This was her very last chance to back out. She stood at the beginning of the walkway leading to the two story concrete building. Taking a deep breath, she tried to remember why she was doing this. She had just finished her junior year at Storybrooke High a week ago and she spent the entire week dreading this moment. She didn't need to be here. Her college applications were pristine just the way they were. She was a straight A student and shoe in for class Valedictorian. She was class president for the past three years and was the captain of the debate team, the Historical Society, and the schools Dance Squad. She didn't need this and she sure as hell didn't have time for it.

Three months ago her mother had summoned her (yes... summoned) to her home office and lectured her on the importance of extracurricular activities outside of school. Even after politely reminding her mother of everything she already had on her plate, she wouldn't budge on the matter. After about an hour of putting her debate skills to good use they reached an agreement. She would be given the privilege of choosing the college she would attend (but not apply to) if she agreed to volunteer at the Storybrooke Childrens Shelter. Two weeks later her mother was in a car accident on her way home from a business trip. After another week of being it a coma, she was gone.

So here she stood, determined to hold up her end of the bargain. Her best friend Daniel was the first person to remind her that she didn't have to go through with it. Her mother was a mean and spiteful woman who never thought anything she did was good enough. She hated Daniel. She didn't care that he had the schools second highest GPA (after herself of course) and she didn't care that he was the best friend Regina could have ever asked for. All her mother cared about was the fact that he came from a less than wealthy family that tended to the towns stables. Status was everything to Cora and the local stable boy definitely wasn't worth her daughters time. But Daniel wasn't the only person in town to feel her mothers wrath. If you asked about 80% of the town population, Cora Mills was a down right Bitch with a capital B.

But she was still Regina's mother. So here Regina stood determined to complete the last request her mother asked of her. Well more like demanded, but whatever, she was here and after this last request was met her life would finally be her own. With one last deep breath she took that first step down the walkway and towards the old wooden doors. As soon has she had one foot in the door she a greeted with chaos. Somewhere down the hall to the left was a small child crying at the top of their lungs. She stumbled backwards slightly, as a group of 3 young girls ran by her screaming closely followed by a young boy holding out what she thinks was a frog. Shaking the look of disgust off her face, she was assaulted with one of the most annoying voices she had ever heard. She knew that voice anywhere.

"Emma, get down from there right now!" A petite girl with short brunette hair went jogging across the hallway to the right when she spotted Regina and abruptly stopped in her tracks.

"Regina, hi! What are you doing here?" she asked with her usual overly cheerful demeanor.

"Volunteering..." Regina gave a slight shrug and a fake smile for good measure. "I called last week and spoke to..." Regina paused trying to remember exactly who she spoke to.

"Granny." Mary Margaret spoke up. She continued when she noticed the confused expression on Regina's face. "Mrs. Lucas. Everyone around here calls her Granny."

"Right, Mrs. Lucas. Do you know where I can find her?" Regina was ready to get away from Mary Margaret. She really didn't need this.

"Well its close to lunch time, so shes probably in the kitchen. I take you there." and with a huge smile Mary Margaret began to lead the way.

"Great." Regina whispered to herself with false excitement.

As Regina was lead to the kitchen Mary Margaret pointed out some of the different areas of the shelter. The game room, the backyard/playground, and the main office. There were two dorm halls and a small nursery on the first floor and four dorm halls on the second. She couldn't imagine how such a small town could ever need this much room for orphaned children. It caused a slight pang of guilt when she thought about how much she loathed her mother when there was a building full of children who didn't even have one. She quickly shook off the feeling and focused on the task at hand as they entered the cafeteria.

"Some of the older kids like to have study groups in here between meals. Granny will make them snacks and keep out younger kids to really let them focus. These are our summer school kids. The groups are much bigger during the school year." Mary Margaret had been talking almost non-stop the entire way, but Regina had only paid attention about half the time.

She recognized some of the kids from school. One of the girls, Ashley, was on the dance squad. She wondered why she would need to attend summer school. You had to have a 3.0 GPA to even be on the squad. Really you go as low as a 2.5 GPA before being kicked from school teams, but Regina required a little more from her teams to give them some leeway during competition times. Mary Margaret began to open two large metal doors when she began to speak again.

"The kitchens are through here. Granny is the one in the hairnet wiping the counters in the back." She point in the direction mentioned. "I need to get back to Emma. Last thing I need is her breaking another bone on my watch. I'll see you around!" She called as she headed back through the double doors.

Regina began to walk into the direction of the older woman, ready to get this started so it could be over.

"Excuse me, Mrs. Lucas. I'm..." Regina was quickly cut off.

"Call me Granny child. Mrs. Lucas was a long time ago." Granny finally looked up from the counter to see who addressed her. "You're not one of my girls." She stated curiously when recognition didn't hit her.

"No. I'm Regina. Regina Mills. I spoke to you last week about volunteering here for the summer." She stared at the older woman, not really sure what to expect.

"Ah, yes. Regina Mills. Daughter of the late Cora Mills. I'm sorry for your lose. That woman was a thorn in my side, but no child deserves to lose a parent like that. How is your father doing?" Granny inquired. Regina could see that this was a woman who didn't sugar coat the truth. She could respect that.

"Thank you. My father is well." Regina kept her reply short. She didn't really wish to discuss the matter. She had helped her father through his mourning phase, becoming even more responsible than she thought was possible. She tended to the house and the meals when she could. She had dinner delivered to the house on the nights she had a late practice just to make sure her father would eat. She didn't quite understand how he could be so broken over a woman who treated him so badly. Regina herself, had yet to shed a tear over her mothers passing. She wasn't a heartless girl and she loved her mother despite her less than pleasant disposition. She honestly doesn't know why she never cried. She was pulled from her thoughts when Granny began to speak again.

"Henry has always been a sweet man. Got me a job and a place to stay here when my granddaughter and I first moved to town. Been here ever since. Ruby loves it here with the children. Henry always came down to check on things and make sure everyone was doing OK. Hes one of the few reasons this place is still up and running." Granny stated as a reason for her inquiry about Regina's father.

"I never knew..." Regina started in awe of just how much love her father had in him. He was always wonderful to her.

"Course not child. You were nothing but a toddler when we got here. Cute as ever." Regina couldn't help the smile that formed at the compliment. "Anyhow, I won't keep you long. If you head to the office you will see the list of available hours to volunteer. Just sign up for whatever works best. I wont throw you straight into the lions den so don't worry. As sweet as these kids are, some can be a real handful. Most volunteers like to start in the nursery. Babies are easy. All they do is eat, shit, and sleep." Granny paused briefly to smile at the look of disgust on Regina's face. "But if that's not your cup of tea I'm sure we can find something to get you started. Now get. I got some lunch to fix and I'm sure you got some teenage things to get to. Granny finished with a annoyed look that was accompanied by a slight tug a the corners of her lips.

On her way out of the shelter, Regina stopped by the office. She decided to come in from 1 to 5pm on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays. This way she could do what she needed and spend some time with Daniel before coming in and be home in time to make a suitable dinner for her father. She ran into Ashley at the front door and stopped for a few minutes of idle chit chat. She noticed the girl seemed a bit more nervous around her than usual, but she shook it off as embarrassment of Regina seeing her in her home environment. What Regina didn't notice, as she politely said her goodbyes to Ashley, was the head of golden blonde waves peaking out from office doorway and the set of green eyes watching her.