AN: As I explained in my other update: "It was work, it was life, it was school and it was that finale". I'll try to abstain from such long periods again. Sorry.

Please review!

Chapter 3

Regina could hear trees rustling in the wind, could hear birds singing in the distance. But it was all just a vague sense of a place far away, for she could neither move nor open her eyes to see exactly where she was. The darkness of unconsciousness drifted in and out and it was only glimpses of feelings she was afforded.

A car.

His deep, angry breathing.

A dirt road.

She should be worried, maybe. She should be worried that he could hurt her, could even kill her. Regina was not worried, though, she was just numb. Numb and too tired to do anything, but welcome an ending to it all.

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Frustration couldn't even begin to explain how Emma was feeling. David and her had managed to find proof that heavy boots had crushed the broken glass at some point. There was blood on the floor indicating that Regina had gone through the door to the office - carried or walking. And that was it. No clues that could lead them to finding Regina. Nothing to hint at the culprit. With someone like the Evil Queen, how could you even begin to tally up a suspect list. It would be easier to find someone who didn't want to kill the mayor.

She was just about ready to give up on the house and try and find anyone who had seen anything suspicious around the neighbourhood, when her phone rang. One look at the id of the caller and Emma just knew that Henry had decided to ditch Ruby and investigate on his own.

She couldn't deal with this right now.

But she knew just where to start looking for her son.

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Henry walked into Mr. Gold's shop and purposively made his way to the back counter. There was no one there, so he called Rumpelstiltskin by name, his voice loud and easily echoing throughout the large space.

A light thud of a cane announced his presence a second before the man in question appeared from behind the curtains, dressed in a dark suit and wearing a solemn expression on his face.

"Henry?", he asked, curiously glancing behind the boy and noting his lack of chaperone. "What can I do for you today, boy?"

"You can start by being honest with me", Henry told him, eyes piercing holes at the man that was his grandfather. With both hands on the counter and serious expression, Gold couldn't help but see his own son reflected back at him. Not in mannerisms, of course, but a vague sense of familiarity.

"Very well, dearie." Rumple said no more, silently waiting for the boy to ask his questions.

"Did you do anything to my mother?"

"Regina?", he clarified and a nod proved him right. "I confess, Henry, that Regina and I have gotten involved in more than one fight with each other. Be more specific."

Rumple's face betrayed nothing, but his light leaning forward, hands balanced on his cane told Henry that all the man's attention was upon him.

"My mom is missing and there is blood and broken glass in her office. So did you? Hurt her?" Again the seriousness didn't leave his face or waver from his voice.

"No. No, Henry, I didn't hurt Regina, or had anything to do with her disappearance." Rumple paused and leaned down to his grandson's height level. "And if I had, you coming here could have put you in danger. You need to be more careful."

Henry nodded repeatedly, but Rumple could see that it was an empty gesture. Reckless abandon seemed to be something the boy had in spades and probably something he inherited from Emma and learned from Regina.

"So, will you help me find her?"

"Contrary to popular belief, dearie, I'm not all knowing and don't in fact know what happened simply because I wish to know."

"I know…", Henry stopped his reply, not satisfied with the answer. "But you have magic and you really know my mom". At this, he pulled his backpack from his shoulder and put it on the counter. Out came a piece of glass coated in blood, a family portrait and a hairbrush. "So… will you help me?"

"Magic comes with a price, dearie." Rumple was no longer staring at the boy, but fingering the strand of hair still attached to the hairbrush.

"I also know that. What is your price for helping me locate my mother's - Regina's - current location?"

Rumple smiled at the very specific way the boy made the request, knowing perhaps better than most, thanks to his book, how easily the Dark One could play with words and deals. His smile was lost, though, when he contemplated the situation. So much he could ask that would be beneficial to him. So much that could be done with a strand of hair.

There was too much to be lost, though, for letting greed for power speak louder than family. That, at least, he had learned in his long years of living. "Nothing."

"What?"

"This time… I won't require anything in exchange. Tell me all you know. When was the last time you saw Regina?" Even as he spoke, Rumple was already moving aside from the counter and pulling his potion case from its hidden perch.

"I saw her last Monday. We had ice cream. She seemed a bit down - I think she is still very sad because of her mother -, but didn't tell me anything. I… I forgot to call her and she hasn't called me either, which is strange, because she calls every other day, even when I forget. Today I decided to see her, but Emma wouldn't let me, so I snuck out."

"As I'm sure you did just now, as well. Quite devious of you, dearie", Rumple moved his hand in a forward motion. "Carry on."

"There was something wrong with the house. I don't know what it was. But I could sense that something was off. I went in and searched for her. The only thing I found was in her office. Her round mirror - you know, the one that looks like a sun? -, well, her mirror was completely broken and there was blood on it. It was already brown. But there was a large pool of blood on the floor near the place the mirror usually is and it was still a little red. And a shoe. It's black and definitely my mom's. It was with the broken mirror", Henry took a deep breath after his rant and stood on tiptoes to see what Mr. Gold was mixing on the counter.

"Has Miss Lucas tried smelling her out?"

He was shaking his head, though his eyes never wavered from the glowing bluish liquid his grandfather was swirling around. "I asked her to do that, but she insisted on waiting for Emma. And waiting is not what my mother needs right now. She could be in danger!"

"You are right not to wait, Henry. But I want you to promise me something." At Henry's focused eyes, Rumple continued. "This potion I'm making. You are going to wait for Emma before enacting it. Promise?"

"I…", the boy looked conflicted. Obviously not wanting to lie, but not sure he could keep such a promise either, he was saved from answering by the loud bell of the door ringing out with much more force than necessary.

"Henry!" Emma took long strides into the shop and a part of Henry felt ashamed for having so obviously worried her. The part of him that was mad and angry and suspicious, though, reminded him that his mission was very important. "Did you make a deal with Gold?!"

She took him by the shoulders and shook him and all the while he looked at her with barely contained patience. "No."

Placated and a little unsettled, Emma let him go and turned to face the shop's owner. The various items on his counter looked more fit to be found in laboratory than a pawn shop, though she knew that it shouldn't have surprised her at all.

"Okay… so what's going on here?"

Henry brushed the arm around his shoulder away and turned back to face Rumpelstiltskin. His answer to his birth mother didn't seem to dignify eye contact. "Mr. Gold is helping me. He's creating a potion using the glass with mom's blood and a strand of her hair so that we can locate her."

"That's right, dearie." Calmly, as if a blonde bull hadn't just stormed his shop - and what an amusing thought that was, really -, Rumple ignored the King with a sword making a similar entrance to his shop and carefully placed Regina's hair inside the vial in his hand. The previously blue liquid turned purple and bubbled up. Next, he used a pincer and a small hammer to break a piece of the mirror young Henry had brought over and it too made its way to the vial. The purple turned red, glowed fiercely and then returned to being purple.

"And why are you helping us?" Emma again tried placing her arm around Henry's shoulder, being again rejected. She frowned, frustrated and found something else she could identify herself with Regina… being brushed off by Henry sucked.

"Not you, dearie. Henry. My grandson, who asked so nicely." Rumple swirled the liquid once more, chanting something under his breath that no one could hear. "Here it is, my boy. You think about finding your mother and throw the vial to the floor. We want to make it break, so use force. When the smoke swirls, you say your mother's name once. Only once…"

Henry was again nodding, this time in a much more serious manner. He reached for the vial and met his grandfather's tired eyes. "Thank you."

Rumple nodded once and then focused all his attention on putting his tools away, completely ignoring the heated argument that was happening between Henry and his guardians. He had done his part.