Summary: When Henry is fifteen years old he steals from his parents and Robin has to track him down to figure out why.
Robin never liked bringing work home.
Given what he did for a living, he always preferred to keep his work and home life separate, especially when it came to his attitude.
He never wanted his kids to feel policed in their own home. He and Regina agreed that wasn't the environment that they wanted for them. So everyday when he got home, he dropped his cop persona. Switched into plain clothes, eased up on the bass in his voice. Most importantly, he always tried to get the kids to come to him. Instead of interrogating and investigating like he did on the beat, he always tried to let them know that they could come to him with their mistakes and problems.
And for the most part it worked… until now.
It had started out with small things, like the fact that Henry had started asking for two sandwiches in his lunch bag. He'd claimed that he was simply growing and more hungry, which Robin would've believed if he didn't inhale his dinner every night like he was starving.
Then he started shirking responsibilities. They didn't ask much of Henry, just that he walk his brother and sister home from school everyday. But lately, Roland and Lizzy came home from school alone, shrugging when asked where their older brother was. His son was fifteen years old, perhaps he thought he was too cool to hang with his younger siblings but still, abandoning them wasn't exactly in Henry's nature.
He realized though he could no longer ignore his son's strange habits, when things started going missing around the house. When Lizzy suddenly couldn't find her winter coat. Or when Regina loss an old pair of gold earrings. Or when suddenly realized his wallet was light on 20s.
So he reached out. Asked Henry if there was anything he'd like to share or confess to. His son had never been the greatest liar… still didn't stop him from shrugging his shoulders and feigning ignorance.
And so the hunt for the truth began.
Obviously he started with Lizzy. It was common knowledge that his baby girl took in more that she let out in terms of secrets. However, after plying her with a late night snack of strawberry ice cream with chocolate syrup she revealed that she believed that Henry had a girlfriend, a blonde girl she'd seen him with around school.
To say he was surprised was an understatement. Henry had never had a real girlfriend before, at least not to his knowledge. But it made sense. Missing earrings were probably a gift, the money was probably for dates which he went on when he ditched Roland and Lizzy after school.
He'd planned to talk to Henry about it over the weekend but then he'd gotten a call from the credit card company.
$300 dollars spent on a room at the Motel 6.
Oh…hell no.
It took nearly all his restraint not to throttle him over breakfast but he kept his cool. He figured if his son was confronted he'd simply deny everything. Better to catch him in the act so to speak.
So he followed him. He's not proud of it, he didn't want to do it but he trailed his own son after school. Watched from a safe distance as he separated from his brother and sister and took the bus two miles away.
The motel 6 wasn't in the best part of town but he breathed a sigh of relief when he saw that it wasn't too sketchy. His son knocked on a blue door and a girl his age with platinum blonde hair greeted him with a hug.
It was then that Robin's hands tightened around the steering wheel. His son had been stealing from him to meet up with his girlfriend in hotel room. the anger and disappointment he felt was enough to power a small city.
Within seconds, he'd crossed the street and pounded on the motel door. Henry opened the door and Robin saw all the blood drain from his face, and his eyes go wide.
"Dad…"
Robin simply stared as he watched his son flounder and stutter for an explanation.
"It.. it's not as bad as it seems."
"Well I can assure you it is not as good as you think," he replied through gritted teeth.
"Who's at the door?"
Robin frowned when he heard another voice, a too young voice. A young girl appeared at the door with red hair and blue eyed. She looked ten-years old… and she was wearing Lizzy's coat.
She looked up at him and tilted her head. "Are you the pizza man? Where's the pizza?"
A toilet flushed in the background and the older blonde appeared, her eyes going wide at the sight of him. Immediately she reached out for the younger girl. "Anna come here," she ordered pulling her close.
As she ushered the younger girl into the bathroom, Henry stepped outside shutting the door behind him. He looked up at his father with guilty eyes. "I can explain."
—
Robin tried to keep his anger in check as he listened to his son explain his actions.
The pizza had arrived Anna and Elsa, the blonde, were in the room eating and watching cable while he and Henry sat on the stairs to talk.
"Their parents… aren't good people," said Henry. "They lock Elsa away at home in the attic, they don't feed them much and they're… rough with her."
"Rough?"
"I noticed the bruises a few months ago," he mumbled. "Most of the time she wears gloves to cover them up but…"
Robin pressed his lips together. He didn't need his son to elaborate. He knew exactly was those girls had come from.
"They ran away a few weeks ago," Henry continued. "They kind of bounce from house to house but they couldn't find a place to stay for a while."
"Are the parents looking for them?"
"Maybe," Henry shrugged. "I don't know."
Robin let out a deep seated breath. "So that's what the motel is about? You, or should I say your mother and I, rented it for them?"
Henry nodded.
"And Lizzy's coat?"
Henry sighed. "They didn't get to leave with much and it was getting cold out."
Shaking his head, Robin looked at his son in disappointed. "Henry… what the hell were you thinking?"
"I just wanted to help," he mumbled.
Robin couldn't help raising his voice. "You wanted to help Henry? What was your long term plan here? Were you just going to keep lying and keep stealing forever? Is that what was supposed to happen here?"
"No!" Henry replied. "It was just for a week until they left for California."
"California? What's supposed to be in California?"
"Their aunt," Henry answered. "They haven't seen her in a while but they think she'll take them in."
"And are they supposed to walk there?" interrogated Robin.
"No…" Henry swallowed guiltily, averting his gaze. "I… I pawned mom's earrings to buy them bus tickets."
Robin let out a strained groan, running his hands over his face. He blew out a breath, trying his best not to blow his top. He was pissed, so incredibly pissed but even through the haze of his anger he could tell his son's heart was still in the right place.
"Henry… let me be clear. You are… in so much trouble," he said. "A ridiculous amount of trouble. An unbelievable amount of trouble. You have lied to me, stolen from your mother and even worse you have risked the safety of those two girls you're trying so desperately to help."
"But I.."
"No!" Robin cut him off. "This aunt that they're chasing? Do they even have her address? Do they even have her number?"
Henry's silence gave away his answer.
"You shacked them up in this motel with no protection from the parents who they're trying to escape. Henry I found you in less than two hours. What if I hadn't been the person to knock on them door? What if it had been them? Or somebody else with bad intentions? Do you know how many girls I find dead on the street who come from situations just like this?"
He son simply pressed his lips together, realizing that things had spun out of his control. "I just wanted to help…"
"I know," stressed Robin, placing his hands on his son's shoulders. "But you are just a kid and this is an adult problem. It's why you have me."
"I wanted to… I just didn't know what you do," he said. "Elsa doesn't want to risk going into foster care and losing her sister. I thought you would call cause that's your job."
"Yes that is my job," said Robin. "But being your father is also my job. So if this ever happens again… call me. text me. reach out for me, for godsake."
Henry nodded his head. "I'm sorry."
Robin sighed. "I know you are."
Henry hesitated before asking, "What are you gonna do now?"
"I… am going to call your mother and tell her that the girls will be staying with us for a while," he said.
"Really?"
"Yes," sighed Robin. "I will take all the information they have and see if I can find their aunt at work tomorrow. Hopefully, she'll be easy to find."
Henry allowed himself a small smile. "Thank you."
"Do not thank me," said Robin, shaking his head. "You still have to go home and explain to your mother why you thought identity theft and pawning her stuff was a good idea."
Henry frowned and Robin knew that he was imagining that hurricane of fury that awaited him when he got home. The dressing down he'd gotten from his father would be nothing compared to her lecture.
Robin gestured over his shoulder. "Go and grab your friends. We're leaving."
Watching his son walk away, Robin groaned before pulling out his cell phone to call his wife. She was rightfully upset but agreed that it was best that they take the girls in for now.
It only took a few days to find their aunt, Ingrid. She'd nearly sobbed with relief when she'd heard from them. Turns out she'd been worried about them for a while now. The girls left for California not long after.
It was the first time Henry had ever gotten into to real trouble. And though he was still a little pissed off, Robin was grateful that he could at least say that his son had a good reason.
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