A/N: This was a prompt from Fangirl308: A while back, you mentioned that I should suggest any other conversations I would like to see Henry and Regina have if I could think of any. I would really like to see them talk about the events of the first season, when Henry first became aware of the curse, and his mother explicitly denied everything, tried to make him think he was crazy, and sent him to a therapist. It must have been awful for Henry to read that book which features Regina scheming and torturing and killing everyone in her path, and to know that awful woman is none other than his own mother, and then to have her constantly lying to him about it. It's just something I've been thinking about

So this is for you Fangirl308, I think I got a little to excited about it and I didn't have the time to edit it or beta it. I hope you like it.

So here he is, in her vault. They've been working on Operation Mongoose for couple of hours but all he could think of was "how to start this."

Regina knows her son too well. He's been agitated and often avoided her gaze. There's something wrong and she knows it. He becomes agitated and very pensive and when he's like that he's scrutinizing the pages of the book furrowing his brows…

"Henry" she's sitting on a wooden chest and he's on the floor. His eyes rise to meet hers. "Sweetheart, are you alright? You seem quiet-"

"I'm fine."

She chuckles because this and other situations make her notice the resemblance between them. She's used this answer – she uses it- some many times, she knows exactly what happens if she pushes him from this point on.

"I'm sure you're aware that you learned this answer from me, isn't that right?" She stands and walks towards him, kneels in front of him and cautiously places a finger under his chin. "What's behind the 'I'm fine' composure? Talk to me."

He averts his eyes and that's what gives in that she's the problem.

"Henry, you can talk to me. What's the problem?"

"Mom… I can't… I love you. I really do." He pushed her hand away gently but the motion still hurt her deeply. She knew this day would come.

"Of course I do. I love you too, Henry."

He stands up then and walks to a wall full of potions and empty bottles. She follows him with her eyes and stands, taking a deep breath because she knows she will need it.

"Mom, why did you do it?"

"Do what? The curse?"

"No." He turns and his eyes are full of anger and again she can see herself on him. "Why did you lie to me all of those years? Why did you make me think I was crazy? Why did you keep me from all of this?"

She gasps and places one hand on the wall behind her.

"I-"

"It 's this book. I keep reading it and there are all of these stories of you. And then when Emma came to Storybrooke you did… you…" He's angry and passionate while he's speaking and it all comes to Regina as arrows being shot through her body. "You killed Graham and tried to kill Emma… And I was trying so hard to have a family and to save everyone… but you still kept doing those evil things"

He barely looks at her and his words are coming out too fast for even her to follow.

Her son, her little prince realizes what she really is and there's no way back now.

"I remember hating you. And then I find out about Robin Hood and how you had the chance of falling in love again… of not being evil."

She's holding tight on… she doesn't even know what it is. She knows she's loosing him again.

"It just makes me so upset to know that I could've had what we are now all of this time but you chose differently all of those years." He's pacing the floor and he doesn't see how his mother is loosing balance, or when later she hugs herself. "I just can't… I don't understand."

She can't wait for him to finish she needs to leave.

"Henry" he doesn't look at her, he's too infuriated pacing the floor, "I'm…"

Her voice is broken and he comes to the realization of the things he said, but it's too late, her eyes are glimmering and there are tears on her face.

"I'm so sorry Henry." Then she leaves as fast as she can. And, it is a little irresponsible of her to leave him in her vault but she can't really process anything right now.

"you just kept doing those evil things… I remember hating you"

The words keep echoing on her mind.

"Mom…" he tumbles to the floor. He knew he would loose it if he started to talk about those things. Why did he then?

He ran upstairs but it was too late, she was gone. She was heartbroken by the one person she never expected to.

Snow hears a hard knock on the door and surely enough it wakes baby Neal. She wonders if she should get a bigger house.

"Henry…-" He's been clearly crying and he's panting. "Is everything alright?"

"Have you seen my mom?"

"Em-"

"No, Regina."

"No, what happened?" He's too distressed, "Come on in."

"I hurt her, grandma. I… I was mad… and confused. I just… I didn't know how to say…"

"Henry, you're not making sense. Tell me what happened, breath. I'm sure Regina will be ok."

"We… we're working on a special operation and we've been dealing with The book a lot… and it just makes me think of those days when she was so evil… so I asked… I said some things about those days…"

"I'm sure you didn't mean to hurt her-"

"I did… I just got so angry and-"

"And you did what your mother does: storm out. You're really her son, did you know that?"

"It's just so hard to know the things she's done and what she was…"

"She was a lot of things, Henry. She's done a lot of things, including hunting me down. But she was also the woman who taught me the two most important lessons of my life: Love is the most powerful magic of them all and that the only way to overcome fear is facing it. These two lessons helped me to survive every single day."

"I know…" He looks at snow with deep eyes pleading for help.

"She's a strong and wonderful woman, this woman is your mother Henry." She grabs his hands and gives him a reassuring smile. "You'll find her, then listen to what she has to say. You have the best tool on your side, her love for you, which is deeper than any of us can imagine. Regina feels with her whole soul, you can always count on that."

He leaves his grandparents' house towards the mansion.

He gets in and the house is quiet. He finds her sitting on his bed holding a handcrafted piece of clay with his hand imprinted on it and his name.

He stops by the door. His mother seems so small and fragile now.

"Mom" his shoulders succumb, she doesn't look at him, "I'm so sorry."

He waits for a sign, a beckoning motion so he can run to her. But, all she does is make some space for him to sit beside her then she speaks with what would be the saddest tone he's ever heard from her.

"Do you remember when you gave me this?"

He sits but he's not sure what to do right now.

"Yes. It was a school project for Mother's Day."

"It's one of the two best gifts I've ever gotten."

She places the piece of clay on her side. She shifts her position to face him and looks deeply into his eyes. They're honest and guilt, so she smiles at him and places one hand on his lap.

"Have I ever told you the story of how I adopted you?"

"I don't think so."

"Is it in the book?"

"No."

"Good." She softly smiles at him. She starts telling the story and her voice is so soothing to him. "Right before I cast the curse I visited the imp in his cell, from all the things he told me, one hit me. He said I would feel a void and when that happened I would look for him. I didn't understand is properly because I was pure evil back then and my whole heart was a void."

He's listening carefully.

"Storybrooke was different. I was just Regina, being a mayor was very different form being the queen. I didn't need to hunt down anyone or do whatever I used to. I didn't need magic either. But the time came when I realized what the void he spoke about meant. I went to Dr. Hopper."

"You used to visit him too?!"

"Yes, eventually when I felt like. But I talked to him and he asked me when did I felt different from what I was feeling at the moment. That would be when Owen visited the city with his father. He was just a kid and there were no judgments while he talked to me, no expectations and most importantly honesty. So, the grasshopper told that a child would be a good solution. I've considered the idea and went to the imp again."

She looks around in the bedroom as if remembering something.

"He sent me to the agency to get you. He told he made arrangements and well it was quite easy to adopt, a close adoption it was. I had no idea who your mother was." There's a small emphasis on this information.

"Your first week with me was one of the hardest of my life. You see, children are very sensible to feelings, to love; they love unconditionally and are loved in return. I was overwhelmed with fear and I haven't had a glimpse of love in my life for years until that week. Certain enough you only cried with me. All day long except when you were sleeping."

She chuckles thinking about those days. They're funny memories now.

"Granny told me to tell you stories so you could get used to my voice."

"It really is very soothing."

She sends him a puzzled look.

"You voice, I mean. I really like it."

She cups his face and continues.

"Anyway, the stories helped very little. But one day I was trying to work at home and you were crying non-stop and I didn't know what to do, I thought you were sick and I asked Sidney to find the file on your mother in case she had a weird disease… But this day was a very difficult day and at one point I picked you up and begged for you to give me a chance. It was the first time you looked me in the eyes as if you understood what I was saying, and I was crying and that was a very honest moment between us. You stopped crying after that. That was the first time I really felt as your mother."

He smiled. "It seems I was a piece of work."

"Always has been… perfect. Sidney called me immediately after this moment telling me he found the file. With the file I saw you mother's birthday and the date was relevant enough for me to panic. I didn't know who she was but I knew she was important, specially because Rumple was the one to lead me to you."

Her eyes become very sad now and the following words come out as a confession.

"I decided to give you back to the agency." He's staring at her but right now she can't look him in the eye. "I was there about to sign up the papers when the agent gave me a moment with you to say goodbye. You were on my arms and I promised you that you deserved something better than me. But all I could see was a selfless love, you gave me a chance and giving you up would be… a betrayal to you. At that moment I realized that I loved you."

A tear falls down his face and she gently rubs her thumb on his cheek to clean it.

"But I was fearful of what Rumple's plans were, of who your birth mother was. And I took a memory potion to forget about my fears, to forget about her. I really didn't know her importance when she came to Storybrooke. But I knew you were my chance to be just Regina, to love again."

"I'm sorry mo-"

"It's okay. As I told you that day on the staircase, I didn't know how to love very well… but you… you helped me to remember. You always had the best of me, Henry, even if it's hard to believe me. But you taught me how to love again, you made me realize what my magic was doing to me, you made me make selfless decisions for your own happiness, you led me to pursue my happiness, to accept the family I have… I'm the evil queen. I'll always be because we can't erase what I've done."

She breathes deeply and takes the courage to sustain to look him in the eyes when she says the next words.

"You had my best, but when you're evil your best is not necessarily the best. But evil isn't born; it's made and so is good. We could never have what we have now back then because I needed you to become what I'm now. I understand that it is very conflicting. I never meant to hurt you, but I didn't know how to keep you close to me, how to make you love me again as you loved me the day you stopped crying. I'm sorry, Henry, maybe you'll never forgive me for what I've done."

Her eyes become sadder with the confession.

"I understand, I just need you to know that I love you and I've proven it in every single way that I'm capable of. We had a lot of bad moments… but… we also had our special moments the I hope you'll remember."

"Mom…"

He hugs her and she's a little startled, but the kids is a Charming too, he's a hugger. So she holds him tightly and he's crying.

"Mom, I didn't mean to hurt you or judge you… I-I just got so angry and…"

"And anger is a problem for the Mills as much as hope is for the Charmings." She smiles widely and cups his face with both her hands so he can look at her.

"Henry, nothing will make me stop loving you. You're my little prince, I chose you."

"Mary Margaret was right."

"About what?"

"You love deeper than we can understand."

"Did she say that?"

"Yes."

He pauses a little, breathing, thinking then he says.

"We really need to find that writer. I need to know about your other stories."

"Well, that's easy to solve. You heard all of them when you were a baby. I can tell you again."

With that they stay on his bed, he lays down on her lap and she is playing with his messy hair while telling him about the grandfather he is named after.

-Fin