But he wasn't there.
Regina rose from the floor and rushed down the staircase, entering the kitchen.
"Henry?" Regina called desperately "Henry, this isn't funny anymore. Where are you?"
Regina walked to the living room, the study, the bathroom, her own bedroom, and the guest room, all the time shouting his name.
She felt her heart race inside her chest and her hands tramble at every unanswered call for his name.
Regina left the house and checked the garage and then both the back and front yard.
But Henry wasn't anywhere.
I tight feeling crawled under her stomach, making her insides twist, leaving a bitter taste in her mouth.
Regina closed her eyes and took a deep breath trying to control that uncomfortable sensation that took residence inside her stomach.
It was so heavy that Regina felt like she couldn't breathe.
A rumble of loud thunder echoed above her, loud enough to make Regina jump and open her eyes.
"Granny's" Regina whispered.
She ran for her car parked outside the mansion and entered the car just when soft rain started to pour.
Regina drove in the direction of Granny's diner, already thinking about millions of ways to ground Henry and also pleading to any God that could hear her that her little boy was safe and sound inside the establishment.
Regina entered Granny's seeing without noticing how everyone inside stared at her and how their backs were perfectly straight and stiff on their seats.
That was their usual behavior every time she entered a room and after twenty-eight years, she was less than impressed.
"What can I do for you, Madam Mayor?" Granny walked in her direction.
"Henry," Regina said seriously "Where is he?"
"I… I don't know," Granny said looking at her "He hasn't been here all day"
"Are you absolutely sure about that?" Regina asked in a menacing voice, giving a step forward, invading the older woman's personal space.
"Yes, I'm sure," Granny said slightly disconcerted "Is… is everything okay?"
"Everything is fine!" Regina said angrily.
Then she gave her back to the woman and stormed out of the diner before she could say anything else.
Outside, Regina rushed to her car, running her hands on her arms to get rid of the raindrops when she got inside.
The rain started to pick up now, it was nearly storming.
Regina swallowed dry and tried not to think of all the horrible scenarios of her little Prince out, caught in this heavy rain.
Regina drove back to the mansion, hoping that Henry would be there now.
At this point, she wasn't even thinking about punishing him for scaring her like that.
She didn't care how much it hurt that he hated her.
She only wanted him to be home where he was safe.
Regina drove to the mansion, tapping her fingers on the steering wheel as if the movement could make the car go faster.
In reality, the car could go faster but the rain was so heavy and Regina's body was nearly leaning on the top of the steering wheel, that she feared getting into some sort of car accident if she rushed back.
Not that she minded running over one of them with her car, God knows she had fun ten years ago chasing a dwarf with her Mercedes.
Especially when he couldn't remember a thing the very next day.
Finally, Regina parked the Mercedes in the garage and rushed inside.
"Henry?" Regina shouted, "Henry, please, please, just tell me that you are home?"
She walked up the staircase going straight to his room, but the bedroom was exactly the way she had left it.
Regina rushed to her study and picked up the phone to call Archie's office, and when he told her Henry hasn't shown up for his session yet, Regina felt a pang of pain in her heart, as if an invisible force was squeezing it from the inside.
Where the hell was he?
Regina walked back to the garage and entered her Mercedes, deciding to drive around Storybrooke.
The rain was terrible outside and Regina could hardly see anything but she kept driving and driving and driving in the hopes of spotting her little Prince somewhere.
After two hours of driving, Regina decided to go back to the mansion.
The rain had lessened now and she had high hopes that Henry was either home by now or on his way.
Perhaps she could even catch him on his way back.
He probably stayed safe somewhere waiting for the rain to pass before going home.
He was a smart boy.
Regina parked the car in the garage and shouted Henry's name the second she entered the mansion.
But once again, she was met with nothing but silence.
And now panic really was starting to take over her body and tears started to fill her eyes.
Regina walked to her study and took the phone she had casually dropped on top of the desk that morning before going to work.
"Sheriff Station, this is Graham speaking," Said the voice on the other side of the line.
"Graham," Regina said in a choked voice "Do you by any chance have Henry there with you?"
"Regina?" Graham asked.
"Yes, of course, it's me," Regina shouted "Is Henry there with you?"
"No, he is not here," Graham said "What's going on?"
"Henry is missing," Regina cried.
"What?" Graham asked.
"He didn't show up in my office today at five how he was supposed to," Regina said "And I can't find him anywhere"
"Okay, okay, calm down," Graham said "Did you go to his school?"
"No," Regina shook her head "No, I… I did not go there"
"Okay, why don't I stop by the school to see if he is there," Graham said "And in the meantime, maybe you can relax? I'm sure he is just stuck there studying"
"Yes, yes, of course," Regina said slightly relieved "Thank you, Graham"
"Of course," Graham said "We'll be right over"
Regina turned off the call and walked to the bar she had in her study, fixing herself a cup of cider.
The school.
Of course, Henry was at the school.
Probably lost reading that damn book he carried up and down with him now.
Feeling relief wash over her, Regina drank the cider all at once from the glass.
The drink was sweet and only slightly bitter from the alcohol, but still strong enough to give it a kick.
Regina poured herself another glass and walked behind her desk, sitting down on the chair.
She sipped her cider, now really enjoying the flavor, before putting it down to retrieve the picture frame on her desk.
A picture of her and Henry when he was only three years old.
A picture of him with chocolate sauce spread all over his face and a smile that Regina so wished she could see on her little Prince again.
The same smile she wished she could see on her face again.
Regina wasn't sure when things started to change between herself and Henry.
She wasn't even sure how he find out the truth.
But she knew it had something to do with that book, that damn book that he guarded like a dog.
She needed to take that book away from him.
Put it in the trash, burn it to ashes.
She needed Henry to forget these ridiculous ideas about everyone in this town being cursed fairy tale characters.
The ideas were absurd.
Even if they were true.
Regina sighed and sipped her cider again before letting her body fall back on the chair.
She was going to get her relationship with Henry back on track.
She was going to force Archie to take those ridiculous ideas away from his head and then, she would rebuild her relationship with Henry.
She would do whatever it takes for him to love her again.
Exactly how he used to.
One hour later, Regina heard the doorbell ring.
She smiled and rose from the chair, walking to the front door.
She paused with her hand on the doorknob, hardening her features.
Now that she knew Henry was home, it was time to let him know that he couldn't just disappear whenever he wanted to.
Regina opened the door, a speech already dancing on her tongue, and saw Graham standing there looking back at her.
Without Henry.
"Where is he?" Regina asked, her heart pounding inside her chest.
"He wasn't at the school," Graham said, "I asked around, nobody saw him there the whole day"
"That's impossible," Regina shouted "I dropped him off myself this morning"
"Do you know any other places he can be?" Graham asked.
"His castles," Regina said defeated "But I drove there earlier and he wasn't there"
"What about Granny's?" Graham asked.
"I went there earlier," Regina cried "He wasn't there"
"Hey, hey, calm down," Graham said giving a step closer to Regina. He put his hand on her shoulder and lightly squeezed "Why don't we go inside? I will call Granny and ask her if Henry stopped by after you left"
Regina nodded unable to formulate any word as the tears fell down her face.
And her heart squeezed inside her chest as if her ribs were piercing it.
Graham put his arms on Regina's shoulder, gently guiding her inside.
"Where is the phone?" Graham asked after he closed the door behind them.
"The study," Regina said "You know the way"
"Regina," Graham put his hand under her chin, lifting her face to meet her eyes "We'll find him"
"What if something bad happened to him?" Regina cried "This is all my fault"
"I am sure he is okay," Graham said gently "Henry is a smart little boy and he probably knows this town better than I do" Graham laughed "And most importantly, everyone knows who he is and whom he belongs to "
"Yes, you are right," Regina nodded.
"I'm going to call Granny," Graham said "I'll be right back"
Graham gave his back to Regina and walked in the direction of her study, while she stayed behind pacing from one side to the other in front of the door.
Ten minutes later, Graham came back from the study wearing an expression Regina knew what it meant before the man even opened his mouth.
"She said she would call in case he showed up at the diner," Graham said.
"We need a search party," Regina said seriously "Something happened to him, maybe he got caught up in the rain and he is all alone and hurt in the woods"
"Why would he be in the woods?" Graham asked.
"I don't know," Regina shouted "But he is out there and he is hurt and we need to find him"
"Okay, okay, listen," Graham said "I'm going to call the station and…"
Regina stopped listening when the faint sound of Henry's voice came from outside her door.
She ran to the door and opened it, all at once, sighing in relief when she saw her precious little boy standing just outside the mansion.
"Henry!"
Regina ran in his direction, suppressing the urge to cry at the sight of her son.
She threw her arms around him, pulling him inside her arms, and holding him tight as the warmth of his skin and the smell of his shampoo calmed her racing heart.
He was here and he was safe and that was all that mattered.
"Are you okay?" Regina asked after pulling away from him. She put her hands on his shoulder and looked inside his eyes "Where have you been?"
She stood up only now eyeing the blonde woman who was in her front yard with her son.
Regina only gave the woman a quick glance, before looking back at her son.
But in the back of her mind, Regina tried to remember who she was both in the Enchanted Forest and here.
Her mind came out empty.
How weird.
"What happened?" Regina asked, looking at Henry.
"I found my real mom!" Henry said angrily, before storming inside the house.
Regina froze surprised while Henry's words made sense inside of her mind.
She slowly turned in the blonde woman's direction, understanding now why she had no clue of who the woman was.
She did not belong here.
Regina looked into the woman's eyes, her green orbs staring back at teary brown ones.
Shock was still taking over Regina's body while she looked at the blonde woman.
Regina shook her head and blinked her eyes as if the movement could somehow calm her nerves.
And it did.
In a way.
Probably because of the way the woman was staring back at her.
She looked just as lost and shocked as Regina was right now.
"You are Henry's birth mother?" Regina asked.
"Hi,"