Regina opened the door to Henry's room and poked her head inside, "Hey sweetie, how's the homework coming?"
He flinched, startled, and looked at her through suspicious eyes. "Fine," he stated bluntly.
"You sure you don't need my help?" Regina leaned into the room, and her eyes scanned it for any undone chores.
"Nope." He dropped his gaze back to his textbook as Regina stood awkwardly in the doorway, not sure what to say to him.
"Well...if you need me..."
When Henry didn't reply, Regina gave up and went back downstairs. He slipped farther and father away every minute and Regina had no idea how to get him. She tried buying him comic books and video games, which he accepted without enthusiasm; she tried getting home earlier to spend more time with him; she even tried convincing him that Emma Swan was a con artist trying to take advantage of them; but nothing worked. Henry knew the truth and she couldn't convince him otherwise.
Why should he care what she had done in the past, anyway? That was all years before he was even born. Didn't that book tell him about her mother, or Daniel, or Alexander, or Leopold? About how his precious Snow White had torn down all her hopes of a happy life? Snow and Red hated her because she killed their father, that much she could understand, even if he wasn't worth an ounce of the effort they put in avenging him, but Henry had grown up with nothing but love and comfort. The book had planted the seed, but someone or something was watering it, and she had to tear it root and stem. She had to get her little boy back.
As she went into the kitchen to fetch herself a much-needed glass of wine, the doorbell rang. Regina answered it, wondering who had the nerve to bother her at this hour. Rumplestiltskin, of course. He refused to admit it, but Regina knew the little imp was awake.
"Is there something I can help you with?" Regina tapped her long, glossy fingernails against the door frame.
Mr. Gold, as he preferred to be called in this realm, replied, "As your attorney, I've come to let you know that the adoption is off."
"Bullshit," spat Regina, "Henry's mine now and there's nothing that little faux-blonde whore can do to change that. I don't care what she knows, he's my son. If she thinks she can just waltz in here in and take him away from me, she's dangerously mistaken."
"What on Earth are you talking about?" Mr. Gold narrowed his eyes, "I was referring to Ashley Bao. She recently moved out of her stepmother's place because she changed her mind about giving you her unborn baby and the Lucas family was gracious enough to take her in."
Shit, Regina groaned internally. She had completely forgotten that under the curse, she was the would-be adoptive mother of Ashley Bao's child. It's not as though she ever expected Ms Bao to give birth, since time didn't move. "Miss Bao is changing her mind?"
"She had a fight with her stepmother a few days ago and come to my office saying the deal was off," Mr. Gold explained. "You thought I was talking about Henry's birth mother? I thought his was a closed adoption. How do you know his birth mother?"
"I did some digging," Regina answered evasively, "to make sure she wasn't some kind of criminal or lunatic; you can never be too careful."
Mr. Gold shrugged, "I suppose not. But how do you intend to deal with Ashley Bao?"
The next morning, Emma and Mary woke up early to meet Henry at Granny's before school started. He was already waiting for them in a booth when they arrived and had ordered a stack of pancakes and three hot chocolates with cinnamon.
"Hey kid," Emma ruffled his hair, "You okay? You seem kinda down."
Henry blinked, "Do I? It's nothing."
The women shared a look. Mary said, "You know you can tell us anything, right?"
He checked their surroundings to make sure nobody heard them, "It's my mom - she's trying to adopt Ashley's baby. We can't let her."
"I'm surprised you don't want a little brother or sister," Mary replied.
"What he means is, Ashley doesn't want to place the baby for adoption and he's scared his mom will force her to," Emma explained.
Ruby arrived with their breakfast in time to catch Emma's words. "She can't force Ashley do anything she doesn't want to," Ruby cut in forcefully. "Granny and I are taking care of things."
"How is she?" Henry asked.
"Fine." Ruby grimaced, "It's a tight fit and we're a little low on funds, but things'll work out. I think Ashley will make a great mother."
"And we'll all be there to support her." Mary nodded to Ruby, who smiled in gratitude. Sensing that Emma wanted to speak to Henry alone, Mary got up and made the excuse that she had to go to the bathroom and Ruby moved on to other customers.
"Do you want one, though?" Emma addressed Henry.
"What?"
She took a bite of her pancake, "A brother or sister?"
Henry shrugged, "It would be nice to be alone anymore, but I don't wouldn't wish my mom on my worst enemy."
The soft, buttery piece of pancake slide down Emma's throat like a rock falling down a narrow metal pipe. If Henry was afraid of his mother mistreating another child, did that mean she was mistreating him?
When she was sure nobody was eavesdropping, Emma finally asked the question that had been haunting her since she got to Storybrooke, "Does your mother hurt you?"
"No," Henry replied automatically; Emma wished she felt reassurance. "But she hurts everyone else and keeps getting away with it. She put everyone under a curse, she's trying to take Ashley's baby, she made Sidney tell everyone what happened to you in prison."
"You saw that? Please tell me you're not scarred for life."
"I'm fine," Henry confirmed. "Do you think...is it possible..."
"C'mon, spit it out."
He didn't look her in the eye, his voice so low Emma almost didn't hear him, "That maybe your baby didn't die? Maybe I am your son after all?"
"Kid..." Emma slumped in her seat. She couldn't deny the evidence - Henry had been born around the same time she gave birth, she never saw a body, and he looked like her ex-boyfriend - but she couldn't wrap her mind around the idea that the hospital flat-out lied to her and stole her kid. She had spent all this time mourning his too-short life; she couldn't mourn a life spent without her. "I..."
"Okay, I'm back." Mary's chipper tone broke the mood as she returned from the bathroom. "We better finish these before we're late."
"We'll talk about it later," Emma told Henry.
The three of the dove into their food and spoke of lighter topics, like David Nolan's recovery. When Mary and Henry had finished and left for school, while Emma remained at the booth, the sheriff approached her.
"Nice work last night," he smiled at her, "with the Nolan case."
Emma shrugged, "Just doing what I can to help."
Sheriff Graham pulled a business card from his vest pocket, "Well you're certainly impressed me. I think you can be a great asset to our police department."
If they hadn't been in public, Emma would have laughed out loud. Her? A cop? "I already have a job."
"Private investigator? There's not much use for those in a town where everyone know everyone's business." Sheriff Graham raised his eyebrows playfully.
"Who says I'm staying?" Emma challenged.
"Henry Mills. And common sense." Graham smiled. "We have dental."
Emma smirked and accepted the card, "I'll think about it."
David woke up when Wilby jumped on his bed and began licking his face. "Hey," he brushed the bushy little shepherd dog aside, "I'm awake, you can stop." Wilby bounced on the foot of the bed, his tail wagging rapidly and his long, pink lolling out of his mouth.
After he rose from bed, David took a moment to examine his new surroundings. Some trace of Regina's curse lingered in his mind, giving him an understanding of the new world she had taken him to and the new life she had given him, but that didn't mean this situation didn't deeply disturb him. Snow didn't know who he was, all his children were missing, and his mother had become a stranger. Under the curse, his mother went by the same name, behaved the same, and spoke the same (expect for some odd phrases he didn't quite understand), but so much about her didn't fit; chiefly, that she had married King George (or Albert Spencer as the curse had renamed him), off all men. She was his mother, but she wasn't his mother.
Once he finished getting ready for the day, David made his way downstairs where his mother and King George...Albert Spencer...were eating breakfast.
"Good morning sweetheart, how are you feeling?" Ruth beamed.
David kissed her on the forehead and answered, "Better than yesterday." He sat at the table across from Spencer, restraining himself from punching the man square in the jaw for he'd done. Mother set down a cup of piping hot black liquid that he knew to be coffee, though he had no idea how it tasted. He took a tentative sip, but yelped as the bitter liquid stabbed his tongue.
Ruth smiled wearily, "The doctors mentioned it would take a while for you to feel like yourself again, and to get all your memories back."
"Yeah, maybe," David muttered.
Spencer rose from the table, "I have to get to work." He kissed Ruth on the cheek as David resisted the urge to vomit and walked out the door.
When she noticed the look of disgust on David's face, Ruth went over and gently squeezed his shoulder, "I know Albert might seem like he doesn't care, but you know he has a hard time showing how he really feels."
"No Mom, he's perfectly clear," David scoffed. His appetite left him and he got up too. "I need to see Mary Blanchard."
"She's got work too," Ruth told him. "Besides, I thought we could spend the day catching up, as much you're able to, and work on those physical therapy exercises Dr. Whale sent you. After breakfast, obviously."
David answered with a bittersweet smile.
"How are you holding up?" Ruby asked Ashley when she returned from cleaning up after a couple who had come to Granny's to get away from their respective spouses.
Ashley tossed her bag on her new bed. "Exhausted," she groaned, "but doing fine."
Granny had been kind enough to let her stay in one of the inn's rooms free of charge, but the tiny room was a place to sleep only for a few nights, not a home to raise a child in. One bed dominated the most of the space, framed by a plain dresser on one side and a tiny bathroom on the other. There wasn't much space left over for a crib, or other baby stuff.
While Ashley changed out of her work clothes, Ruby sat on the bed going over the list of things they needed to get before the baby arrived. Most parents had months to get things in order, but since Ashley had only recently decided to keep her baby, they were scrambling and had no plans.
"I'm thinking of asking the Johnsons if I could buy their son's crib. He's almost three years so he won't need it much longer." Ashley stated.
"Sounds like a plan," Ruby nodded. "So, are you gonna bottle-feed or breastfeed?"
"Breast-feed, obviously," Ashley shrugged, "Why pay for something that comes out of my tits for free?"
Ruby laughed, "Good point. But if you plan on pumping breast-milk you'll have to do it on your break."
A knocked on the door interrupted them, and when Ashley opened the door, her stomach turned to ice and feel to the ground. "M-madam Mayor," she stammered.
Regina Mills's cool brown stare glazed over Ashley, Ruby, the small, bare room and her red-painted lips curled into a sneer. "So, this is where you think my baby should grow up?"
"It's not your baby," Ruby barked, "The adoption's off."
"That's where you're wrong," Regina's smirked widen as she handed Ashley a folder. "You signed on the dotted line and I'm holding you to your promise. If you don't hand over that child when it's born, I'll just sue you for custody." She gave Ashley one last smile, teeth gleaming like a shark that had found it's prey, and turned to walk out.
"You can't do that!" Ashley protested.
Regina turned back, "I can do whatever I want, and I'm sure Henry will love to have a younger sibling."
Ruby got up from the bed, "Hey, don't let her get to you."
"How am I suppose to fight this?" Ashley cried. Eyes wide, tears threatening to escape her eyes, her heart pounded and her hands shook. "She's powerful, she's wealthy-"
"And she's a fucking bitch," Ruby interrupted. "She already has one kid who can't stand her and keeps running away, so do you really think this baby will better off with her?"
"Of course not, but I can't fight her. I'm scraping by as is, I can't afford a lawyer. And even if I win, I sure as hell won't have enough left over to take care of this baby."
"You know Granny and I will take care of you," Ruby gripped Ashley's shoulder reassuringly.
Ashley shook her head and the tears began to fall in earnest. "You two can't save me from everything. Crap, Mr. Gold's her lawyer; you know, your landlord?"
"I hadn't thought of that." Ruby quietly admitted.
A harsh sob burst through Ashley's lips, "She's got me cornered. I was so stupid to think I had any control over my life."
"You weren't," Ruby insisted. "You finally got away from your stepmother; that's got to count for something."
"Maybe," Ashley wiped her eyes. "But I only did that so I could keep my baby, and I'm gonna lose it anyway."
"Don't sell yourself short," Ruby pulled her into a hug, "You did something brave and I couldn't be more proud of you. Look, you're tired and emotional; get some rest and we can figure this out in the morning, okay?"
Ashley pushed her hair out of her eyes, "I think I need to go for a walk."
She left Ruby behind and stepped into the alley behind the inn, taking a deep breathe and struggling not to start sobbing aloud. Despite Ruby's encouragement she felt lost and scared and hopeless. Ashley touched her baby belly, wondering if the mayor would ever let her see the child or constantly rub it in her face that she wasn't fit to be a mother - she wasn't sure which she dreaded more.
When heavy footsteps approached her, Ashley quickly wiped her eyes again and tried to put a straight face. Teddy Mishra walked by, his arms loaded with groceries, and smiled at her, then was gone before she could smile back. As she returned to her pity party, Teddy came back around, this time with empty-handed.
"Hey, you alright?" he asked, his tone pure, gentle concern.
Ashley swallowed, "I'm fine."
"You sure you don't need anything?"
She shook her head, "It's nothing you can help me with anyway."
"Well," he came over and have her a brief, light hug, "if you ever feel like talking about it, you're always welcome to cry on shoulder."
Her lips twitched into a smile despite her effort not to do so, "Thank you Teddy. You should get home."
He nodded, his eyes lingering on her baby bump for just a moment longer than usual, then he turned back and returned to his truck.
The steady pounding of his steed's hooves against the hard-packed earth kept Prince Nagaraj awake as he rode to King George's palace. A light rain dripped onto his head and shoulders, but he paid no attention to it. His father and mother's words echoed in his head as the golden spires of the palaces came into view, and they crept up in his mind like a rising tide.
After his birthday his parents told him how he came to be their son. He had always known he was adopted and that fact had never bothered him, but only now did they confess he hadn't been a normal child. His childhood nurse, whom he called Auntie even though she was only his aunt by affection, had found a snake in her garden one morning while she was washing her clothes in the river and carried it home in a pot, only to find a beautiful necklace in the pot when she later opened it. Auntie sold the necklace to Father as a gift for Mother and he put in a jewelry chest, but they opened the chest again, they found a baby instead. Him.
He didn't know what he was anymore, a human or something else, or if he was human, why he had been cursed like this. He couldn't even look his parents in eyes knowing there might be something wrong with him, so instead he fled to his best friend, Prince James. James might appreciate the company since his father insisted on forcing him to marry Prince Abigail. Nagaraj also kept the gold and glass slipper wrapped up in his traveling bag in hopes that he could manage to find the beautiful woman who had bewitched him that night at the betrothal ball, though he dreaded the thought of her learning his secret.
When he arrived at the palace, the guards summoned Bo Peep, a stout middle-aged woman with harsh manners, the warlock hired by King George to ensure that he wasn't under any spell or an imposer disgusted with magic. Like all warlocks Bo Peep bore her master's seal, a lion surrounded by roses, on the backs of her hands. Bo Peep's thoroughness always annoyed him, though Nagaraj understood the necessarily of it. In the middle of the examination Nagaraj felt a prickle of fear that Bo Peep would discover something off about him and throw him in the dungeons, but the warlock nodded like nothing was wrong and let him through as she always did. He reminded himself that Bo Peep had examined him many times before, and if she noticed nothing then, she wouldn't have anything now.
The palace chamberlain Master Abernathy, a spindly man of sixty years, greeted him the courtyard and informed him that the royal family had left on a diplomatic mission just two days ago, but he was welcome to await their return.
On the second morning of his self-imposed exile, after Nagaraj ate a quiet, lonely breakfast in his chambers, he put on his cloak and riding boots and rode out into the foggy dawn. He had no destination in mind, but the solitude and calm, rolling hills gave him a sense of serenity he had been missing since learning of his past.
As the sun climbed higher in the sky, he passed beside a thicket of blueberry bushes. He caught a glimpse of a woman crouched inside, gathering berries in her apron. When she heard him approach, she raised her head and Nagaraj recognized her instantly. He leapt from his horse.
"I feared I'd never see you again," he smiled shyly. "You never told me your name."
The woman from the ball raised her head and blushed a gentle shade of rose pink, and as Nagaraj approached her, she got to feet to leave. "I shouldn't speak to you, your Highness, I'm sorry."
"Wait," Nagaraj pleaded, "Have I offended you somehow?"
Her doe brown filled with mortification, "Absolutely not, you were a perfect gentleman. I just...I don't belong with you."
Nagaraj forced down the wave of self-disgust that had risen in his chest. "Because you know what I am?" He didn't dare spoke above a whisper.
"You're a prince," his mysterious companion sighed, "and I am nothing."
"I don't think you're nothing." Nagaraj whispered.
The delicate blush returned to her cheeks and her smile broke his heart. He hadn't noticed until now how close their bodies were, his hands inches away from her hips, his face hovering just over her, so close he noticed a bruised until the thin white linen of her collar. She stepped back.
"I've been here too long and I'm needed elsewhere. Please forgive me."
