Had some free time today and was able to get this chapter done. Thank you for the feedback and for all of the well wishes regarding my surgery. MIGHT be able to get another one up before my surgery . . . fingers crossed! :)
Chapter 25
Twenty-two years ago . . . . .
Mrs. Potts entered Gold's room at the hospital in Boston. "Well, it's all taken care of." she told him as she sat down in the chair next to his bed. "No one will ever know what really happened."
"Thank you." Gold whispered, his head down.
"I just saw the doctor on the way in; he said that you should be able to go home in a few days, you'll be on crutches for at least a month. He said you can do a follow-up appointment with a doctor in Portland, and he'll determine when you're ready for rehab and you can go to the Boston facility for that. He estimates at least three weeks, if not a bit longer." Mrs. Potts told him.
"Do you think Bae will understand? I mean – this will change so much of what we enjoy doing together, but – Gwen, he's my boy, and Milah is just – I was just afraid. What if something had happened to me? What kind of life would he have had with her?" Gold asked. Mrs. Potts took his hand.
"Ian – parents do things for their children that may not make sense to most people, but – they only have their child's best interest at heart." Mrs. Potts said. "When I was younger – first starting out with MI6 – I knew this young, up-and-coming agent. Quite an interesting character – her mum was from the states and her dad was from England and they traveled between the two places; she managed to have dual citizenship. Her parents died when she was nearing seventeen, they were in the UK at the time. She didn't want to go back to the states and she didn't want to get stuck in the English welfare system, so – she ran off on her own. Got mixed up with a shady lot for awhile. One day, this bloke came asking her all sorts of questions about her friends – offered her money for information. Turns out he was a secret agent, of course she didn't know that at first. She was a bit scared and had barely a penny to her name and – well, she decided to become an informant. For a price, of course."
"She did this for several months, and one day he suggested that she finish her schooling and get some training with the agency. Said she'd make a fine agent, they always need new blood. She had nothing else going on with her life so she let him help her out. Oh, and he was right, she was bloody brilliant – advanced in the agency faster than anyone that young ever had."
"When she was just barely twenty-one years old she was sent to Edinburgh undercover to infiltrate a money-laundering ring. She had one weakness – always picked the wrong men to fall in love with. One of the lads in the money-laundering ring – oh, she went on about how handsome he was. Dark hair, deep blue eyes, and a real smooth talker. She fell for him hard. Couldn't bear to turn him over to the authorities. She um – helped him go into hiding. Got him set up with an honest job in Glasgow. Eventually she went off and married him. Told the agency she was done. They were very happy – poor as dirt but – very much in love."
"About six months into the marriage she found out she was pregnant. Well, she was thrilled – as much as she loved all of the past excitement in her life, she couldn't wait to be a mum. Gave birth to a wee little boy with deep brown eyes just like hers – she was hoping for blue eyes like his dad's, but – no, he was very much her boy. They were living a very simple, quiet life – until he was a bit past three years old. That's the thing about being an agent – you can run from your past but eventually it's going to find you. She received a call from MI6 one day – they found out what she had done. They were going to take her husband off to jail, have her charged with treason, and take her boy and hand him over to child services to be raised by who knows who. She wasn't going to let that happen. She'd have died before she let that happen. And so that's what she did."
"You see – she was still a bloody good agent with valuable training. So she cut a deal. If her husband and her boy would be left alone – she'd go back to the agency. Change her name, her identity and – have nothing more to do with them. It broke her heart but – she knew that at least they'd be together. They'd have each other. She had to have plastic surgery to change how she looked, she had to change her name – she had to basically pretend that her husband and her son – her beautiful little boy – they no longer existed as far as she was concerned."
"So she never saw them again?" Gold asked.
"Oh, I didn't say that. She saw them. They didn't know it of course, she looked completely different. She snuck in to every school production the lad did – every Christmas pageant and every honor assembly and his graduation – he was a very smart lad, graduated top of his class. Every time she saw him she wanted to run to him and hug him and tell him how much she loved him. But she couldn't. She had to keep her distance, at least until he came of age. The thing is – once he did – she was afraid to say anything. She was afraid that he would never forgive her. That he would hate her. So she just – let him be. Then – one day, she was teaching a class for MI6 and – there he was. He had been recruited. Her boy. Well, she had to find a way to be with him so – she told her superiors how much potential she saw in him, said she wanted to mentor him personally. She could finally be with her son again. Only – now she certainly couldn't reveal her identity to him, it would compromise both of them. And even if he through some miracle figured it out – he could never admit it." Mrs. Potts said, beginning to choke up a bit. "So you see, Ian – people do what they have to do to protect their children. Don't ever doubt that you did the right thing. Do you understand?" Tears began to well up in Gold's eyes as he looked up at Mrs. Potts.
"I understand." Gold said, his voice trembling. Mrs. Potts gave him a kiss on the forehead.
"Get some rest, dear. I'll be back in a bit." she said, then she left the room.
"So that's why you did it, then?" Emma asked Mrs. Potts as she drove them back to the house. "Gave up twenty years of your life to look after him."
"What else was I supposed to do?" Mrs. Potts asked. "He's my boy."
"He has your eyes." Emma commented. "I can't believe I never noticed that before."
"It's the only part of the old me that's left, I'm afraid." Mrs. Potts said. They continued to drive until they finally reached the house. Mrs. Potts got out of the car. As soon as she closed the door, Emma turned the car's ignition back on and started to back out of the driveway. "Emma, what are you doing?!" Mrs. Potts shouted. "You can't do this alone, it's too dangerous!"
"People do what they have to do for their kid, right? You go rescue your son – I need to go rescue mine!" Emma shouted out the window, then sped off. Mrs. Potts sighed nervously as she watched Emma speed off, knowing that she probably would have done the same.
"Ian!" Mrs. Potts called out as she entered the house. The house was dark and quiet. Mrs. Potts turned on several lights and made her way back to Gold's bedroom. He was sitting at his spinning wheel, quietly working. Mrs. Potts glanced down on the floor. There was a bottle of scotch sitting there, unopened. Gold stopped spinning and looked up at her.
"Where's Henry?" he asked.
"Emma went off after him – I told her to bring me back here, I – Belle called me. She was worried for you, and so was I." Mrs. Potts said, and she looked back down at the bottle. "You didn't drink any of it, then?"
"Wanted to." Gold admitted. "Gwen, she told me to leave. I've lost her."
"You haven't lost her, Ian. She just wanted you to leave at the moment because she was angry with you, and frankly, I don't blame her." Mrs. Potts said. "But she was worried enough to call me and ask me to make sure you were alright. Do you think someone who didn't give a damn about you would have bothered to do that?" Gold didn't answer. "Go get dressed for bed – I'll make you some tea, what you need is a good night's sleep." Mrs. Potts picked the bottle of scotch up from the floor. "I'm pouring this out, too. This is the last of it, Ian. I'm tired of sounding like a broken record with you. If you're going to get help, you'd best do it, or you WILL lose her. And do you really think that Emma will let you anywhere near Henry if you keep at this? I've done all I can for you, Ian. I can't help you anymore – not unless you're willing to help yourself."
Emma got out of the car and made her way to Regina's house on foot. She went over the entire floor plan that Gold had put together one more time before she left. Her car was hidden several blocks from the house, which was located in a quiet neighborhood in suburban Boston. It was almost too easy, Emma thought to herself as she made her way to the house. They'd never gotten this close before – Regina always caught on and always took off before they even had the chance. Emma knew she had to be up to something, but she couldn't think about that right now. All that mattered was getting her son back.
Emma walked the perimeter of the house and disabled the security system, as per Gold's instructions. She located the window that would be the simplest and most discreet way into the house. Emma carefully forced the window open and climbed inside. She was in a hallway and immediately took out her gun and pointed it in front of herself as she moved down the hallway. She saw a light coming from one of the rooms, and began to move toward it. She heard voices as she got closer. Emma approached the room with the light and jumped inside, her gun pointed forward. Regina and Henry both looked up at her, and Henry's face lit up immediately.
"Mom!" Henry shouted excitedly.
"Hello, Emma." Regina said calmly, smiling at her. "You can put the gun away, it's safe here. Go on Henry, go see your mom." Henry bolted out from behind the desk and ran toward Emma, wrapping his arms around her when he reached her. Emma hugged him with her left hand, her right hand still pointing a gun at Regina. "Henry was just finishing his homework." Regina said. "Do you want to show your mom what you've been working on, Henry?" Emma just stared at her, puzzled, still not putting the gun down.
"Mom, why are you pointing the gun at Regina? She's your friend." Henry said, confused.
"You're mother's probably just a little nervous, that's all." Regina said.
"Stop it." Emma said angrily. She finally turned and looked at Henry. "Are you okay, baby?" she asked.
"I'm fine. Regina's really nice. I was scared when those men took me, but – she saved me. Regina told me how she works with you and that you had to go on an important assignment and you asked her to take care of me. We do school every day, Regina's really smart." Henry said, not fazed at all by what was happening.
"You'll be very proud of Henry, he's kept up with his studies so well. He's probably at least half a grade level ahead of other kids his age by now, if not more." Regina said. "Henry, why don't you go into the kitchen and get us something to drink, what would you like, Emma?"
"He's not going anywhere." Emma said angrily.
"It's okay mom – I'll go get us some sodas, be right back." Henry said, and he pulled away from Emma and darted out of the room.
"What did you do to him? Is this some kind of Stockholm syndrome garbage, did you brainwash my kid?" Emma asked angrily, still pointing her gun at Regina.
"I'd put that away if I were you, I'm not the one scaring Henry right now, you are." Regina said. "Henry is very happy here. And I happen to like him. Quite a bit. I would never hurt him."
"No, you just keep him prisoner here for a year." Emma said.
"Everywhere we go, Henry has free run of the house, and he has every luxury to entertain himself with. He understands that you have a dangerous job and that I'm keeping him safe." Regina said just as Henry came back into the room.
"Mom, why are you still holding your gun on Regina?" Henry asked. Emma cautiously put the gun back in her holster, reached for Henry, and hugged him tightly, then knelt down on the floor next to him.
"I missed you so much." Emma said, trying not to cry.
"I missed you too, mom. Can I come home now?" Henry asked.
"I'm not sure it's safe yet, Henry." Regina chimed in. "But your mom wanted to see you. I knew she was coming, but – well, I didn't want tell you just in case there was a change in plans. It's okay though – you can still stay with me."
"Why can't mom stay here with us?" Henry asked.
"Because it's not safe for her to be around you yet. She took a big risk to come here but I knew I couldn't stop her because she missed you so much. Right, Emma?" Regina asked. Emma just glared at her.
"I got your soda. Here." Henry said, handing her a can.
"Thanks." Emma said, only halfway letting Henry go.
"Henry, your mom and I need to talk about some things in private, why don't you go up to your room for a few minutes? We'll come up there when we're done." Regina said.
"He's not going anywhere." Emma said.
"Mom, it's okay, my room is right upstairs." Henry insisted.
"Here – why don't you go finish what we were working on, and then your mom and I will come to your room when we're done talking, and we'll check your work." Regina said. She stood up and walked over to Henry, handing him a stack of papers.
"Okay. I've gotten a lot better at math mom, wait'll you see! Regina's really good at it." Henry grabbed the papers and darted out of the room.
"What did you do to him?" Emma asked.
"Well, I believe I just put him on a path toward being in the top percentile on his SAT scores in about seven years. You're welcome." Regina said smugly as she sat back down. "I have not harmed one hair on Henry's head, as you can see. As far as he knows – you and I work together. And he's staying with me for his own protection. Now granted – I only took the kid as leverage to use on Gold, been looking for something to use against him for years, but – well, Henry is – special. I didn't expect to bond with him like I did. Daniel and I wanted a big family and – I kind of forgot about that until Henry. I promise you – I won't hurt him. But he's staying with me."
"Over my dead body." Emma said.
"Yeah, you know – I thought about that. Actually attempted it but – well, the idiot that I sent ended up shooting Gold's girlfriend instead. It's too bad she lived, that would have solved my other problem, but – there's still time for that. If you're interested in making a deal." Regina said.
"I don't make deals with psychopaths." Emma said.
"Right now, Henry thinks that he's spent the past year living with his mother's friend who has been keeping him safe. Do you really want him to know who I really am? What kind of trauma would that cause him? You don't want that and neither do I." Regina said.
"What do you want?" Emma asked.
"Out." Regina said.
"Excuse me?" Emma asked.
"You want to know who I work for, don't you? Well, I'm willing to tell. In exchange for immunity." Regina said. Emma laughed.
"Right. You've killed how many people, and you want immunity. Graham was my friend." Emma said.
"Yes, and I'm very sorry about that, I was quite fond of him myself, but – well, he knew the risks in his line of work. I want protection. And I want to be able to see Henry once in awhile. In exchange for my testimony." Regina said.
"What happened to your revenge against Gold?" Emma asked.
"Oh, I still intend to get that. Obviously I don't get a completely happy ending, but – neither does he." Regina said. "See, here's the thing, Emma. You can take Henry and run with him right now. But if you do that, you'll never have a moment's peace, because I'm not willing to give him up. I'll keep looking for you, and I'll find you – and I will kill you and you know how easily I can make it look like an accident. And then Henry will be mine."
"Why don't I just kill you right now?" Emma asked, and Regina laughed.
"Oh, please, go right ahead. You do that – and you explain to Henry how you killed the nice lady that's been caring for him for the past year, I'm sure he'll understand." Regina said. "Maybe he might even forgive you someday."
"You're a bitch." Emma said.
"I've been called far worse." Regina said. "So – do you want my testimony or not? I know the ins and outs of the agency too, I know they'll be glad to cut me a deal, and you'll probably get yourself a nice bonus, won't that help you out quite a bit – being a single parent and all. All I want is for you to just – let me have one more bit of revenge. If I don't get my happy ending – why should Ian Gold, especially given that it's his fault I lost mine in the first place. I want Belle French – I want her taken out. I mean, at first I wanted her taken out so that she wouldn't testify, but now – I want her taken out because it will destroy Ian Gold. Come on, Emma, I know you're not that fond of the man, either. Just this one last thing – and then you have everything you want. You get to take down one of the biggest crime syndicates in the world. You get your son back. And you probably get a promotion. She's just a useless little librarian, who would even miss her? You'd be saving who knows how many lives, Emma. Isn't that what you're all about? Being some sort of great savior? I'm sure that stems from some psychological desire to make up for all of the havoc your parents caused, right?"
"Shut up." Emma said angrily.
"Gladly. I have nothing more to say anyway. It's your call, Emma. All you have to do is give me Belle French – and this is all over. So – do we have a deal?" Regina asked.