A/N:Hey everyone! I'm sorry it has been soo long since I've updated this story. School got really busy and then I just lost motivation. I'm not sure how many people are still reading it but since there were a few new followers recently I kind of got re-inspired to work on it. Please leave reviews after reading! They help keep me inspired and they let me know whether or not people are still interested in the story. I would love love love to hear from you! I hope you like the new chapter :) Many thanks for reading and for sticking with this story!

"Hey Emma? Can we go on that bridge when we get to Boston? The suspension one?" Henry asked from the backseat.

"The Zakim bridge? That's the plan, but it might be really busy since it's a Saturday."

"Yes! It's so cool."

"I don't know if you care, but it's called a cable-stayed bridge. A suspension is like the ones in New York and San Francisco."

"Oh." Henry shrugged amiably. "They seem the same to me."

"Yeah they're pretty similar." Emma smiled, glancing in the rear-view mirror at him.

"How close are we?" Henry inclined his neck to look out the front window.

"Real close."

"Are we going to the apartment now?"

"No I figured it would be easier to go downtown first."

"Okay."

"Regina is that alright with you? Or do you think we should go pack up Henry's things first?"

"Oh," Regina thought. "Well I suppose while we're already out we might as well go shopping first." She turned to look at Henry. "How long do you think you'll need to pack up your things?"

"Not long. I already started before we left last week."

"Not to mention you never really finished unpacking in the first place." Emma smirked.

"That too."

"Well then as long as we don't stay out too long I think we should be fine." Regina said.

A few minutes later they were turning onto the ramp that led to the bridge Henry wanted to take.

"So far so good." Emma said in regards to the traffic.

Henry was leaning forward as far as he could in his seat. He wanted to lean against the two front seats but his seatbelt was preventing him from doing so. He was practically bouncing in excitement.

"Mom look," Henry pointed up at the bridge. "It goes by fast so make sure you're watching."

"I'm watching Henry," Regina assured him in amusement. She looked up at the bridge as they passed through it.

Both women could practically feel the excitement radiating off of the ten-year-old as they drove across. Regina looked up as they passed through it; the many white bars that towered over them met at multiple points throughout the structure, forming almost triangular patterns. She had seen the bridge from afar the last time she'd been to Boston, but hadn't really paid that much attention to the city's architecture since something far more important had been occupying her thoughts. The drive across the bridge was something so simple, yet she could see why Henry liked it so much. It was something she never would have seen in the Enchanted Forest, and it was definitely not like anything in Storybrooke. As they sailed easily across the bridge, Regina could see the tall buildings of the city fast approaching.

"We got lucky." Emma said, "Since it's the weekend I was expecting it to be packed."

"The city is so cool." Henry said. "Driving around it makes me feel like I'm in a movie, or a comic, or a game. I dunno. It's just fun." He grinned.

"What do you think Regina?" Emma asked.

"It's very nice." The mayor commented. Her smile had fallen a little at Henry's enthusiasm. She was happy that he was having a good time, but she was still worried about him realizing how much he liked it here and changing his mind about coming back to Storybrooke. This was one of the reasons why she had been uncertain about his coming back here this weekend.

The ride across the bridge ended as quickly as it had began. After what felt like only a few short seconds, the road was slanting downwards into a tunnel that would lead them into the heart of the city.

"Mom I love this part!" Henry pointed into the fast-approaching tunnel. The tunnel was quite long and was lined with an endless stream of lights that gave the entire place an orange glow. This image was dotted with the red taillights from the other cars accompanying them throughout the tunnel, and it was beautiful in a strange sort of futuristic and industrial way. Even though there were many car lanes, Regina got the sense that on a busy day this place would be a nightmare for someone with claustrophobia. The trip through the tunnel took much longer than the drive across the bridge. Emma had turned the radio up and for a moment, the sound of the music mixed with the unusual allure of the tunnel helped Regina to forget about her worries. After a few minutes, a bright white light could be visible at the end of the tunnel as they neared the daylight once more. As the little yellow bug shot back into the bright sun, Regina felt like she was being pulled from an almost dream-like state.

"Wasn't that cool?!" Henry asked.

"It certainly was," Regina smiled.

"Look!" Henry leaned forward in his seat, pointing to a very tall, thin white building with a clock tower.

"A little more impressive than the one in Storybrooke hmm?" Regina said.

"Yeah." Henry laughed.

"We're almost there," Emma announced. The buildings that had been visible from the bridge were much closer now, and they grew increasingly taller as the three neared the heart of the city. Regina and Henry looked around as Emma navigated skillfully through the streets. The first few streets they went down were mostly made up of buildings that weren't anything special, many were late twentieth century, but soon the buildings started to gain more character and charm. The amount of skyscrapers increased significantly as well.

"There it is!" Henry pointed to a big red brick colonial building to their left.

Regina ducked a little so she could get a better view of it under the roof of the car.

"It's been a while since I've driven here but let me just find somewhere to park and then we can head on in." Emma said. She turned left and they drove past the front of the building, giving the passengers of the little car a proper view of the structure.

Ten minutes later, Emma, Regina and Henry were all standing outside the building,

"When you said market," Regina said, looking up at the huge four-storey building. "I certainly wasn't expecting this." She smiled.

"I said it was indoor didn't I?"

"You did, but still. Wow. It's much bigger than I imagined."

"Disappointed?" Emma teased.

"Not at all. It's beautiful."

The brunette looked around them, they were in an area in between Faneuil Hall and another building called Quincy Market. The latter building was a large white Roman style building with four decorative columns at the front.

It wasn't like Regina had never been to the city before, and she'd certainly seen palaces that were much bigger than this back in the Enchanted Forest, but it had been so long since she'd been out of Storybrooke. On her first trip to Boston she hadn't had that much time to look around. Maybe Archie was right, maybe it was a good idea for her to get out of the little town for a while, even if it was just for a day.

Regina looked down as she felt Henry's hand encircle hers. "Do you like it?" He asked.

"I do." She smiled at him. "I can see why you wanted to come back here."

"Yeah, it's cool! It's too bad we can't stay here longer, there are so many places to explore around here."

"It would be nice if we could stay a while longer." Regina agreed. "But… unfortunately we have a long ride home tonight. And I don't want you getting to bed too late." She cupped his chin softly.

"I knooow."

"So, you guys wanna head in?" Emma asked.

"Yeah!" Henry answered. "Come on," He grabbed Emma's hand, keeping his other hand still entwined with Regina's as he practically pulled them towards the building.

"I can't decide!" Henry said, holding three comic books in his hand. "They all sound so good!"

Emma had gone to the bathroom and Regina was standing with Henry in the comic book store he had wanted to go to so badly. She couldn't help but smile as she saw how happy her son was.

He looked up at her, a puzzled look on his face. "What do you think?"

She breathed out a laugh, "I honestly have no idea Henry. You're the expert in these matters."

"Hmm..." Henry thought, internally debating which one he needed most.

"Tell you what Henry, why don't you get all three?"

"Really?! But I thought you said I could only get one!" His eyes shone.

"Well you seem equally passionate about all of them, and they'll all be well worth the money I'm sure. Besides, we came here specifically for comics didn't we? The way I see it, we are just making the trip all the more worthwhile." She tried to explain her reasoning diplomatically, but in truth she just felt like spoiling him since she was so happy to have him back.

The three comics were suddenly placed on the ledge of the shelf and Regina gasped softly as Henry threw himself into her arms. "Thank you!"

The mayor felt herself smile as her arms wrapped warmly around her son. "You're welcome Henry."

She looked up as the moment was interrupted by the sounds of a family arguing. The culprits were a woman and her son standing on the other side of the shelves from them. The boy, who looked about eight or nine years old, was angry that his mother wouldn't buy him something that he wanted.

"But all my friends are getting one!" The boy whined. "I can't be the only one without it!"

"Well borrow it from one of them then!" The mom replied testily. "I'm not buying any more for you this week. I just bought you that stupid doll you wanted."

"Action figure! And that doesn't count, it was for my birthday! I can't borrow it I need to read it before they do or they're gonna ruin it for me. They always do!"

"Sounds like maybe you need some new friends."

"Mooom!"

"Ugh, relax it was a joke."

"You never let me have anything!"

"When you get a job then you can buy whatever you want."

"I'm too young, it's illegal! You'll get in trouble if you make me get a job." The boy whined.

Regina couldn't believe they were still in the store. If Henry had ever made a scene like that she would have marched him straight home.

Regina felt herself tense up as the mom suddenly looked around and made eye contact with her. Regina immediately looked away when she was caught watching.

"Why can't you be more like him huh?" The mom nodded towards Henry.

The kid glared at Henry who pulled away from Regina, confused.

The woman gestured in their direction. "Learn from him, he appreciates his mom. Maybe if you said thank you more often I'd buy you more junk too."

"Mooom!"

Regina's face reddened and she turned away from them, trying and failing to get Henry to do the same.

"No that's it, we're going home." The other mom said.

"Maybe if you weren't such a bitch I'd say thank you more often!" Regina's eyes widened and she couldn't help but turn around again. She wished she could discipline the little brat herself.

"Tyler you wait 'till I tell your father what you just said!" The woman grabbed her son's arm and pulled him towards the exit of the store. As they left, the boy's eyes shot daggers at Regina and Henry. Since he wasn't paying attention, he accidentally bumped into Emma as she re-entered the store.

"Oh, hey, sorry." Emma said.

"Watch where you're going!" The mom snapped at Emma, before fuming her way out of the store.

"Nice day to you too," Emma grumbled as she joined Regina and Henry. "What the hell was that about?"

Regina just looked a little shocked.

Henry shrugged. "That kid's mom wouldn't buy him a comic and she said his friends weren't really his friends so he called her a bitch."

"Henry!" Regina scolded.

"Sorry," Henry bit his lip.

Emma laughed, "seriously?"

Henry nodded, grinning.

"Some people…" Emma folded her arms, looking back in the direction where they had gone.

"It was terrible," Regina said, astounded. "I can't believe there are families who treat each other that way."

"Yeah well, welcome to Boston." Emma said apologetically. "So, did you finally decide on a comic?" She asked Henry.

"Yeah! Mom's letting me have all three."

"Nice!" Emma grinned at Henry. "You'll have plenty to read on the way home."

She looked up at Regina who seemed to be growing angrier about what she had just witnessed.

The brunette wrapped her arm around Henry. "Seeing that makes me even more grateful to have you."

Henry looked up at her as they walked to the cashier. Her words only filled him with guilt. He may never have called her the 'B' word, but in the past he'd said some things of almost equal offence. He had yelled at her many times, told her she wasn't his real mom, called her evil, and even ignored and abandoned her to the point of her feeling alone and unlovable. He had pushed her so far, that she'd believed there was no reason for her to go on living. Yet here she was, saying that she was lucky to have a son like him?

Henry stopped in his tracks. "Mom?"

She turned, "yes Henry?" She stopped walking when she realized he had.

He paused, not knowing what to say. "Thanks."

Her features softened and she ran a hand through his hair. "You already said that. But you're welcome. I do appreciate that." She turned to continue on to the checkout.

"Wait, Mom?"

She stopped, waiting patiently. Her expression became confused as he glanced around them nervously, seeing if there was anyone else near them. Emma was across the store browsing the shelves.

"Mom... I'm..."

"What is it Henry?" Regina asked, concern starting to show in her eyes as she noticed the distress in his.

"I think you're... I think you're a really great mom."

"Sweetheart they're just comics," she responded, a blush creeping up her neck.

"No. Not just about those. I mean, I think you're the best mom in the whole world."

She just stared at him, her mouth hanging slightly open. His words had taken her by complete surprise.

"I mean it. You're the best mom in the whole world. And I'm really really sorry I've never told you that before."

"Henry..."

The ten-year-old threw his arms around her, trying once again that week to convey all of his apologies into one hug. Her arms slowly wrapped around him in return. After a few moments he looked up and saw that her eyes were glistening with tears, and this only caused him to hug her even tighter. She might be ready to forgive him for being so horrible to her, but he wasn't ready to forgive himself.

Footsteps were heard approaching and then Henry heard Emma sigh. "Oh no, I'm interrupting again aren't I? I'm sorry." Emma bit her lip, but then her expression turned to concern when she noticed that Regina looked about ready to cry.

"Regina what's–" She was about to ask, when she felt Henry plow into her in a fierce hug.

"You too Emma. You're the best mom in the world too."