I really should be working on my finals, but I hadn't updated this in a while and this idea popped in my head because of something I said in an earlier chapter.
WARNING: this chapter discusses sexual assault, but nothing in detail, but if it is triggering for you please skip it, the next chapter will just be everything calming down so no major plot twists I promise. It's an intense chapter so please be forewarned.
Emma took a few more weeks off before returning to a normal work week and Regina stayed at the mansion with the twins, taking full advantage of the fact that she could work from home until Summer came and even then who would dare question her? For the time begin she was happy to still have time in her maternity leave because while Emma was trying to get back into the swing of things at work, Regina was working to get the girls on some form of a schedule of feedings and nap. On this afternoon, Emma happened to be home, working with her father to finalize the rotation for the office for the coming weeks. Ruby was holding down the office, allowing both father and daughter to work from home for at least a few hours.
Emma was looking over the papers in front of her, listening to Regina hum something to the babies over the baby monitor and everything seemed to be peaceful. That should have been her first warning….Regina would have reminded her that peace in their household never lasted long, but that usually had something to do with their two youngest children. Today, that was not to be the case. David saw Snow pull into the driveway and before he had the chance to turn back to his work he saw his grandson all but leap from the front seat and start storming toward the front door. The door opened and almost slammed against the wall behind it and the noise was enough to get Emma's attention. Henry took two steps inside before turning to look inside the kitchen.
"Where is Mom?" Emma had never heard Henry use this tone of voice before and she knew she never wanted to hear him use it again. It was eerily similar to Regina's Evil Queen tone and no one liked that tone, least of all Regina so Emma quickly stood up and tried to bring Henry into the kitchen.
"What's wrong Henry?" Emma reached out to her son, only to have the teenager take steps backwards and again ask where his other mother was, only louder this time.
"WHERE IS MOM?" By this point Snow had caught up with Henry and had shut the front door behind her. Emma looked to her mother for an answer of why her teenage son was so angry and she was surprised to see a look of guilt on Snow's face. Not knowing what to address first, she picked her son and his ever-raising voice.
"First off, stop yelling, you will wake up your sisters. Second, mom is upstairs putting the girls down for a nap. Now, my turn for questions. What the hell is wrong? You come in here yelling for mom and throwing open doors. You never act like this, even when you are upset, so spill what's wrong?" Henry looked so conflicted and Emma saw him trying to restrain his anger, but all that did was make him red in the face. Emma drew the line at seeing tears running down her son's face.
"Henry, please…" Emma took a step forward to try and soothe Henry, but he just took another step backwards and yelled again for Regina.
"Mom!" Emma cringed when she heard the silence from upstairs shattered with two sets of very healthy baby lungs crying out. Before Emma could stop Henry, before she could ask her mother what had prompted this, before she could do anything about the mess she found herself in Regina was at the top of the staircase and the look on her face was a mix of fear over what had caused Henry to call for her and anger, because her 14 year old just screamed his newborn sisters wide awake.
"What is going on down here? What's wrong?" All of a sudden Henry had no more words in him and so Regina turned to Emma.
"Any idea why he is yelling?"
Emma held up her arms in surrender, "he came in and started screaming for you, I haven't even had time to understand why or what happened." Regina scanned the room and her gaze landed on Snow and Regina recognized that face. That was a guilty face and Regina was certain of one thing; whatever Snow did, once again found it's way into her house and she would have to fix it. Turning to David as she descended the stairs, she nodded towards the nursery.
"Can I ask you to go tend to them and try to calm them back down? Apollo is still up there with them." David nodded his head and took the stairs two at a time to make it upstairs faster. Snow moved to follow her husband and Regina blocked her path.
"No. You will be staying down here until I find out why you have the damn guilty look on your face. Start talking now."
"Mom…" Regina held up her hand to stop Henry from speaking.
"I'll be asking you the same question in a second Henry so you better have a damn fine reason for this behavior when I do. Right now, however, your grandmother had better start talking." Henry sniffled and backed down for the first time since coming home.
Snow took a breath and tried to avoid making eye contact with Regina. "I didn't mean to say anything Regina. I didn't even think I had said anything at all until he started getting mad. It just kind of slipped out."
Emma wasn't sure her mother was going to live to see the next ten minutes, but she gave Regina credit for not out right lunging for her mother's throat.
"I seem to recall us having this same conversation many, many years ago when you were no taller than my waist. So what, pray tell, did you let slip this time?"
Snow took a deep breath before answering. "It was about my father." Emma had never seen Regina go from angry to totally defeated before and she thought for a second she was going to have to catch Regina before she fell. Regina managed to stay upright and after a few moments she found her voice again, but this time she turned to Henry.
"What happened?"
"We were in science class this afternoon and it was the last class we were covering sex ed and all that." Regina already didn't like where this was going and Emma took small step toward her wife, expecting Regina to push her away out of pride, but instead Regina reached back searching for her hand. Once she found it, she nodded for Henry to continue.
"Our teacher was wrapping everything up and she mentioned some stuff about consent and she had this slide of stats about sexual assault. She said that even if we don't know it, we probably know someone who experienced some type of sexual assault. I don't know why, but it stuck with me and when grandma picked me up to take me home I asked if we knew anyone who had ever been hurt like that. She got all quiet and pale and she looked out into traffic, trying to ignore me. I pushed and asked if it was her and she said no, so I started running through the people we know. She told me to stop asking and I asked why and she said it real quiet, like to herself, but you always say she can't whisper."
"Said what Henry?" The teenager looked at his mother and now felt bad for what he was about to say to her and ask her. "She said because sometimes we don't even know what our own parents are capable of. I thought she meant that dad had hurt ma, but you would never let me near my dad if that were the case. After that, I just kind of knew so I got mad and upset and yelled questions the rest of the way home." Regina turned around to face Emma and she wanted desperately to fall into her wife's arms and cry, but she knew she had to talk to Henry. The noises from upstairs had stopped which meant David had gotten the girls back to sleep. While Regina tried to compose herself, Henry stood still not really sure if he should say anything else. Emma gave Regina all the time she needed and when Regina managed to compose herself she turned back around to Henry and pointed to the living room.
Henry understood and walked into the living room, taking a seat on the couch where Regina soon joined him. Emma stayed near by, but gave them some space and Snow wisely stayed out of Regina's line of sight.
"I'm sorry I made you cry." Regina forced a smile through her tears and touched Henry's face.
"You didn't make me cry, but Henry you have to understand and respect that talking about this can be very painful for people." Regina drew in a sharp breath. "Your mother and I had talked about it and we were going to tell you what happened to me when you were 16. None of the details of course, but we would have clued you in."
"I'm not a baby." Henry fought back and Regina shook her head.
"Yes you are Henry, you are my baby, our baby and…well, you were right. I never would have let you near anyone who had hurt me or your mother and telling you felt like I was inviting him into our house and I…Henry I can't have him in my house again."
"Gina." Emma didn't need to say much to remind Regina that she was still talking in riddles and this wouldn't make Henry or Regina feel any better.
"Henry. You said you were asking your grandmother questions in the car. What were they?" Henry looked at his mother and as much as he wanted this to stop, he wanted answers.
"He hurt you. Your husb…the King hurt you?"
Emma put her hand on Regina's shoulder and gave it a squeeze as Regina nodded her head. "Yes he did."
Henry's face got red again and he shook his head side to side, like he wanted to forget what he just heard.
"He raped you?" Regina opened her mouth to speak and she tried to answer in a commanding tone, but what came out what a tearful, "yes." That was all it took for Henry to get back on his feet and start pacing the living room. Emma helped her wife up and just as she did, Henry came undone and started yelling again, this time at his grandmother. Neither of them knew what was about to happen, but Regina quickly raised her hand toward the staircase and the upper level of the house, quickly making it sound proof.
"You. You know, I always thought grandma Cora was the person who deserved most of the blame. I mean she fucking sold her child into marriage with a man three times her age. But you, you made it possible. You wanted what you wanted and damn everyone else. She lost her first love, but she lost so much more than that because you just had to have a new mother. Your father hurt her, raped her and you were only a child for a short period of time. As the years wore on you had to think that something was wrong. You had to see something dark in him. You turned your back on her. She lost everything so that you could have the thing you wanted most and you fed her to the wolves." Snow didn't know what to do other than stand there and let her grandson lash out at the closest person he could be mad at. Before Henry could continue much further Regina managed to wrap her arms around her son and within seconds both mother and son had collapsed onto the living room floor.
"Henry, stop. It wasn't her fault." Regina tightened her grip and finally Henry just lost it and let his mother hold him like he was his a child all over again.
"You killed him to get away from him and she made you the villain because of it."
Regina held Henry's face in her hands, tears running down everyone's cheeks as she explained. "No Henry. I did terrible things that made me the villain. That wasn't anyone's fault but mine."
"HE HURT YOU! Everyone hurt you." Regina knew that nothing she said would ease Henry's rage. She shouldn't have been surprised since Emma reacted in a similar fashion when she found out the truth about Regina's first marriage. Regina had to let her cry out the anger and sadness before they could talk about it and as she cradled her oldest child in her arms, she assumed that she would have to do the same with Henry. Emma watched the heartbreaking scene in front of her and as much as she wanted to step in and help, she knew better. She looked up at her mother who was crying as much as anyone else.
"Maybe you should go check on Dad and the girls." Snow nodded and slowly made her way upstairs. Emma grabbed a blanket off the couch and wrapped it around Regina and Henry and then she quietly took a seat on the floor right behind Regina. Minutes later, Apollo came down the stairs and seemed distressed, like he didn't know who to go to because everyone seemed upset. Emma called him to her and he came and quickly sniffed at Regina and Henry and eventually found a way to settle down on both Regina and Henry. The presence of the dog seemed to break the horrible tension that was in the room and eventually Henry seemed to calm down enough that he fell asleep. Regina slowly unwrapped herself from her son and let Apollo snuggle with Henry.
Regina turned around and immediately fell into Emma's arms, and knowing that her son wasn't watching this time, Regina finally let go of her tears.
I know that was an intense chapter, but I really wanted to explore this. In this story it was the last thing in Regina's past that Henry was in the dark on and I wanted to address it. Things will calm down and return to normal eventually, but I wanted to let Henry be mad and want the chance to defend his mother only to find out there was nothing to be done.