Viewer discretion is advised. If you are under 18, then this chapter is definitely not for you.
Violence and insinuations of rape ahead. Proceed at your own volition.
David sighed in a mix of frustration, and slight guilt, as he now noticed that not only were Henry and Rumple sending him murderous glares, but that Belle had joined them as well, with reprimanding look from Snow and Emma. "Listen, I'm not trying to undermine what Regina did, she saved us all and got us back home…."
He was interrupted by Belle's hiss, "but we've thanked her, so let's just put her aside till we need her again, and then run to her for help…..oh wait! That did happen!"
Henry could not deny that he was surprised by Belle's angry tone, but he was happy nonetheless. He opened his mouth to add to her angry defense, when his grandmother decided to step in and try to defuse the situation before it got any worse.
"Listen Henry, no one is trying to deny Regina's change, nor are we denying what she did for us," she started explaining hastily, clearly seeing the anger in the preteen's eyes. She couldn't shake how much he looked like Regina at that moment.
"Or her role in raising you," David continued. "But things are different now that we're back," he added, and that was the last straw for Henry.
"Her role in raising me?" he hissed, his angry eyes shooting daggers at his grandfather. "She's not a daycare service that you put me in while you were off at work! She raised me!" he growled. "For ten years, it was just the two of us! She loved me, she opened herself up to me, and that was a huge risk! She nurtured me, endured tantrums, stayed up countless nights because of fevers and stomach bugs," he listed angrily, angry tears springing to his eyes. "So you don't just get to take me just because you're back! The difference will be that it won't be just the two of us anymore, and you will be involved in my life! That some decisions will be taken by her and Emma, not just her. It doesn't mean, by any account, that you are suddenly the primary parents!" he finished determinedly.
David opened his mouth to argue, but Belle beat him to the punch. "Henry's right! Regina raised him, and we all know how much of a big deal it was to open herself up to someone like that. You three are proud of who he turned out to be, and that is all thanks to her! Neither of you get to take credit for it. And you can't just pay a bill, and send her on her merry way! That's not how it works."
At this point, Snow, once again, decided to intervene, because she had a nagging suspicion that Rumple was about to turn David into a toad!
"Listen, that's not what we meant. Of course, we won't take you away from Regina, nor do we expect you to discard her to the side just because we are back. I won't deny that there was a time when we thought that it was the logical thing to do, but neither of us can deny that sometimes, Regina is the only one who understands what you need without you having to say a word. She's your mother, and no one can ever deny that. And yes, I've always believed that the woman who saved me from the horse, and taught me all about true love, was still somewhere inside of her. But she hurt us, a lot!" she explained softly, trying to keep her voice down, so as to not agitate Henry even further, and defuse the situation before it escalated any further.
"And you hurt her as well," Rumple retorted simply.
"They were reacting to what she was doing to them!" Emma jumped to her parents' defense.
"Actually, Dearie, if we sit down and see when the trail of hurt began, Regina's actions will be the reactions!" Rumple interjected calmly. "And trust me when I say, that most of these things you never want to hear, let alone experience!" he added sternly, and Emma wisely kept her mouth shut.
But it seemed that David was still stupid enough to try and defend their actions. "Listen, Henry, I chose my words poorly. Regina did open herself up with you; she took you in and raised you for ten years, and we are forever grateful for that. But you have to put her actions in perspective; we gave her one chance after the other to redeem herself, but she always threw it back in our faces because the prospect of pain was too much. She opened herself up with you, because she didn't know you were Emma's, and therefore, there was no prospect of pain." he explained as calmly, and as carefully as he could, praying that he wouldn't set his grandson off. Or Rumpelstiltskin for that matter, who suddenly seemed to be Regina's advocate, same for Belle.
Snow and Emma were grateful that David was able to voice what they had in mind about Regina's relationship with Henry, especially Emma. She had wanted to say it for weeks, but was afraid it would alienate her son once more. After all, it took over a month for him to move on from the fiasco at Snow's apartment. But neither of them were prepared for the words that came next, and knocked them both on their asses.
"Actually, she did!" was chorused simultaneously by both Henry and Rumple, both of which looked at the other in surprise. But their surprise was far less than that of the four other people in the room, especially the Charmings, whose jaws had hit the floor.
"Excuse me!" Emma basically squeaked.
"About a week after Regina brought our dear Henry home, she found out that you were his mother, and accused me of setting her up. Of course, I played dumb, and pretended like I didn't know what she was talking about. But she knew that I was lying that day when Emma showed up in town, and she once again asked me about it," he recounted.
"She kept me with the full knowledge that one day you will come into town and destroy everything she built, and would probably take me away as well. But she took a potion to forget that you will come, so that she can raise me without constantly waiting for the impending doom. But your return broke it. She knew that she didn't have much time with me, and she wanted to enjoy it without any of this ruining it before it even happened," he explained, gesturing with his hand to the group of people standing before him, with their mouths wide open. A clear gesture to their involvement in the pain his mother had been feeling since the breaking of the curse.
"I'm surprised she told you," Belle whispered, clearly impressed by what Regina did, but the shock was evident in her voice.
"I asked her if she still didn't regret taking me in after everything that happened, and she told me that she knew all along, but it didn't matter to her."
The simplicity of the answer shocked them all, with the exception of Rumple. "I told you all once before that Regina was more dangerous than her mother because she had a heart, I knew that you would all take it in the wrong way, which served my purpose at the time, but that couldn't have been the farthest thing from the truth. Regina's heart is what makes her exceptional, it's what made her the only person capable of enacting the curse. Regina's actions were all driven by love, she is willing to go to the dark depths of hell for the people she loves. That's why she was never able to let go of her revenge, because she felt if she did, that she would be betraying Daniel. A man who loved her despite everything, and ended up paying his life for it. I had that curse for years, and believe me I tried to cast it before, but I was far too dark for it. That's what it means to have the most resilient heart. Life threw things at her much more than it did on all of us combined, and she still believed in the power of love. She believed in it so much that she was able to break the Dark Curse without even having a heart. And trust me when I tell you, that this is a rare quality that I have never seen before in my life. And I've been around for a long time. Regina chose love, every time, over power. She just didn't bestow that love on every body, which is why she turned all those chances away. Because to her, when she cared enough about Snow to tell her a secret, she lost Daniel. So there was no way she was going to open up to her once more. Because in her mind, she was choosing love. Her love for Daniel. And the only reason why she's finally letting it go right now, is because she knows that if it came around to bite her in the ass, no one will pay the price but her! After all, the only other person she cares about is Henry, and you three would never hurt him," he explained in one breathe, as one of his arms slid around Henry' shoulder, and pulled him into his side when he noticed the tears that were pricking at his eyes. Because he knew that some of the things he was saying was going to cause some dormant guilt to make its way to the surface with Henry.
Regina was staring gob smacked at Granny, not entirely sure how to react to what she just heard.
"You're sure about this?" she wondered skeptically, almost daring herself to believe.
"Regina, I'm part wolf! If there's one thing I know, it's the smell of fear. That boy always reeks of fear whenever he's around her, and his heartbeat gets dangerously high. And as much as I tried to deny it before, she gives me a weird vibe. I'm not sure what it is yet, but this woman is hiding something," Granny answered. "And I know that you've been suspicious of her since day one," she added impatiently, begging the younger brunette to believe in her own instincts.
"She's not the only one," Ruby interjected from the doorway, and both women jumped at the sound of her voice. Even Granny was too focused on Regina to realize that Ruby had come into the room before she spoke.
"Yes, I know!" Granny said pointedly.
"But that could just be the new world, and the fact that her husband seemingly slept with the woman who murdered her, and half the villagers in the Enchanted Forest," Regina quipped darkly.
"That day in the vault wasn't about marking her territory, Regina. She's up to something, and she's afraid that you will get in her way. Though I am not sure what on earth it could be," Ruby reminded Regina.
"What day at the vault?" Granny wondered.
"A few days after her grand come back, I was with Regina in her vault, when she waltzed in and nearly ripped Regina's heart out where she stood. She was threatening her, not just to stay away from Robin, but also from Roland and the Merry Men. And from everything that Robin told us about her, it was out of character. She was menacing, vicious, and downright threatened to tell the whole town what Regina did to her, especially Henry, if she didn't back down." Ruby recounted, and Granny pursed her lips in thought.
"Well, that fits well with how she acts if she heard someone say something good about you. Especially around Roland and Robin. And she more than once brought Roland to tears with how she talked about you, not caring in the least that he was merely a child. And nearly killed Little John when he mentioned that you were the one who stopped Zelena, and saved us all!" Granny added.
"Not to mention the absolute terror Roland feels every time she is anywhere near him! That boy is absolutely terrified of her!" Ruby added, unknowingly confirming Granny's earlier statement.
"Yeah, his entire body was shaking in my arms," Regina finally conceded.
"So what do we do now?" Ruby asked the obvious question, with a not-so-obvious answer.
"Well, until we get to the bottom of it, this stays between us. No one is to hear about it," Regina said firmly, and both women nodded.
"As for the creature," she added, only to be interrupted by Granny. "You will no longer be involved with the creature, it's far too dangerous," Granny ordered sternly, only for Regina to glare at her. "You think I'm gonna back down! If I hear that you've gone with Ruby to the woods, I will come drag you home myself!" she stated simply, and Regina couldn't help but laugh at the mental image.
"So I guess the cat is out of the bag, huh?" Ruby asked, and Regina's head snapped in her direction, as well as Granny's shocked glare.
"What cat?" Regina stammered, and Ruby raised an eyebrow. "Really?" she almost snorted incredulously. But before Regina could muster an answer, Ruby's loud shriek of pain stopped her. "Granny, what was that for?" the youngest Lucas almost squeaked as she rubbed her head, where Granny had slapped her.
"If you knew about the baby, why in God's name were you letting her run about with you in the woods for over a month?" Granny reprimanded angrily.
"Because I didn't know until two weeks ago, and we haven't gone on anything ever since," Ruby defended.
"Why didn't you say anything?" Regina wondered.
"Well, you weren't far along for a heartbeat to be detected, but since pregnant women have a distinct smell, I realized that you probably didn't even know yet, so I figured I'd give you a couple of more weeks, and then tell you if you didn't figure it out by then," Ruby explained.
"But why not just tell me?" Regina asked.
"Honestly," Ruby started, "I was afraid of your reaction."
"Why?"
"Because I knew you thought it was impossible for you to have children, and I didn't want you overreacting, and some unwanted ears may pick up the news, which would put you and the baby at risk," Ruby elaborated, and Regina nodded.
"Well, at least you're a lot more subtle than your grandmother," Regina quipped teasingly, with an amused smirk.
"I honestly thought you knew!" Granny said sincerely, and Regina smiled reassuringly at her. "I know."
"And don't worry, my lips are sealed till you say the word," Ruby told her.
"I think the only person I want to know at this point is Henry," Regina said heavily.
"And Dr. Whale, since he'll be monitoring the pregnancy," Granny added pointedly.
"Yeah, I guess I need to go get a proper checkup. Not that I don't trust your medical opinions," she teased, and both women chuckled.
"Well, there's no time like the present," Granny pointed out.
"I need to talk to Henry first," Regina reminded the older woman, and Granny nodded in understanding. "He's spending the day with me, so I guess I'll tell him then."
"Alright then, I have a diner to run, and we're close to lunch time, so I'll let you get back to work," Granny said, as she got up from the chair by the desk.
"Thank you both," Regina said sincerely. Both women smiled at her, before Ruby closed the distance and engulfed her in a hug. "Congratulations, Regina. This baby is ridiculously lucky," she said sincerely, and Regina smiled into her shoulder. "Thanks, Ruby."
"Call us if you need anything," Granny told her, as both women made their way towards the door. Regina smiled appreciatively at her, and nodded her affirmation, before they both pulled the door closed behind them.
She slumped into her desk, and ran her hands through her hair a few times, as she stared at the pregnancy test that was yet to find its way to the trash. Her hand fell silently to her stomach, and she lovingly rubbed her hand over it. "Thank you," she whispered, as the tears that she had been holding so far, finally started to make their way down her cheeks.
She had given up on this a very long time ago, she had spent endless time searching for ways to reverse the curse Leopold had placed on her womb, begged him countless times to lift it himself, only for him to heartlessly tell her that he will not allow her to have a child of her own, and that he was doing her a favor.
'Considering the mother you've got, what type of mother do you think you'll make?' he would say to her face.
'The only reason why I trust you with Snow, is because her mother already laid down the seeds, and you're just making sure they grow. And even then, you're getting help.' He would often continue, not caring in the least about the tears she shed, or the pleas she chocked out.
She still remembers the night he told her what he had done to her.
He was drunk, like the many other nights he came to her room. And she immediately knew what the night had in store for her. He had returned from his trip that afternoon, and she had hoped that he would be too tired to do anything. But it appeared that the weeks he spent away, only made his lust grow. At dinner, he drank as if his life depended on it, and now he stumbled into her room, barely able to walk in a straight line.
She pulled the covers tighter around her, and shook her head helplessly at him. Out of all the things Rumpelstiltskin had taught her, protecting herself against Leopold was not one of them. She didn't want him to suspect that she knew magic, and she didn't know how to manipulate memories yet.
"Please, not tonight," she begged him, but he only smiled lustfully at her, as he continued to stumble towards her bed.
"Haven't you learned by now, that those pleas won't do you any good?" he slurred through the lustful haze he was in.
"No, but tonight is different," she said hastily, as she cowered away towards the headboard, when he made his way along the length of the bed.
"Oh, yeah," he tormented. "And what makes tonight sooo special?" he drawled out the 'o' to emphasize the sarcasm.
"I…." she whimpered, as he now climbed on top of her. "I think I might be pregnant," she blurted it out, when she felt his hand groping her breasts, and how hard he was against her.
The smile that spread across his face was not one of happiness, it was more of a malicious bearing of teeth, as the most satisfied snort left his lips, followed by the words that took away whatever shred of hope was left within her. "You think I'm stupid enough to allow you to have children?" he taunted, his malicious grin growing even more at the confused look on her face. "I made sure you can never bare a child before I even married you. I won't let you steal the throne away from Snow!"
She didn't react, she didn't say a word. She just lay there, motionless…..lifeless, as he did whatever he pleased with her. Even the tears refused to fall in his presence, or maybe she had even run out of them.
She had spent every waking moment since that day trying to find a way to break whatever curse it was that he placed on her, but failed. Oracles, wizards, even gypsies failed. She looked through the numerous books in Rumple's library, but never found the answer. She even tried Lake Nostos, but to no avail. Whatever spell was cast on her, it could not be undone…..until now.
Granny and Ruby had been walking in comfortable silence for a few moments, both just enjoying the morning breeze and the other's company. But that silence was broken by Granny's authoritative voice as soon as they rounded the corner away from City Hall.
"Regina may know you enough to know when you're lying, but she may not know you well enough to tell when it's a simple omission of truth, Ruby, but I do."
"Granny, I don't know what you're talking about? What truth am I omitting?" Ruby feigned ignorance.
"There's another reason why you didn't tell Regina about that baby, and I want to know what it is," Granny's simple answer was firm, and left no room for argument.
Ruby kept looking at her grandmother, debating what to do. Should she tell her grandmother, and trust her not to tell Regina? She does need some help confirming her theory. But what if she thought that Regina had a right to know? What if word of it got back to the wrong people?
"Ruby, you have good instincts. If you think something is up, chances are, you're right. So spill!" Granny demanded sternly, and Ruby sighed in defeat.
"I have a crazy theory!" she admitted.
"Is there any other kind?" Granny asked jokingly.
When Henry left the station, he was absolutely furious. With Emma, grandparents, himself….even Rumple. He was absolutely livid that they all collaborated to make his mother's life miserable, and then acted like victims when she finally lashed out. And he was even more furious with himself for not being any better when it really mattered. He thought that he only owed her apologies for the past couple of years, but it turns out he owed her so much more. Yes she reacted badly when he started pulling away from her, but how was she expected to react? He was the one person she opened herself up to after decades of refusing to allow herself to love somebody else. Even when she was presented with an opportunity to find love again, a soul mate no less, she turned it down because of the prospect of pain. But never with him, she opened her home, her heart to him, and he did exactly what everybody else ever did. He hurt her, and he hurt her badly.
He was stomping away from the station, he hadn't really wanted to hear what anyone had to say after what Rumple said. He just turned around and left the station, completely ignoring both his mother's calls, and Belle's. He also ignored the footsteps coming from behind, which he was sure belonged to his mother.
"Henry, wait," she called, one hand grabbing a hold of his shoulder to stop him.
"I don't wanna talk right know," he told her defiantly.
"Then how about you listen," she suggested, and he crossed his arms over his chest, as he waited for whatever she had to say.
"I know that what you heard inside was a lot to take in," she started, "and I won't deny that I had a hand in some of it once I returned to Storybrooke. That I was too stubborn to look upon my own mistakes, and still tried to hang it all on her. You were right that day in my apartment, we all crucified her for her mistakes, and none of us took a hard look at what we've done." She panted, as she begged him with her eyes to believe her. A small smile crept up her lips, when his defiant posture loosened up a bit, and she saw less anger in his eyes. At least towards her.
"And you were right about me and you. I didn't check up on you to see if you were adopted or not, I hoped that you weren't facing the same fate that I did, but I never did anything to make sure, because….because I was scared. I was scared that I would find you in the system, and I kept telling myself that I wasn't ready to be a mother, that I wasn't fit to be one," she explained tearfully. "But now that I have the fake memories put in, I know that I was only making excuses to make myself feel better about leaving you. And as much as I would've loved to watch you grow up, you were really better off without me, because I never would've been able to provide the life in those memories. I would've loved you with all my heart, and tried my best to give you everything you deserve, but I wouldn't have been able to give you the life you had growing up. I was mad at your father, furious that he left me in jail and pregnant. And that's why I made arrangements for your adoption, that's why I didn't allow myself to get attached. I figured it would be less painful if I didn't. That's why I didn't choose an adoptive family myself, I was afraid of knowing where you were. That it would weaken my resolve. And for all of that, I am truly sorry. And I hope that one day, you and I can move past that. I know it will take time, but I won't back down. Not again, not ever." She continued tearfully. "So please don't shun me out. Talk to me, scream, and yell, I don't care. Just don't push me away again." She pleaded, and he slowly nodded at her.
She watched in anticipation as he untangled his arms, and threw them around her. "Thanks, Mom." He mumbled sincerely, and she merely tightened her arms around him in response.
After a few moments, Henry finally pulled back. "I'm not pushing you away, Mom. I'm just entirely sure I can spend two days in the apartment with Grandma and Grandpa at the moment," he confessed, and she nodded her head in understanding.
"I can get us a room at Granny's for those nights until I find my own place," she suggested, and he looked thoughtfully at her.
"No, I know you like staying with them, catching up on lost time, and spending time with Neal. So you don't have to look for an apartment for my sake, I'm sure I'll be fine in a couple of weeks, so the Granny idea sounds good," he told her, and she nodded.
"I don't wanna rush you into anything," she said softly, and he smiled at her. "Neither do I," was his simple answer.
They both looked behind them when they heard someone clear their throat, and were not entirely surprised to find both Belle and Rumple standing there.
"Are you alright, Henry?" Belle asked affectionately, and he nodded at her.
"Yeah, I just need to talk to my Mom," he replied, and she nodded in understanding.
"Before you go, Henry," Rumple intervened, before the boy could turn around and leave. "I owe you an apology," he added, when all Henry did was stand and look at him.
"No," he said simply. "I'm not the one you should be apologizing to," he continued pointedly, and Rumple nodded.
"Believe me I have every intention of having a lengthy conversation with your mother, but it was my understanding that she was not up for such a task," he eluded, knowing that Henry would understand.
"Yeah, I'll let her know you want to talk to her, and maybe she can let you know when it's a good time," Henry suggested, and Rumple nodded. "I would very much appreciate that."
And with that, both he and Belle took their leave, leaving mother and son standing outside the station, both actively ignoring the couple standing in the doorway of the station, whose presence was announced by Neal's cries.
Henry looked back at Emma, and smiled. "I should go, I told her that I would meet her at her office by five, and I'm running a bit late," he said as he checked his watch.
"Can you tell her that I would like to talk to her as well?" she asked hopefully, and Henry nodded.
"At her own time," he said, and she pursed her lips in agreement. "At her own time." She repeated.
And with that, he gave her one last hug, before he turned around and made his way towards his Mom's office.
So here is a fairly long chapter to make up for the wait, and I do hope you will like it.
As usual there may be some mistakes but since it is almost 5 am here, I will re-read it tomorrow and correct them, so be patient :)
The other thing, I realize that it may seem out of character to some people how I portrayed Leopold in this chapter, but I don't think a man who willingly married a woman young enough to be his daughter, especially when he knew who her mother was, didn't treat her badly, and even forced himself on her.
And since no one seemed to mind the Charmings getting their asses kicked, here is some more ass kicking :D 3:)
Reviews do motivate me to update fast, so let me know what you all think of this.
Also, I realize that on the show they did show that Lake Nostos was capable of reversing the effects of the curse on Regina's womb, but that will be explained in later chapters.