Here it is, the final chapter of Shattered Confessions. I want to thank everyone who read, followed and reviewed. This was my first time writing fanfic and I had such a good time. Thanks guys!

The big white house that Henry had grown up in had never seemed so intimidating to him. It was a representation of his entire childhood. It's where he learned to walk and talk and read. He and his mother had made so many good memories here. It's where they'd built a life together. Looking at it now made the guilt settling in his stomach so much heavier. He'd abandoned this house just like he'd abandoned those memories.

He walked up to door and opened it with spare key. Walking in the house he found his mother sitting at the dining table with a glass of red wine. She turned to look at him, clearly surprised that he was there. "Henry! What are you doing here?"

His mother had been through a lot but Henry had never seen her look so tired. There were dark circles under her eyes, she didn't have on any lipstick which made her face look so much paler than it really was. She even looked thinner than usual.

"I think we need to talk." he said sitting next to her.

She nodded. "I was just working up to courage to come and find you actually."

They were both silent for a minute, neither completely sure how to start. Regina decided as the parent it was up to her to make the first move.

"Henry –"

"Wait, mom. I would like to say some things first. They're really important things so I need you to promise that you won't say anything until I'm completely finished."

"Okay." Promised Regina.

Henry gulped before starting. "That night in the Sheriff's station has really made me think about our relationship. And about the part that I've played in it. I realize now that I didn't handle it as well as I should have. When I found out that I was adopted I thought that because Emma had given me up she didn't love me. And because my birth mom didn't love me I didn't think that my adoptive mom could either. I just- I wanted you to admit that and I thought the best way to do it was to hurt you. Mom I am sorry for the way that I treated you when I discovered the truth about the adoption and the enchanted forest. I didn't know how to deal with your past so I threw away everything that we had together because I thought it made you easier to understand. I know that night in the station you were at your absolute worst but that doesn't mean that some of the things you said weren't true. I am sorry that I made you feel like you had to fight for a place in my heart because the truth is you have always had the biggest part of it. Even if there was a time when I tried to ignore that."

Regina took a good look at her son. He was no longer her little prince. In fact he was almost the same height as her but that wasn't the change that amazed her. He had become so mature these past few years. He was no longer the little boy who ran around town with a storybook looking to be a hero. He was teenager now. One who truly able to recognize the grey areas in life and still see say what was needed to help the good break through. Hearing Henry speak so honestly about his feelings warmed Regina's heart. She had waited so long to hear those words from him. They felt good but now it was her turn to take responsibility for what she had done.

"Henry it means so much to me to hear you say that but it would be wrong for me to ignore the things I did to you during that time in our lives. During the curse you said that I wanted to poison Emma because I was so insecure about my place in your life. You might have been speaking through the curse Henry but that doesn't mean that it wasn't true. I love you Henry and for a long time I thought the best way to make you love me was to make sure you had no other options. It's why I tried so hard to get Emma to run away from you. And when you found out about the Enchanted Forest I was so afraid. You were the one person I never wanted to see me as the Evil Queen. When you started telling me that's who I was I thought if I knocked Emma off her savior pedestal it would change how you saw me. But I was wrong. Do you remember when you ate that apple turnover?"

Henry nodded.

"When I found out you were under the sleeping curse I was devastated. It was my biggest nightmare. My darkness and pain had finally destroyed you. The thing that really killed me though? I tried to wake you."

"You did?" asked Henry. She'd never told him that. She hadn't told anyone. She would always regard it as her biggest failure in life. Her son in a hospital bed in desperate need of saving and she hadn't been able to come through.

"Emma gave me a few minutes to sit with you. I thought that since I was your mother I could wake you up with true love's kiss. I pressed my lips to your forehead… and nothing happened. At first I thought it was because the magic didn't work the same here but in my heart I knew that wasn't true. I put a curse and my revenge above your needs. A true mother would never had done that. When Emma woke you up with the kiss I had never been so grateful for her existence but it confirmed what I already knew. I might have loved you but it wasn't the way you deserved to be loved. It was a selfish love. And I'll always regret it. Henry you will always be my son and I'm sorry that for so long I wasn't able to love you like you needed."

Henry could count on his hand the few times his mother had been this honest with him. He knew she wasn't one for heart-to-hearts so he learned that whenever they occurred they were meant to be taken seriously. Before he discovered the first curse Henry hadn't realized how difficult and complicated loving someone could be. It's not just a feeling you have. It's a skill that you learn and a choice you make. He didn't know much about his adoptive grandmother Cora but he heard that loving wasn't something that she was good as. Her heart was so unused it wasn't even in her chest for over sixty years. Sitting with his mother now Henry could see just how deep and intricate her heart actually was. With the example Cora had set it wasn't surprising that his mother had struggled with loving for so long but she was still strong enough to recognize it and change. It's what made her so amazing. He leaned over and gave her an unexpected hug.

"I've really missed you mom," said Henry.

"I've missed you too sweetheart," said Regina with tears in her eyes. "Do you think you're ready to come back home?"

"Yes," he smiled.

I love the regalbeliever relationship so much and I had so much fun writing and exploring their relationship here. My next story is going to feature the Hood-Mills family and their first Christmas together.