Thanks for the reviews, I really appreciate them! I don't own anything except my character, Mandy.

Chapter 3: What's in a Name?

Henry opened and shut the door quietly, hoping to sneak in without being noticed. He tip-toed towards the stairs, when Snow popped up from behind the kitchen counter.

"Where have you been Henry!? It's almost 11:00pm. You missed dinner and you didn't check in!" Snow said angrily.

Henry has never seen Snow this angry before, he fumbled his words when he realized she was waiting for an explanation. "I'm…I'm sorry. I lost track of time playing and everything."

"You've been at the playground this whole time?" She asked in disbelief.

He had to think of something real quick so she wouldn't suspect anything. He didn't want to tell her about Mandy because that would lead to him telling her about his not-so-awesome attempt at horse riding. "Most of the time. I went to someone's house for dinner."

"Who's house?"

"Ugh, Tim's. You know him." He lied. Snow had a feeling that Henry wasn't telling the truth but didn't press this issue any further. She knew that he was still getting used to their situation, as was she.

"Yes, I know Timothy. You kids weren't causing trouble, were you?"

"No, not at all. Just playing" he said giving her a convincing smile. She couldn't resist that smile of his.

She smiled back before saying, "Go get ready for bed, I'll be up soon." Henry ran upstairs just as the front door was opening.

"He wasn't at the playground." David said out of breath.

"He's upstairs." She said calmly.

"When did he get home? Where was he?" He asked concerned.

"About 5 minutes ago. He said he was at Timothy's but I don't believe him." She said flatly.

"What do you think he was up to then?

"Not clue but I'm sure it's nothing. Probably another hideout like his castle before it got torn down."

"As long as he isn't getting into trouble." He said giving Snow a kiss. "I'm going to bed, coming?"

"I'll be right there." She would join David after she tucked Henry in and kissed him goodnight.

Emma and Gold have been driving for hours. He explained things to Emma on the way, not everything though. He didn't tell her the reason or how Bae ended up in this world. Gold told her the reason he was accompanying her to NYC. He didn't want another imposter pretending to be Bae, like August had done earlier. Gold knew Bae would still be mad at him for not coming with him to the new world. He needed Emma, he needed the Savior, to bring his son back. She was the only one that could, whether she knew it or not.

"Next motel I see, I'm pulling in and stopping for the night." She said a little aggravated.

"No we must keep going." He said firmly wanting to get to NYC as soon as possible. He was becoming aggravated with Emma also.

"Unless you want to take the wheel for a while, we are stopping. I NEED SLEEP!" She whined. Gold sat silently. He didn't know his way to NYC. He couldn't drive even if he wanted too.

"That's what I thought!" She said knowing he wouldn't drive.

They found a motel a couple miles down the road and pulled into the lot. They made their way to the front desk. Emma asked for two rooms and told the lady who was helping her to put it on his tab, pointing at Gold. Emma grabbed both keys and walked away. Gold followed her.

"I didn't realize I would be picking up your tab, Miss Swan."

"It's the least you can do after dragging me on this little excursion of yours." She hissed. Gold gave her a wicked smile and plucked his room key from her hand.

"Just don't go crazy on room service." He responded, then began to walk towards his room.

"Aye, Aye Sir!" She said in a mocking tone. He rolled his eyes and kept walking without turning back. She found her room and as soon her head hit the pillow, she was out.

The Next Day

Mandy was sitting on a swing while waiting for Henry. They were going to pay Regina a visit. She happened to look up and saw Henry running towards her.

"You're late." She said flatly.

"I know. I couldn't get away from Snow. She kept asking questions, especially since I missed my curfew last night." He said breathlessly.

"Sorry about that" She said apologetically.

"It's not your fault. I had fun!" He replied.

Mandy smiled. She was happy he was having just as much fun hanging out with her as she did with him. "Well if you had fun just talking, then would you be interested in coming to this Indian Dance tonight?"

"Indian dance?" He asked with a confused look on his face.

"Yea, the Indians do some spirit or ritual dance every so often. It's really cool. Tiger Lily has been teaching me some of the dances." She said excited.

"That's sound like fun!" He then realized he might not be able to go. "I don't know if Snow will let me though." His said sadly.

"Peter will be there.." She said trying to bribe him into coming.

"I'll get there somehow." He said determined to meet Peter Pan.

"Great! So are you ready to visit Regina?" She asked.

"Ready as I'll ever be!"

They began walking towards Regina's house. They talked along the way and before they knew it, they were outside of the mansion. Henry opened the gate and walked a few steps, followed by Mandy. He stopped walking and just stared at the door.

"What are you waiting for!" She said giving him a push to keep walking. They approached the door and Henry rang the bell.

"Don't eat anything with apples in it!" He mumbled.

"Why? I love apples!" She said confused as to why he would say something so random. Before he could answer her question, the door opened and Regina was standing in the doorway with a surprise look on her face when she realized who it was.

"What are you doing here?!" She asked as she gave her son a hug.

"I wanted to see you."

"Really?" Regina was shocked to learn that Henry wanted to spend time with her.

"Yea, I wanted to see you." He said. Regina couldn't help but smile at Henry and giving him another hug. She missed her son so much. She was so happy he came to visit her.

"I missed you too!" Her expression changed when she saw Mandy standing a little behind Henry, trying not to get in the way.

"Who's your friend?" She asked wondering who this girl was. She had never seen her before. If she did, she doesn't remember her.

"My name is Mandy. Nice to meet you." She smiled and extended her hand to shake Regina's. Regina shook her hand and said, "You too dear."

When their hands touched, they each felt a spark between them. They were both taken back by this sudden sensation they felt between them, but quickly shrugged it off and retaining their composure. Henry didn't notice anything strange between the two.

"Henry, I'll be right out here if you need me." She said reassuring the boy she would be there for him. Henry nodded and walked in the house. Mandy sat on the step.

"Don't you want to come in?" asked Regina. Mandy turned around, surprised by the invitation to come in.

"Oh no thanks. You and Henry should have some time together while you can." Regina nodded and shut the door behind her. Henry was already in the kitchen getting something to eat. Regina soon joined him.

"So what do you wanna do while you're here?" She asked.

"Where's Cora?" he asked with a scared look on his face.

"She's napping. You don't have to worry about her, I wont let her hurt you." She said hoping to reassure her son that he would be safe when he visited her, especially with Cora around.

"Okay good. I wanted to ask you a few questions and I want to know the truth." He said straightforward. Regina was hesitant in her response.

"Sure Henry. Anything." She wanted so bad to prove herself to Henry that she was changing for the better.

"I'm guessing you weren't always evil and that something happened to make you this way. What was it?

Regina's heart sank. She didn't want to explain her past to Henry, but she knew she had to be honest with him in order to gain his trust back. She chose her words wisely.

"Well my mother for one. She was always controlling everything I did. I was never good enough for her. All I wanted was her love and approval, which I never received. I soon fell in love with a stable boy named Daniel." She smiled when she mentioned his name.

"He's the one that tried to kill me at the stable's, right?

"Yes and no. That might have been Daniel's body but the real Daniel wasn't there. He was something else, some kind of monster."

"Well that's good. That guy was scary."

"My Daniel, the one I fell in love with, was nothing like that. He was sweet, caring, and always put others before himself."

She proceeded to tell Henry about how she saved Snow, her marriage to King Leopold, Daniel's death, and the moment she met Rumplestiltskin to begin her training. Henry had tears running down his face by the time she was finished her story. Regina couldn't help but shed a tear talking about Daniel and the life she never wanted. Henry jumped off the stool he was sitting on and gave her a hug. He felt so bad for her.

"I'm so sorry mom." He choked out. Regina hugged him back, leaning her cheek on the top of his head.

"Are you okay, Henry?" She asked, wiping away his tears, hoping she was right in telling him her whole story.

"Yea, I understand a little better." He said. Regina didn't want to let go of him. He hugged her tighter, wanting to take away all her pain.

"So why don't you tell me about your new friend. She looks familiar." She said, letting Henry out of the hug, hoping to change the subject. She also wanted to know more about this mystery girl.

"I only met her a few days ago. I don't know that much about her. She was born in the Enchanted Forest but somehow found her way to Neverland. She's best friends with Peter Pan, she's the one who told me I should come and talk to you, and she can do…." He stopped himself when he realized he wasn't supposed to mention Mandy having magic. He knew Regina would catch his mistake, she always did.

"Can do what Henry?" She was now curious as to what this girl can do. Henry had to come up with something quickly.

"Um..she can do Indian tribal dances." He remembered her mentioning the Indian dance that was going to take place later tonight. He wasn't exactly lying. She knew a little bit of the dances they do.

Regina was confused. "Indian what?"

"Indian tribal dance. I don't know all the details." Regina didn't believe this but didn't question him about the Indians any further. He was never a good liar.

"So how did you two meet?" she asked.

"At the playground." She knew this was another one of his lies but she wanted the truth for this one.

"You expect me to believe that Henry? I know when you're lying." She said arching her eyebrows. Henry didn't want to tell her about the horse incident, but she would find out sooner or later.

"Okay. But you have to promise you wont yell at me." She nodded in agreement.

"We met at the stables. I wanted to learn how to ride but David was too busy to teach me so I decided to teach myself."

"Henry, do you know how dangerous that is? You could've been hurt!" She said trying not to yell at him like she promised.

"I would've if it wasn't for Mandy. She saved me when my horse decided to throw me off."

"How did she save you?" Henry took a moment before answering her question.

"I can't tell you." He said flatly. Regina studied his face. She had a feeling that there was more to this girl than she was letting on and she was going to figure it out.

"Do you mind if I go get a few things from my room?" he asked, changing the subject.

"No, go ahead." This would give Regina some time to get to know this girl. Mandy heard the front door open and assumed it was Henry.

"Henry, do you mind if we..." she stopped talking when she turned around to see Regina. "Oh I thought you were Henry."

"He is gathering a few things from his room. Why don't you come in for a few minutes. I insist."

"Alright. Those steps start to get uncomfortable after a while." She walked into the house. Regina shut the door and led Mandy into her office, the same one where she first had a talk with Emma.

"Your house is so lovely" She said as she looked around the office.

"Thank you dear, have a seat." She said pointing to the sofa. Regina got herself a drink of her apple cider and sat across from her.

"So Henry tells me you saved his life…how did you do that exactly?" She questioned.

"I caught him." She wasn't telling a complete lie, she thought, just not the whole truth.

"You have magic." She said calmly, narrowing her eyes on the young girl.

"And how do you know that?" She answered back, not bothered by Regina's glare.

"I can feel it. You felt it too, when we shook hands." Mandy couldn't believe Regina figured out her secret within minutes of meeting her.

"Okay, so now you know. That's how I saved Henry." She said, putting her head down breaking eye contact with the older woman.

"You don't want people to know, do you?" She murmured. Mandy shook her head no, not looking up at the woman.

"Don't worry dear. I won't tell anyone your secret. But I do want to thank you for saving Henry" Mandy looked up at the woman. "…and for convincing him to visit me." She gave the girl a genuine smile. She meant every word she just said.

"You're welcome. Henry's a good kid! You did a great job with him. You seem like a great mom." She said before giving Regina a warm smile. Regina was surprised to hear those words come out of her mouth. Someone actually thought she was a good mother.

"If you don't mind me asking dear, what did you say to convince him to visit me?"

"Well, he thought you were evil but I told him that even the purist of hearts can become corrupted by magic and that it takes a dark person a while to return to the other side. I also told him that there is probably more to your story and that you were just misunderstood." She said breathlessly as she got all of that out.

Regina was taken aback by how this little girl could know so much about magic and how it corrupts people. If she didn't know better, it's like this girl knew her life better than herself or led a similar life as her own.

"Wise words. Sounds like you're speaking from experience." Regina replied.

Mandy tilted her head to one side, contemplating Regina's answer. "You could say that." Regina didn't want to dig too deep, too fast. She only just met this girl and she hadn't gained the girl's trust yet. She wanted to know more to this girls story.

She decided to ask simpler questions. "So is 'Mandy' your Storybrooke name or your real name?"

"My Storybrooke name is Miranda and my real name is Corinne, but I like Miranda a lot better. So everyone calls me Mandy." She answered happily, getting off the subject of magic. The mention of both names made the hair on Regina's neck stand up.

Flashback

Regina was meeting Daniel on Firefly Hill because she had something important to tell him. She saw him standing at the top of the hill and began to run to him. She couldn't contain her excitement. She jumped into his arms, he swung her around and kissed her. He didn't want to let her out of the kiss but she wanted to tell him something so he reluctantly pulled back.

"You look so excited! What's this news you have to tell me?" He asked smiling down at her.

"I'm pregnant." She said, her smile beaming back at him.

"Your what?!" He couldn't believe what he was hearing.

"I'm going to have a baby, Daniel. You're going to be a father!" She said as she kissed him again.

"This is great!" His excitement quickly turned to sadness.

Regina saw his face change. "What's wrong?" She asked with a puzzled look on her face.

"Your mother isn't going to be happy." He said frowning in disappointment.

"I know." She said wrapping her arms around him, Daniel returning the embrace. She always felt safe and calm in his arms. "That's why we are going to run away."

"Seriously?" He said pulling back from the embrace. He was shocked to hear her say that. Sure, they talked about running away all the time but they never had the courage to actually follow through.

"I've never been more serious." She said with a straight face. Daniel couldn't help but smile and pull her back into a hug. He was so happy they were going to get away from her mother and finally become a family. It's what they both wanted, what they dreamed about.

"How far a long are you?" He asked curiously.

"3 weeks." She said putting her finger to his lips so he wouldn't speak. "And no I don't know what I'm having yet." Giving him a smile while pulling her hand away.

"It doesn't matter what we're having. I will love the baby no matter what." He said thinking about his future son or daughter.

"You're going to be a great father, Daniel. I can't wait to spend the rest of my life with you!"

"And I can't wait to see our child in your arms. I love you Regina!"

"I love you too Daniel!" He picked her up and spun her around.

"Daniel…Daniel the baby." She said wanting him to stop spinning her.

"I'm sorry, I got caught up in the moment."

"It's fine. Do you have any names in mind?" She asked giving Daniel a moment to think about it. She sat on the ground, leaning against a tree. Daniel followed suit, wrapping his arm around her.

"Michael for a boy and Miranda for a girl." He finally answered. "What do you think?"

"I love them and I love you. I can't wait to spend the rest of our lives together" Both smiling.

"When do you want to leave? How does a week sound?" He asked.

"The sooner we get away from my mother the better." She said as she laid her head on Daniel's shoulder, his on top of hers. They sat under the tree talking and watching the sunset.

End Flashback

This was one of the best memories Regina had with Daniel. She was soon brought back to reality when Miranda asked her if she was alright.

"Um yes. I like Miranda too." She said giving a smile. "Who named you Corinne?"

"Whoever wrote the note that was in the basket I was found in." Before Regina could ask any further questions, Henry came bursting into the room.

"Mom, do you know where..." He then noticed Mandy sitting on the couch. "Ahh there you are. You ready?"

"Ready when you are."

"I'll come visit again soon." He said as he hugged Regina.

"Please do. I miss you!" She said, returning the hug.

"I know, I miss you too but you can't tell anyone about my visiting you." He said hoping she would keep his secret.

"Henry, Emma will be furious if she knew you were here." She replied.

"Well she and Gold are out of town and since when do you care what Emma thinks."

"I don't. I just don't want them thinking I made you come here. I'm really making progress."

"Well when Emma gets back, I will tell her I want to spend time with you. I gotta go now, Snow will know something's up." He said giving her another hug. "Bye mom, c ya later!" He said running out the door while Mandy walked over to Regina to say her goodbyes.

"It was nice meeting you, Miss Mills."

"Please, call me Regina." She said extended her hand.

Mandy nodded. "Regina." She shook Regina's hand as they both locked eyes. Regina looked into the young girls eyes and saw something familiar in them. They were Daniel's eyes. Mandy noticed sadness in Regina's and knew there was some connection between them but she couldn't figure it out.

"I hope you come back soon. I enjoyed talking with you." She really wanted to get to know this girl, her daughter.

"Likewise." Mandy replied.

"Mandy, we need to go now!" Henry screamed from the doorway.

"I'm coming Henry!" She screamed back to him. "Goodbye, Regina." She smiled and walked towards the front door to meet Henry who was waiting anxiously for her. Regina watched them go with a sad look on her face. She was letting her son and daughter go, again. Her sadness quickly turned into rage. Her mother had something to do with this and she was going to get to the bottom of this.

Hope you enjoyed this chapter! And don't forget to review:)