Chapter 19: Amends and Curiosity

Mandy was up early the next morning. She felt bad that the Lost Boys' lives have changed so much in the past few weeks. First, they were living on their own for a while, then Peter dies and now they can't live in their own home. She knew how much they hated living with the fairies; she hated it too but they needed someone to look after them. She couldn't do it herself. Ebony, one of the fairies, answered the door when she knocked. She didn't need her to take her to the boys; she knew exactly where to find them. As she was walking through the halls, she remembered all the pointless chores she was forced to do. The only thing that made her time here valuable and worthwhile was that Peter was here to help her through it. The boys weren't too thrilled to see her when she walked through the door.

"What are you doing here, Mandy?" Slightly asked rudely when he saw her in the doorway.

"I wanted to see how you all were. I missed you guys." She replied as she entered the room.

"We missed you too." Tootles, the baby of the group, said as he ran over and gave her a hug.

"Speak for yourself." Nibs mumbled as he crossed his arms.

"Look, I know we didn't end on a good note the last time we met but I want to make amends." Mandy said as she held Tootles' hand as they walked closer to the group.

"Why should we believe you?" Asked Binky, one of the twins.

"Because we've been through a lot together and I care about you guys." She said truthfully as she sat on the floor with them.

"First you abandon us, then you kill Peter, and then you throw us back in this stupid place?!" Nibs shouted as he stood up and got in her face.

"I know this all happened so fast and I'm really sorry how it all unfolded." She said calmly.

"You know how much we hate this place. You were always complaining when you were here." Slightly added.

"I know, I know. Totally hypocritical on my part but I needed someone to look after you guys." Mandy said not trying to make excuses.

"We can take care of ourselves." Marmaduke, the other twin said.

"Now that's a lie even you can't tell successfully." Mandy said.

"Why did you make us come here though?" Cubby asked curiously.

"Where else could I send you?" Mandy asked. They didn't have an answer.

"You gotta get us outta here! You owe us that much." Slightly said aggravated.

"It's not like you're locked in here and never allowed out. You can still go to the cabin and hangout." Mandy replied.

"Will you play with us again?" Tootles asked as he sat on her lap.

"Of course! I'll be around more; I'll make sure of it."

"Bring Henry too. We like him." Cubby added.

"Alright. How bout we meet you at the cabin tomorrow? I can get some Pixie Dust." She said cheerfully.

"You can?!" The boys said in unison. She nodded and she moved Tootles off her lap and stood up.

"How?" Binky asked.

"Don't worry about. See you tomorrow boys." She said smiling before she headed out the door.

Later That Night

Mandy had a lot on her mind that night. She looked at the clock and couldn't believe it was 12:30am. She was dying to know more about her father ever since she saw him in the mausoleum. She was always looking for the right time to ask Regina about him but she didn't want to stir up any unpleasant feelings for her. She decided to get up and walk around. She noticed Regina's light on. She decided she was going to ask her tonight. When she knocked on the door, she heard a faint 'Come in' and opened the door.

"Mom?" She whispered.

Regina put down the book she was reading. "Miranda, what are you doing up so late?" She asked.

"I can't sleep." Mandy replied.

Regina patted the space next to her on the bed. "Come here. Get under the covers."

As Mandy climbed onto the bed and got under the covers, Regina took off her glasses and put them on top of the book on the nightstand next to her.

"I want to talk to you." Mandy blurted out.

"What about? Peter?"

Mandy shook her head no. "My father." She said shyly not knowing how Regina was going to react. She noticed Regina's expression change. "If you don't want to talk about, I understand. I just want to know more about him."

"No, it's fine. I want to tell you about him." Regina wrapped her arm around Miranda and pulled her closer. Her head resting on Regina's chest as her hand stroked the side of Mandy's head. "My parents hired Daniel to teach me how to ride when I was about 13. He was 15 at the time. I didn't like him at first." Regina admitted.

"You didn't?" Mandy interrupted as her head shot up to look at Regina in shock.

"Goodness no! We couldn't stand each other. It definitely wasn't love at first sight. We were always fighting over stupid little things. I think that's why my mother kept him around…he wouldn't be a distraction to me if I hated him." Regina said thinking about the first day they met.

"So what happened?!" Mandy asked eagerly.

Regina laughed at how childish she was acting. It was like telling a story to the six year old version of Miranda that she never had the chance to do. "Well if you stop interrupting, I can finish the story." She said jokingly.

Mandy pouted. "Sorry."

"Since we spent almost every day together, we started to become attracted to one another. It started out as an innocent romance but turned into something greater, something real. We fell in love but had to keep it a secret so we pretended to hate each other still. We loved going on horseback rides together."

"How old were you then?" Mandy asked.

"About your age now. But it wasn't until I was 18 when I got pregnant with you." Regina replied.

"I don't need to know the details." Mandy said not wanting to hear how she was conceived.

Regina laughed. "That was one of the happiest days of my life; when I thought we were going to be a family. He was so excited to be a father and start our lives together. He loved you very much."

Mandy just smiled. She didn't know what to say. Regina put her hand on Mandy's cheek. "You remind me so much of him."

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to cause you pain." Mandy said putting her head down.

Regina pulled her in, holding her close. "Honey, you have nothing to be sorry about. It's because of that that I love you all the more." She kissed the top of Mandy's head.

"What made you fall in love with him?" She asked curiously since they didn't like each other in the beginning.

Regina didn't hesitate. She knew the exact moment she fell in love with Daniel. "We were horseback riding one day. It was one of the many times where all we did was fight. I got off my horse and sat against a tree. I was in a bad mood from the moment our lesson began and he knew it. He could read me like a book. He asked me if my mother had anything to do with my bad mood and of course she did. I freaked out on him and he left me sitting by the tree. He was gone for a short time but when he returned, he was carrying something behind his back. When he stood in front of me, he held out my favorite flower, a heliotrope. I asked him how he knew."

"How did he know?!" Mandy interrupted excitedly.

Regina put her finger up to Mandy's lips so she would stop interrupting. "He said he's been watching and paying attention to me for a while. He asked me why i loved that flower so much. I told him that it meant 'eternal love' and that i wanted to find that one day. So did he. We talked for the rest of the afternoon and slowly fell in love with him. From that moment on, i knew he was the one for me."

"That's the cutest story I've ever heard!" She said wiping a tear away. "Is it bad that I'm mad at Cora for killing Daniel?"

"Not at all. I'm still mad at her myself. I don't think I will ever truly get over it but i still love her. She's still my mother and your grandmother." Regina replied truthfully. Mandy wanted to get off the topic of Cora and back to her father.

"Could you tell me what he was like?" Mandy asked yawning as she cuddled closer to Regina.

Regina took a minute to think about Daniel. "He was funny…he could always make me laugh or cheer me up when I was sad. He was very caring and was always there for me whenever I needed him. He was the only one I could talk to that would truly understand me."

Regina looked down and noticed Miranda had fallen asleep. "Sweet dreams, darling." She said as she kissed the top of her head before shutting the light out and snuggling next to her daughter.

When Miranda woke up the next morning she was confused as to why her alarm didn't wake her up. She then realized she was still in Regina's room. She was going to be late for her play date with the boys at the cabin. She still had to get the Pixie Dust she promised them. She quickly got dressed, picked up Henry and headed to the woods. She was friends with the fairy on duty and she gave her enough for the 8 of them. They were waiting for the Lost Boys to arrive but they never did. They waited over an hour.

"Where are they?" Henry whined.

"I have no clue." Mandy answered truthfully.

"Are they still mad at you?" Henry asked.

"I don't think so." She shook her head. "They forgave me yesterday and seemed fine when I left."

"So what do you wanna do now?" Henry asked.

"I'm not waitin anymore. Let's get outta here." She said. She sprinkled Pixie Dust over both of them.

"We're flying?" He asked shocked.

"Would you rather walk?" Mandy hissed. Henry shook his head. "That's what I thought. Let's go."

They flew back to Regina's house and walked inside. "You would think they would've told us they weren't going to show up." She said complaining to Henry. "You don't know how much that annoys me."

They walked passed the living room and noticed Regina and Emma sitting there. "Emma, what are you doing here?" Henry asked.

"I have something to tell you…both of you." She replied.

"What is it?" Mandy asked nervously as she noticed their serious faces.

"Come sit down." Regina said motioning to the couch. They were hesitant at first but obeyed.

"Something has happened." Emma said.

"What?" Henry asked aggravated that she wasn't spitting it out already.

"Tiger Lily and the Lost Boys were reported missing earlier this morning along with a few other children." Emma finally blurted out.

"Way to break it to them gently…" Regina said to Emma.

"How else was I going to say it, Regina?" Emma shot back.

"Where could they have gone? Storybrooke isn't that big." Mandy commented.

"We are looking for them as we speak but I need to ask you two a few questions." Emma said seriously. They both nodded.

Emma continued. "When was the last time you saw or spoke to them?"

"I saw the boys yesterday when I went to visit them. We made plans to hangout today but they never showed up." Mandy answered.

"And I was with Tiger Lily until around seven last night." Henry added.

"Okay, that helps. Is there anything else?" Emma asked. They were silent. "Well if you think of anything else, let me know. I'll keep you updated."

"You can show yourself out, right Emma?" Regina said more as a statement rather than a question.

"Yea, I got it." Emma replied before she left.

"Are you two okay?" Regina asked.

"I think we are still processing all of this." Mandy replied.

"How bout I fix you both a little snack." Regina suggested. They agreed.

"This doesn't make sense. They wouldn't just run off. Would they?" Henry asked as soon as Regina was out of earshot.

"No and Tiger Lily would never disobey her father." Mandy added.

"What about the boys?" Henry wondered.

Mandy shook her head. "They like to mess around but they know better than to play this kind of joke."

"Something had to happen during the night." Henry realized.

"Yes." Mandy said confirming Henry's theory. "But it doesn't explain how they were kidnapped. Tiger Lily is very well guarded, especially at night and the boys were safe with the fairies. If anyone broke in, the fairies would know about it."

"So what should we do?" Henry asked.

"Are you up for a little detective work?" Mandy asked with a devilish smile.

Henry nodded. "We can call it 'Operation Night Owl'." He said eagerly.

"Why that?" Mandy asked confused how he came up with a name so quickly.

"Because the kidnappings happened during the night and owls stay up and keep watch…like we will be doing. So we are the Night Owls. Get it?" Henry answered explaining his reasoning behind the operation name.

"o0o0o, I like it!" Mandy said excited. "Operation Night Owl begins tonight!"

I know this isn't the longest chapter but I have another all ready to go so I'll be posting that soon. I just didn't think they fit together smoothly so that's why they are separated. Let me know what you think.