"Do you guys have middle names?" Henry asked one night at dinner.
"Middle names weren't really a thing in the Enchanted Forest," Regina said, shrugging. "So no."
Henry looked expectantly at Emma, who shrugged. "I was transported to another world in a magical wardrobe," she said.
Regina and Henry burst out laughing. "So that's a no then?" Henry asked.
"Yeah that's a no," Emma said, chuckling. "What brought up this subject anyway?"
Henry shrugged. "I found my adoption papers, and was just curious. I have a middle name."
Regina froze. "You do," she agreed. "But why were you looking at your adoption papers?"
"I wasn't," Henry said. "I just found them when I was going through some stuff. And I just got to thinking about where my names came from. I mean my last name is obviously yours, and Henry was your father, but who's Daniel?"
"Daniel was a good friend of mine," Regina said softly. "You should finish your dinner. It's getting cold."
"But you had to have been really good friends if you gave me his name," Henry persisted. "Right?"
"We were very close," Regina agreed. "Now please eat."
Henry picked up his fork. "But-"
Emma cleared her throat and looked pointedly at Henry's plate. Sighing, he went back to eating. He wasn't going to learn anything about Daniel. Yet.
"Why didn't you tell him?" Emma asked from her spot on the bed.
"Tell him about what?" Regina asked innocently.
"Daniel," Emma said. "Your first love. The man whose death fueled your hate for my mother. That Daniel."
Regina bit her lip and sighed before sitting on the bed next to Emma. "It's complicated."
"How so?" Emma asked.
"He only knows what the storybook tells him," Regina said. "If I tell him about Daniel and all that happened, I'm showing him that the villains are sometimes victims of the heroes. Won't that ruin his idea of heroes and villains?"
"The world isn't made up of heroes and villains," Emma said. "It's made of people who are heroes and villains. Everybody has a piece of both in them. Daniel's death was just the tipping point for you, and you couldn't take it anymore. But you named Henry after the two men that you loved the most in your life. I think that you should tell him that."
"You're right," Regina said. "I suppose I should tell him." She got up off of the bed and opened the door, jumping when she noticed Henry standing right outside.
"Hi," Henry said awkwardly. "I wasn't eavesdropping."
"How much of that did you hear?" Regina asked.
"All of it," Henry admitted. "Will you tell me more about Daniel?"
"You want to know more about Daniel?" Regina asked in surprise. "Really?"
"Of course," Henry said. "He was your first love, and obviously something happened to him that involves Snow. But he sounds like a great guy. So I want to know more about him."
"Okay," Regina agreed, running her fingers gently through Henry's hair. She grabbed his hand and pulled him into her bedroom. "I'll tell you all about Daniel."