Dead man walking. Or rather, dead pre – teen walking. Henry swallowed uneasily as he made his way out of the school building after his English class. For the first time ever in his young life he got a C on a paper. His mom was going to kill him. A million thoughts ran through his head. Was he going to be able to keep this from her? Will his teacher want to schedule a meeting with his mom to discuss this disappointment? Could he talk Robin into going to the teacher – parent conference instead? Would he able to convince Robin to keep this just between the two of them? He had a lot to think about and not a lot of time with which to do it. He absentmindedly walked towards the elementary school so he could pick up Roland. Henry had no afterschool activities which meant he could watch Roland for the two hours after school ended before his mother got home. Two hours. That was really all the time Henry had to figure out to not bring up his English paper. He really had not tried all that hard on it. He was lucky so far in his writings, but it appears, this time, his luck ran out. He told his mother all those nights he was staying up late that he was working on his paper when, in reality, he was reading his comic books. She was so proud of him for working so hard on his paper; she assured him he would get an A with all his effort. He hated to disappoint her. Every day when they sat down for dinner she asked if the paper had been returned to him. Perhaps they would go out and celebrate. How could he break his mother's heart? The thoughts were weighing him down so much so that he didn't realize he made it to the elementary school and Roland had come up to him, tugging on his hand.

"Hennnnry!"

"Oh, hey Ro."

"What are you doing?"

"Just thinking."

"Oh, thinkin' 'bout what?"

"Um, nothing."

Roland quirked up his lips, something he picked from Regina. She did it enough around the boys.

"You're quiet to be thinkin' 'bout nothin'."

"You sure know a lot of big words for a five year old."

"Mama says I'm smart! Just like you!"

Henry groaned a bit. Just like him.

"You wanna stop off at the park before we head home?" The park was Henry's favorite place to sit and think. His actions for the afternoon need a lot of consideration. Roland could play and Henry could sit and think without the young boy bothering him too much. Roland nodded his head enthusiastically. Henry watched Roland jog ahead of him and off towards the direction of the park. They couldn't stay long, his mom might be a little upset if they got home after she did and they still had homework to complete. After another ten minutes of walking, Henry arrived at the park where Roland was hard at play on the swings, pumping his legs up and down, swinging higher and higher. Henry decided to join his younger brother on the swing set, only he just sat there, allowing inertia to turn him this way and that. Roland stopped himself on the swing. He hopped off and went to stand in front of Henry's downcast eyes. He stooped low so he could look up into Henry's eyes.

"You okay Henry?" Henry let out a big sigh, his head leaning heavy into his hands, supported by his knees.

"I don't know Roland."

"What don't you know?"

"I don't know what's gonna happen when mom finds out."

"Finds out what?" Roland asked. The five year old was curious and never seemed to run out of questions to ask. Henry sat up to look at his step brother properly.

"You know that paper I was working on?" No, Roland honestly didn't know what paper Henry was talking about. Roland's main concern these days were tracing his letters and learning sight words. And after all that, playing with his Legos or looking at the pictures in Henry's comic books. After a moment Roland shook his head. "Well, mom thought I was working really hard on it, and to be honest, I really wanted to work hard on it, I just forgot to."

"But what's mama gonna find out?" Roland was a little confused about Henry's current tangent. All Roland wanted to know was what the big secret was. Was it like mama's surprise birthday party? It was a good thing, a good secret to be kept. She was happy when she found out. He said as much. "Mama likes finding out secrets!" Henry looked at the young boy, a puzzled expression on his face.

"What are you talking about?"

"You know! How we had to keep her birthday party a secret! We weren't supposed to tell anyone!" Henry smirked a trade mark Regina smirk.

"This isn't that kind of secret, Ro," Henry responded.

"Oh, well, what kind of secret is it?"

"It's one that if found out could get me into trouble."

"What kind of trouble?"

"Oh, maybe I'll get grounded. No tv, no ice cream, no comic books. It'll be awful."

"What's awful?" Henry let out an exasperate sigh. Here he was, pouring out all his fears to his young brother but the boy failed to grasp the gravity of the situation, just how terrible Henry's life was going to be for however long his mother deemed fit. He had to come up with some way for her to not find out about the grade on his paper.

"Awful is kinda like bad."

"Really?"

"Yeah, you know how during the week mom doesn't let us watch tv?"

"Sometimes she does."

"Well, even for the sometimes I still wouldn't get to watch. You guys would get to have fun without me."

"Ohhh, I'm sorry Henry," Roland said as he patted the older boy's hand.

A knock on his office door pulled David's attention from the lunch he was taking at his desk. He still had some reports to read over if he wanted to get home to his wife on time. David looked up to see Robin leaning over into the windows of his office, waving. David finished chewing his current bite of food and motioned for Robin to enter.

"Hey Robin, what can I do for you?"

"Really sorry about this,"

"What is it? Is something wrong?"

"Yeah, it's Regina."

"Oh? What's wrong? Something happen? Is she okay?"

"She called to tell me she had to go home early, that she wasn't feeling well."

"Oh."

"Yeah, I was wondering if it was okay if I took off a little early to check on her?" David leaned back in his chair to consider Robin's request.

"What can you do for her if she's already at home?" Robin sighed, took a moment before responding,

"Well, you know Regina. Stubborn ol' broad. I'm pretty worried, no matter how ill she's feeling she would never go home early and certainly not bother to tell anyone about it. A silent sufferer that woman is." David nodded his head in agreement.

"Well, I guess so. Alright, you can go. I can handle stuff until Emma gets here, I suppose." Robin turned to leave and David called out to him, "Just keep your radio on you in case I need backup." Robin turned back around to face his superior.

"Uh yeah, you got it bossman."

"And you'll have to make these hours up to me."

"Yeah, yeah, of course. Thanks again." And with that, Robin left. David, however, could have sworn he saw a smirk on Robin's face as he headed to collect his things from his desk.

Robin stood in front of the house he shared with Regina, holding a bouquet of wildflowers and takeout from Granny's. He rang the bell and waited for her to open the door.

"My, my, to what do I owe this pleasure?" Robin had to bite back his tongue at the vision that greeted his eyes once the door finally swung open. Regina stood in her house coat that couldn't exactly fasten all the way shut, revealing a black lace bra underneath, her rosy peaks erect at attention. Robin bit back a moan and felt himself harden just a little bit. It'd been a few weeks since they were intimate with each other and the anticipation was eating him alive, and her as well given the state of her breasts.

"Oh, thought I'd come home and check on my wife. I heard she wasn't feeling too well. Heard she was flushed with fever."

"Hmmm, that's why you brought food?"

"Yeah, starve a cold, feed a fever." Regina cocked her head to the side and a soft hmmm rumbled through her lips.

"Yes, I do believe I've heard that before. Do come in, if I don't eat soon I'll surely be over taken by this fever." Regina pulled the door open further, stepped to the side and allowed Robin to step inside the foyer. Regina shut the door and turned to find her husband standing in front of her still holding the flowers and food with a dopey grin on his face. She couldn't help herself from chuckling. She bit her lip, quickly approached him and pulled the objects from his hands, setting them on the hall table by the front door. Then she grabbed the lapels of his jacket and pulled him to her, as much as she could, and crashed their lips together. Their tongues were dancing on each other, fighting for dominance before they found a rhythm. Robin untied the belt that loosely held Regina's house coat together while she still held his head in her hands, nipping at his lips and cheek. She only broke contact to help him push the sleeves down. The robe fell from her body and pooled at her feet. Robin held her back so he could look at her.

"You're so beautiful."

"You'll say anything to get in my pants, won't you?" Robin stepped to his wife and enveloped her in another hug. He turned his head to nuzzle her neck, his mustache tickling just underneath the pulse point behind her ear. It sent a shiver down her body, a heat to an ache that was building in the lace panties she wore.

"Ah, but you see I didn't have to say anything for you aren't wearing any pants," he chuckled out against her ear. Regina slapped his arm and pushed him away. She stepped to Robin and began undressing him, working off his jacket and unbuttoning his shirt. Robin untucked the shirt and pulled it off his body, revealing the bullet proof vest he wore underneath. Regina paused her ministrations to finger the garment, a sudden sadness taking over her features. Robin studied her for a moment before grabbing her hand and stopping her roaming. This afternoon rendezvous was her idea. Who was he to say no at her suggestion? She was so excited confirming and reconfirming their plans. He wasn't sure what just killed the mood, but he was anxious to get it back, lest he spend an unusually long time in the shower another night this week. He brought her palm to his lips and laid a chaste kiss. She stared at their hands and intertwined them. Robin could see tears pooling in her eyes and he pulled her to him. Mood swings were par for the course, he supposed. "Hey, love, what's going on?" Regina sobbed into his shoulder.

"Oh, nothing. Just – " she trailed off.

"Just what?" He pulled her back to look at her.

"Thank you," she said as she leaned into him again, smelling his neck and kissing it ever so softly, he wasn't sure if those were her lips on his skin or a breath of a draft in the house.

"Thank me, for what?"

"For going out there every day risking your life, for us, for Henry and Roland and me and Squishy."

"Oh love, I don't think the streets of Storybrooke are particularly dangerous."

"Neither did Daniel," she sniffled. Robin couldn't argue with that and so he held his wife a little tighter. Finally he released her and pulled her back.

"Hey now, no more tears. I'm right here. This is real. I try to be careful everyday because I can not imagine not coming home to you and our family, okay?" Regina shook her head a little. "Okay? I can't hear you."

"Okay," she mumbled out.

"There, thatta girl. Now, where were we? Hmm? Do you remember?" Regina nodded her head as Robin pulled her close, wrapping her arms around his neck. He bent down to place a soft kiss on her lips. They teased each other for a few minutes before Robin's tongue begged for entrance to Regina's mouth and she accepted. He pulled Regina and eventually, somehow, worked her back to the front door, pinning her beneath him. Regina's hands drifted downward to unbuckle his belt and unbutton his pants. Robin shoved the clothing down until they got caught on his shoes. Robin broke the kiss. "Bloody hell." Regina brought a shy hand to her face to stifle a laugh. Robin bent down to take off his shoes and discard the rest of his clothing so all he was wearing were his boxer briefs. "There, that's better. Third times the charm, right?" Regina nodded and welcomed Robin back into her arms when they resumed their position against the door. Their kisses resumed, more heated and urgent for they didn't have much time before the boys arrived home and they wanted to ravish each other without the worries of scarring their children. Robin wanted to please his wife, wanted to hear her scream out his name as she reached her peak. Robin reached his hand down below Regina's protruding belly to rub her through her lace panties. He was a little surprised to find her slightly wet already. Regina moaned into his kisses. Robin rubbed faster, slipping his hand between her legs to press harder on her folds. Regina broke the kiss and braced her hangs against Robin's chest and he rubbed faster. She was getting worked up, panting heavily. Robin took his free hand to press Regina firmly into the door. He shoved her panties to the side so he could slip his bare hand inside and stroke her hot and heady flesh. Soon Regina was gasping for breath, her body shuddering against his hand as more fluid leaked from her heat.

"R-r-r-obinnnn." She managed out on a breath.

"That's it love. There's no one here but us, it's okay. Let go." And let go she did as she came on his hand. Catching her breath Regina pulled Robin to her.

"Thank you for that. Not quite how I imagined this to go."

"We have all afternoon for other things." Robin moved his head so their foreheads were touching. They stood like that for a few minutes before a low rumble interrupted their bliss.

"Do those other things include food? I think someone's hungry." Robin chuckled at his wife. Of course she was hungry. He parted from her, approaching the hall table, but she grasped his hand and pulled herself close to him like a shy bride on her wedding night.

"Shall we bold and take this upstairs? Eat in bed?" Regina nodded her head.

"You better not get crumbs in the sheets."

"Never."

Pissed off was one phrase to describe Emma Swan's current state. She was getting a little tired of Regina being ill. Sometimes Emma wished she and Mary – Margaret hadn't told Regina she was pregnant. They could've filmed a secret episode/story – arc of I Didn't Know I Was Pregnant starring Regina and the surprise birth of the baby. Sure, that would mean Emma and Mary – Margaret would've only had nine months to live, plus maybe six weeks, if Regina took heed to post – partum instructions for Regina would certainly kill the both of them. David called Emma in two hours early to cover the gap left in the overlapping shifts because Robin had to go home and take care of Regina who left work early due to illness. Emma didn't know why David always called her in to cover overlapping shifts, Graham could always start his night rotation half a day early, it's not as if the guy had anything else to do in his life. He was a loner of sorts and she hardly ever saw him out and about around town. Maybe that could be her next mission: Operation Huntsman. Perhaps she could observe his life and then fix him up with someone, he looked like he needed someone. If Emma Swan could find someone to share her life with then certainly not all hope was lost on Graham.

Emma was rather grumpy when she showed up to work earlier and thusly David sent her out on patrol while he worked on paperwork instead of David going out for patrol and Emma working on paperwork. She was glad for the fresh air, riding with the windows down in her patrol car. Nothing ever really happened in Storybrooke so she wasn't too concerned with paying attention to the random people on the streets. It was after her third pass on her route that took her around the playground she noticed them. Two boys, the older one seated on the swing and the younger one standing beside him, rubbing his back. Emma squinted her eyes in the sunlight, thinking the pair seemed familiar to her. She parked her car and got out. The slamming of her car door interrupted the boys as the smaller one's head snapped up and shouted, "Emma!"

"Roland? Is that you?" A small bundle of energy in the form of Roland Hood came bounding across the playground and straight into Emma's legs. She paused at the impact as the little boy wrapped his arms around her legs in a hug. She slowly dropped her arms down to pat him on the back. He looked up at her with a toothy grin and those Hood dimples. "Roland, what are you doing here?"

"Henry's sad."

"He is?"

"Uh – huh," the boy shook his head up and down rather exaggeratedly. Emma managed to separate Roland from her legs and she grasped his hand as they walked over to the twelve – year old seated on the swing.

"Hey kid."

"Hey," Henry responded without looking up.

"Uh – oh, what's going on? Roland says you're sad?"

"Yeah."

"Well, want to talk about it?"

"Not really."

"I see," responded Emma as she sat down in the swing next to Henry, pulling Roland into her lap. "Do you parents know you're here?"

"No, we're supposed to go home after school, not the playground. We're gonna be in big trouble and it's all Henry's fault." Roland commented.

"Well, I don't think your parents will be too thrilled you didn't go home straight away, but I think it'll be fine."

"Henry says his mom is already upset with him." Emma leaned forward on the swing to try and look Henry in the eyes.

"Is that true Henry? Is that why you don't want to go home?" Henry stopped moving on the swing and looked up at Emma, startling her.

"Can you keep a secret?"

"Uh, yeah, of course I can." Emma responded.

"Roland, can you go back to the slides?"

"But I wanna hear the secret, I can keep a secret too, ya know."

"I already told you, you can't know the secret, now go!"

"Henry! That's not nice," Emma scolded.

"Sorry, I'm just, I really don't know what to do here, I came here to think. And that's kinda hard with a shadow," Henry said looking pointedly at Roland.

"Okay, okay," Emma tried to calm the two boys. She turned to Roland, "Roland, why you head over to the slides while I talk with Henry and if you're good, I'll take you for ice cream later, how does that sound?"

"Ohhhhkay," Roland relented with a heavy sigh. Emma nodded her head and watched as the young boy trudged reluctantly towards the slides. Then she stepped to the swing next Henry and sat down, allowing inertia to move her forward and back.

"Alright, now that your shadow's gone, wanna tell me what's up?"

"I don't know."

"Come on Henry, you know you can talk to me about anything."

"Yeah, but mom's gonna find out."

"How is she gonna find out? Is it something bad that might cause you harm? You know that's the only reason I would ever tell her anything we talk about, right?" She stopped swinging to take his face in her hand and looked him straight in the eye so he could know how serious she was. "Hey, I mean it kid. I know it's hard to talk to parents about things, I'm here for you anytime." Henry moved his head from her hand to look back down at his feet, resuming his motions on the swing and sighed. Emma sat back on her swing and moved back and forth, hoping to wait out Henry. After a few more silent minutes, Henry let out an audible sigh.

"I – " he began. "I got a C on my English paper."

"Okay," Emma responded, prompting Henry to continue. "I got C's on papers, heck even tests and I made it through school just fine."

"Well, mom was really excited for this paper and she thought I was working really hard on it."

"What did you do to give her that idea?"

"Staying up late, telling her I was working on it?"

"Mkay, why do I get the feeling that's not what you were really doing?" Another sigh from Henry.

"Because it wasn't?"

"Oh, I see. And what were you doing, staying up late at night, if it wasn't working on the paper?"

"You know all those comic books I got for Christmas?"

"Yeah," Emma said, nodding her head, seemingly putting two and two together. "Henry, did you stay up reading those?"

"Maybe."

"It was a yes or no question, please answer in kind."

"If I admit something to you it won't end well."

"You let me worry about your mom and I. So why can't you tell your mom about this paper?"

"I don't want her to be disappointed in me. I don't want her to take away all my comic books or put me under punishment and then I can't watch movies or tv at all."

"Well do you think that would be an appropriate punishment?"

"I don't know, I guess? Maybe?"

"Well, you really don't know what your mom might do. She may think the C is okay."

"You don't understand. She knows the type of grades I make. She's going to be so disappointed, especially since she thinks I worked so hard."

"Well maybe she'll cut you some slack if the best you could do was a C even though you gave the appearance you worked really hard."

"She's gonna find out I read comic books instead."

"How is she gonna do that?"

"She has her ways. Nothing gets past her, nothing."

"So why are you here? Why not just go home and get it all over with? You're working yourself up over nothing."

"It's not nothing! You don't know what she's capable of!"

"Henry, I may only have a few years of history with your mother, but I think I know her pretty well. You are her number priority. Everything she does is for you."

"But what about the baby? And Robin? And Roland? She's so preoccupied with them she failed to notice what I was really doing. Before them she would've figured out the first night I stayed up. She knows I stay up late reading comics and not doing school work. We always do our homework at the dining room table so she can watch us and 'make sure we stay on task'."

"Oh, I see. What if she already knows?"

"She doesn't."

"Yeah she does. And now I have the paper to prove it. The teacher's gonna call her to have a meeting. It's not like me, she said." Emma nodded her head and brought a hand to Henry's head, stroking it. He leaned into the touch and tears leaked through his eyes. The boy really was torn up inside, overly anxious of what might happen when his mother finds out. Emma was a little worried how Regina might react. Perhaps if she talked to Regina first it would soften the blow.

"Alright kid, let's go." Henry looked up at her, his vision blurry.

"What?" He sniffled out, wiping the back of his hand against his nose.

"I said, 'Let's go," There's no time like the present. Why prolong the inevitable?"

"I'm not ready."

"No one's ever ready until the moment has come," she turned her head, "Roland! Time to go home!" The little boy went down the slide one last time, hopping off the base and running over to the pair.

"Home? What about my ice – cream?"

"Damnit."

"Oooooo, I'm going to tell mama you said a bad word, Emma!" Emma stooped down in front of Roland.

"Now Roland, there's no need to tell your mama about that little slip up. I'm still going to take you to get ice – cream, just not right now, okay?"

"But why not? I wented to the slides like you asked."

"I know bud, but right now we need to help Henry, okay?"

"Ohhh kay," Roland sighed out. "Can we ride in you patrolin' car?"

"My patrolin' car?"

"Yeah! Dad goes riding on patrol in his car!"

"Ohhh, I see. Sure, we can ride in the patrolin' car."

Emma grabbed Roland's hand and they walked over to her car with Henry trudging behind.

Robin and Regina were on round three of their afternoon escapade, the time of day forgotten to the both of them. Their food had long been consumed and placed on their respective night stands. The sheets were a tangled mess surrounding them in their bliss. Robin hissed as Regina grasped his back tightly, digging her nails into his back as she stilled in her orgasm. Anxious to finish with his wife, Robin increased his pace until he too was spilling forth into Regina. He stilled himself, waiting to soften inside of her. He dropped kisses onto her lips, her cheeks, her forehead.

"My god, this is, this – "

"I know," Regina chuckled.

"What do you know exactly?"

"I know you, my love."

"Hmmm," she hummed out as she draped her arms around his neck and they nuzzled each other, basking in their afterglow. Robin lifted his hips and slide out of his wife. He moved to lay beside her, pulling her so she was nuzzled into his side. He pulled the comforter that had been shoved to the foot of the bed over them. They both let out a contented sigh. Regina's eyes began to feel a little heavy, her body exhausted. That was the most physically active she'd been in a while and she decided she would call up Mary – Margaret later to ask her to join in evening runs and prenatal yoga. Mary – Margaret could bring the boys over after school. The boys. Regina's eyes snapped open and she sat up in the bed, startling Robin.

"Regina, what's wrong?"

"The boys! What time is it?" Robin groaned and strained to look at the clock in his night stand.

"It's uh, 5:30."

"Shit!"

"What?! What's going on?"

"Damnit Robin," she said, slapping his thigh. "The boys were supposed to have been home an hour ago!"

"Oh."

"Don't just sit there! Something's happened to them!"

"Okay, okay, alright, hey let's just calm down for a moment, okay?"

"Calm down?! What if they're injured or at the hospital? What if they tried to call us? Our cell phones are down stairs!"

Just then the sound of their front door opening stopped Regina's antics.

"See? There they are."

"They are in so much trouble."

Henry had given Emma the keys to the house. He was hovering behind her, using her as a human shield. Emma opened the door and had a little bit of trouble shoving the door open. She peered around the door and her mouth fell agape at the sight of the discarded clothes trailing a pathway up the steps onto the first landing in the Mills – Hood home. She silently cursed under her breath. Robin and Regina had arranged an afternoon delight. She was going to hold this over their heads for a long time. Emma backed up, shoving Henry and Roland back out the door.

"Emma, what's going on?"

"Uh, nothing. Listen, I need you two to wait out here until I come back to get you, okay?" Both boys nodded their heads. She turned back to the door, took a deep breath and opened it again. She steeled herself as she walked back into the house. She didn't hear any noises downstairs, so she walked further into the house. She made it to the base of the stairs and said a silent prayer, thanking God that hopefully the two were upstairs and had finished whatever it was they were doing.

"Robin! Regina! If you're not done with whatever it is you're doing, finish it up so your children can come inside!" Emma shouted into the eerily quiet house.

"Holy fucking shit Robin! It's Emma!"

"Yes, dear I can hear as well."

"Well, just don't sit there!"

"Me? What about you?"

"It's going to take me a moment to get cleaned up here. Go get me a rag." Robin hurried into the ensuite bathroom and dampened a washcloth for Regina. "Uh, just a minute Emma, we'll be right down!" Regina shouted, hoping Emma would hear her. Robin returned to the bedroom wiping himself down and then handing the washcloth to Regina. She squeezed her eyes shut and muttered under her breath.

"What's going on?"

"I, we uh left our clothes downstairs." Robin ran a hand down his face.

"Right," he nodded.

"Don't just stand there! Here, put on your robe and go downstairs and get our clothes!"

"Right," Robin nodded again, throwing on his robe and heading downstairs.

"Emma! What a surprise!"

"Cut the shit Robin." Robin at least had the courtesy to look like he felt guilty. Emma wasn't sure if he was guilty for being caught in an embarrassing situation or guilty for getting caught. "Hurry up with whatever it is you're doing. I'm going upstairs to talk to Regina right quick. Maybe get the boys a snack or something? Keep them occupied til we come back down?"

"What do you need to talk to Regina about?"

"Don't worry about it."

"Well she's not exactly feeling ready to take visitors right now, she's feeling ill."

"Oh, I bet she's feeling ill. Feeling ill that I caught you two in a little afternoon delight," she whispered harshly, not knowing how much the boys could hear. Robin nodded his head, not offering anymore resistance. Emma stomped up the stairs, hoping Regina would hear and make herself presentable. She arrived in front of the bedroom door which was slightly ajar. Emma paused outside the door to consider if she wanted to risk walking in on a naked Regina or if she wanted to offer the woman a warning. She decided to knock – even if she was extremely pissed at Regina right now, she still wanted to respect the woman's right to privacy. She raised her fist to the door.

"Ms. Swan, you startled me!" Regina yelped as she swung the door open, clad in her robe.

"Huh, I could say the same for you." The two women stood in the door for a moment.

"Well, if I may, the boys are waiting for me."

"Uh – uh, nope, march it back into your room sister. You and I need to have a talk."

"Listen, if it's about Robin calling out to come check on me earlier, I'm all better now."

"Regina, dear, hunny, what kind of fool do you take me for, hmm? I saw your clothes, yours and Robin's strewn throughout the house in a trail that leads directly to your bedroom. What kind of illness is that?"

"We both were overcome with fever?" Regina responded with a shrug. Emma stared hard at Regina, threatening. "You wouldn't hurt a pregnant woman, would you?" Emma scoffed.

"Come on, go sit down, I have something important to talk to you about." Regina's face went from slightly freaked to one of deep concern. She pulled her bedroom door open a little wider and allowed Emma to enter. Regina walked towards her bed and motioned for Emma to sit. Emma chose to stand, shaking her head. "I know what went down in that bed. I'll stand." Regina nodded with a silent chuckle.

"So then, what is it you need to talk to me about?"

"It's about Henry."

"Henry? Is he okay, he's not hurt is he? He didn't do something wrong – is that why you brought him home?"

"No."

"Well what is it?"

"Would you let me finish?" Regina nodded her head. "Henry got a C on his English paper."

"Oh no, he did? That's unfortunate, I know he worked really hard on it."

"Yeah, well, not really."

"What?"

"Yeah, apparently all those nights he stayed up working on the paper, he was really reading comic books."

"Why – "

"He's pretty sure the teacher is going to call to discuss this with you because she feels it's out of character for Henry. Henry thinks you would've caught on sooner had you been paying more attention to him instead of Roland, Robin and the baby." Regina mouthed a silent 'oh'.

"Well, I have been distracted, but honestly, he is getting older, he knows what he needs to do. He gave the impression he was working really hard on his paper and I trusted him with the responsibility to work on his paper without me standing over him."

"That may be, but he's really upset you're going to punish him for getting a bad grade."

"I see. Well, he will be punished, but it won't be for getting a bad grade." Emma quirked her eye brows.

"Well, what else would you punish him for?"

"For lying. My trust was obviously misplaced. I gave him too much responsibility and now I shall have to take it away. Thank you for this little talk Ms. Swan." With that, Regina stood from the bed, with some difficulty thanks to her pregnant belly and headed for the door. Emma stood a moment before reacting.

"Well, what are you going to do?"

"Right now I'm going to see the boys. Make sure they're alright and then have a talk with Henry."

"Well, I was hoping you wouldn't be too harsh on him. That's why I came to talk to you first."

"I certainly hope you didn't get his hopes up, Ms. Swan. That would certainly put you in an awkward position."

"No, I didn't really say much, just that I would try to talk to you," they continued the conversation down the stairs where the muffled voices of Henry, Roland and Robin could be heard coming from the kitchen. Regina saw her and Robin's clothes piled on the back of the sofa in the den before she passed through the kitchen door to find all the boys at the table, eating an afternoon snack.

"Boys," Regina greeted with a tight smile. Roland's face lit up with a dimpled smile. Henry looked guiltily down at his plate of apple slices and almond butter. "Henry, join me in my office, please." Regina leaned down to place a kiss on Roland's cheek before turning to head back out of the kitchen towards her office on the main floor. Henry slowly climbed out of his chair, glancing at Emma, hoping for some sort of sign that things wouldn't be so bad. She mouthed a silent 'sorry' as he passed through the kitchen door.

Regina sat behind the desk in her office, arms folded in front of her. She wanted to be as objective as possible when discussing events with Henry. He would take her seriously if the discussion was held in her office. He entered the office and sat in the chair across from her desk.

"Now, Emma tells me you got a C on that English paper you told me you were staying up all night working on. Want to tell me about that?"

Henry swallowed hard. He wasn't sure what exactly Emma disclosed to his mother and was silently debating if he should omit some details or just tell her the entire story and hang himself out to dry.

"I'm waiting young man," Regina stated, hoping to hurry this affair along. She still needed to get started on dinner and they were behind their evening routine.

"Well, I tried working on my paper a lot and you were really encouraging and I didn't want to disappoint you."

"Uh – huh, you stayed up a lot of nights working on that paper."

"Yeah," he nodded his head.

"Well, if a C was the best you could do, then that's all I ask. That you do the best you can." Henry nodded his head. Did Emma not tell her about the late night comic reading sessions? He felt a little guilty that his mother seemed to still be proud of him for getting a C.

"Yeah, I guess the teacher thought a C was the best grade for all my hard work. I'm pretty bummed about it." Regina pursed her lips. That was never a good sign. Never.

"So, was the best you could do on this paper a C because instead of working on the paper late at night like you told me you were doing you were maybe, I don't know, reading comic books?" Henry mouthed a silent 'oh' and dropped his head. "Yes, I know about that. Emma says you think I would have caught on sooner had I not been so preoccupied with Roland, Robin and the baby. Is that true? Is that what you really think?" Henry just sat there looking at his mother. Perhaps if he didn't say anything, the conversation would be over soon enough and they could get to his punishment. "Henry, dear, you are getting older. And with age comes responsibility. I'm not upset about the C, I'm upset because I placed a lot of trust in you. I thought I could give you a little more responsibility because you're getting older. I now see that trust was misplaced." Henry sighed and nodded his head. "Do you understand what I am telling you?" Henry nodded his head. "I can't hear your head shake. Your head isn't empty, your brain isn't rolling around in there. Do you understand what I'm trying to tell you?"

"Yes ma'am." Henry finally responded.

"Good. Now, for your punishment, you will rewrite your paper, properly. You will wait at school until either Robin or I can retrieve you. You will no longer be allowed to walk home from school. You will go to your room and pack all your comic books away. No television, internet, or phone for two weeks unless needed for school. Once you reach home, you will work on your homework before retiring to your room and working on your paper. When you have satisfactorily complete your paper, to the best of your ability, you will re submit your paper to the teacher. I will speak with her that she is to grade this new paper, but not as a replacement, just so that we can know what you are truly capable of when you actually apply yourself. You are capable of great things. It is my duty and responsibility as your mother to help you and guide you. No one can do it alone; we all need a little help. Yes I spend more time with Roland, he needs it. I devote time to Robin because he is my husband. I devote time to the baby because it too will need my time and support and it is something I am responsible for. You are growing up, you will graduate from high school, go off to college, graduate, meet the person of your dreams and perhaps have a family of your own one day. I must let you go and do all those things, but I can't do that unless I am certain you have the tools you need to function in life. The only way to do that is to give you more responsibility little by little and giving you room to explore your new responsibilities. However, I will not hesitate to take them away until we can try again. I want you to be a functioning adult. Do I make myself clear?" Regina finally finished her speech and Henry truly did feel he understood what his mother was trying to say.

"Yeah, I get it."

"Good," Regina stood from behind the desk and walked towards the front to stand in front of Henry. She leaned over to grasp his chin in her hand, staring deeply into his eyes, tears in her own. "I want you to know I love you, so very much. I can not imagine my life without you. I wouldn't be able to rest easy at night knowing I failed you in come capacity. I know you may think otherwise, but everything I do for you is because I love you and only want the best for you. If we need a little more mother – son time so that you know you're still pretty much my number one, then what's we'll do." A smile slowly crossed Henry's lips. "Is that something you want?"

He nodded his head, "Yes."

"Alright, once your two week punishment is over we'll discuss things you and I can do, just the two of us."

"Two weeks? Is that how long I have to be without my comic books?"

"Hmm, no, two weeks is how long you have to write your paper. You can only have your comic books back once I feel I can trust you to do what you're supposed to do without me standing over you. And I'm sorry dear, but as you get older you'll find that trust is easily given, but once broken, it is one of the most difficult things to regain." Henry nodded in understanding. Regina reached forward and pulled her son into a hug. She stroked his head and back, tears rolling down her cheeks. One of her biggest fears was failing Henry as a parent. When she was pregnant with Henry it was a most unrelenting fear, sending her into anxiety and panic attacks. Daniel was always there by her side, promising that he would be with her every step of the way, assuring her that as long as they worked together their kid would turn out alright. Now that Daniel was gone, a lot of time was spent wondering if she was doing the right thing. Regina found a long time ago that one could read all the parenting books in the world, but kids weren't an exact science. She could only hope and pray that she wasn't screwing Henry up entirely. That she was doing the right thing by Henry, Roland and the unborn child growing inside her.