So I thought I'd have a little fun with this chapter and add more Hace, along with something we all love- angry momma Regina ;)
It was fairly quiet around the house until Roland came back. Caroline had the roadblock of figuring out her math homework, with the help of her father. Through the outside window, she could see that the sun was going down- her brother had been gone with his friends for over three hours. Granted, she knew they probably were taking August's beaten up Jeep, but still- her parents would be mad. It was a school night after all.
And they were. As soon as Roland came through the front door at nine in the evening, Robin and Regina were onto him instantly. Caroline decided to stay back and finish her homework- she had seen her brother get in trouble far too many times for it to be an unnatural thing.
"We told you to be back as soon as the movie was over," Regina said firmly, her hands placed on her hips and Robin's arm around her shoulders.
Roland gulped. "I know, but then Alex's mom invited us to stay over for dinner and I couldn't be rude-"
"You're forgetting that you're fifteen, and we need to know where you are."
Inside, he rolled his eyes. Storybrooke was a pathetically small town he had grown up in- nothing bad was going to happen. He knew everyone and everyone knew him.
Sometimes it was difficult to believe that he had once lived in the Enchanted Forest, being born to a mother that had remained a blank spot in the back of his mind.
"I was just having fun with my friends," he muttered, "I'm sorry."
It was clear that Robin was once again taking Regina's side, knowing to be careful when crossing her in heated situations like this.
"No, sorry isn't going to get you by again," she told him, knowing he still had homework he hadn't been able to finish, "you can't just go around and do whatever you want without us knowing- you're grounded for two weeks."
Roland's mouth opened in shock. "What? Mom, you never grounded Henry for being out late!"
It was Robin's turn to intervene. "Don't you dare brother into this. You need to learn that rules are rules-"
"Oh come on, you never punished him! He would be out for hours, and he would come home to dinner and a bunch of hugs!" Roland dropped his backpack to the floor, realizing he was getting out of hand. But he couldn't help it- the feelings inside had to break out at some point. His blood was surging, mind racing, heart racking against his chest as the words continued to spill out.
"You babied him, you treated him like a perfect human being because he's special. Well I know him a lot better than you guys do, and he's not as perfect as you think he is."
"How dare you bring your older brother into this! Roland, he's in college doing great things with his life, you'll get there someday too-"
Roland refused to listen to her any longer. Henry didn't only have one mother, he had two, the son of both the savior born of true love and the infamous queen who changed so heroically to a life of family and love. His father was Belfire, son of the great Dark One himself. He was a part of them, intertwined into their happy little family tree. Who was he then? A dumb kid who didn't know who his real mother was.
"Stop it! Just stop it! Henry is a jerk, he's- he's a lair, he lies to you all the time."
Roland couldn't help it, he really couldn't; the words tumbled out of his mouth before he could catch himself. "He's had sex with Grace- in this house, in our room. Doesn't sound perfect to me."
Regina's eyes widened substantially, not sure if she had heard him right.
"What?"
There was no way he could take back what he had said, so Roland figured there was no sense in turning back. "Henry told me. He even kept his condoms underneath his bed."
There was suddenly a sour taste in her mouth as she comprehended what he was saying. Regina had quickly forgotten about giving a punishment to her son.
"Oh my god," she muttered, glancing towards Robin before turning around and starting up the stairs. As he watched her ascend the staircase, he groaned. "Do you realize what you just did?"
Roland couldn't say a word in reply. He was still angry for one, and he knew Henry was going to murder him alive when he found out. So he pushed past his father with a scowl on his face, figuring there was nothing left to say. At least there was a comfort to knowing that their mother would murder Henry before he had a chance to kill him.
Regina thought she was going to be sick as she rushed into the boys' room, her body beginning to numb as she repeatedly rejected the words Roland put into her mind. Her knees fell to the carpet as she leaned forward, blindly searching underneath Henry's bed until she felt the broken plastic wrapper with her fingers. She almost burst into tears right then and there. For in her hand lay clutched three empty packs of Trojans- Roland was right.
Her breathing was heavy and unrhythmic as she sat up on the carpet floor, pathetically trying stop herself from crying. She didn't know what she was going to do; everything in her life had been suddenly been tossed around in a twister, leaving her scatterbrained. Regina didn't like surprises.
Rushing back down the staircase, she was soon caught in her husband's arms as he attempted to reason things out with her.
"Let's wait until he comes back to talk things out," Robin said, knowing her course of action would include confronting the couple at the fastest possible second.
Attempting to squirm herself out of his grasp, Regina held the torn blue packages so they were in his sight. "Are you not upset about this?
"Of course I am- he's my son. But a calm conversation with them both sounds a lot more reasonable-"
"How many years have you been married to me?" She asked rhetorically, her free hand moving across his chest behind her, finding the tender spot between two of his ribs and pressing. Robin instantly let go of her as he cringed, allowing Regina access to her keys.
"I don't do reasonable."
About ten minutes later, Regina was on the slush covered road, searching the streets left and right for any signs of Grace. She knew the girl's schedule, so it was just a matter of time before she would be heading home after work. As luck would have it, the blonde was soon spotted exiting the general store, a bag of groceries in her arms. It didn't take Regina long to park and march straight towards her.
"Oh, hi Regina," Grace spoke when she saw her, her friendly smile quickly demolishing when she saw the condom wrappers clutched in her hand. She said a quick but fervent prayer in her heart.
"What... What are you doing here?"
The former queen seemed as flustered as ever. "No, the question is, what have you been doing with my son?" She demanded, not sure if she should yell at her or burst into tears.
Grace swallowed hard as she tried to form an answer in her mind- she knew this would happen sooner or later. "Well, uh, Henry and I both agreed that we were both mature enough to further our relationship-"
"You need to take this," Regina said, cutting her off sharply and holding up a square cardboard box.
The college student's terror continued to show though. "A pregnancy test? I'm not pregnant, Regina."
"You don't know that!" She shouted back at her, grabbing hold of her bag of groceries and dropping it to the ground and out of the way, "you've had sex with my son! I could become a grandmother for Christ's sake!"
Her face was now the color of a tomato. "Look, I would know if I was right now- Regina... I'm sorry we kept it from you. But we're twenty two, we're old enough to make our own decisions." She said, as calmly and nicely as she could.
Letting the test fall from her hand and drop to the ground, Regina closed her eyes and sniffed a couple of times, tears slipping down her cheeks as she stood there pathetically in the middle of the sidewalk for everyone to see.
"Hey, it's okay..." Grace said, stepping forward and embracing the woman in a tight hug.
"He's- he's my baby..." She said, forcing back a sob.
And he will always be! He's just... Growing up."
That made Regina cry even harder; she was squeezing Grace so tightly the poor girl could hardly breathe.
"But I don't want him to grow up! Grace, the world is a scary place! It- it takes innocence and destroys it. And Henry is out there, on the other side of the town line..."
"I know, I know," she soothed, pulling back to look her in the face. "You've raised him so well. He's strong enough to survive out there- deep down, you know that. You also know that I love him so much, and I only want the best for him. You just have to trust that we can make our own decisions."
Regina tried to control her crying, nodding faintly. "I love you too, sweetheart. I want the best for both of you."
They hugged again, this time more gently.
Out of his truck window, (David let him drive his rusty old pickup while he was visiting) Henry saw something he sure wasn't expecting. His mother was hugging his girlfriend in broad daylight. Pulling his truck to the side, he got out and began towards them. When he saw the blue condom wrappers in his mother's hand, however, Henry stopped dead in his tracks. Grace gave him a warning look that revealed it all, but it was already too late. Regina turned around and wiped her tears with the back of her hand, walking towards her son with open arms.
Henry was almost a full six inches taller than him, his arms were strong, yet his heart remained the same- good, true, and full of belief.
"Are... You okay Mom?" He asked, not knowing what to expect. He and Grace always said that the day his mother found out about the condoms would be the day they both died- now that it was happening, he didn't know what to expect.
"Yeah, I'm okay," Regina said softly, letting him hold her, "just... Promise me you'll always be my prince, even if you're not so little anymore."
That made the corners of Henry's mouth turn up into a delicate smile.
"Of course, Mom. I'll always be your prince."
What'd you guys think? I know thinking about Henry and Roland being ten years older is still a lot to get used to, but they're so interesting to write! Caroline's birthday is coming up soon, along with more of Zelena and her wicked plan..
Let me just say that all the reviews and follows I've gotten so far literally make me the happiest person alive. You guys are so great. Keep it up, I love feedback!
