Title: And Here's to Second Chances

Rated: T+

Summary: Rule number one, if your son ever asks about your love life, don't answer. If you do answer, make sure you're ready to face the consequences.

A/N: HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY LISA (audreysl0ve)! I am your trash ass secret valentine! Hope you enjoy this part 1!

She is going to murder him.

Regina doesn't know how, doesn't know the ways to make it just right, but she knows that she will most definitely murder her son.

After she finds him.

If she finds him.

And for a moment her anger dissipates leaving only desperation and worry as she realizes that her thirteen year old not only has been lying to her, but has left 72 hours ago with plans that she should've double checked. But she trusted him, God, how she trusted him and now…

"Regina, we will find him," the sheriff says simply, as if his words could actually calm her. They don't. Nothing can. So Regina simply rolls her eyes (doesn't flip the man because she still has a bit of decency left), mutters something about the state police department and FBI and a bunch of other inconsistencies that under another moon may have made her laugh.

But she can't laugh.

She can't laugh because the child she took care of for more than ten years is gone, went MIA on purpose, and is still refusing to answer her calls.

"You don't understand, Gracie, my little Grace wouldn't do that, at all," Jefferson utters, voice shaky, bringing her back to the present, to the facts.

But then the sheriff is talking again, and Regina wishes she would've remained deep in her thoughts.

"Let me see if I got this right. Your teenagers disappeared, together, on Friday for a camping trip with a friend and his family? And it just so happens that so friend just…"

"What are you suggesting, sheriff?" Regina asks, clearly annoyed, an arched brow, daring him. She knows Henry, for fucks sake, she raised him, and she raised him to be a gentleman in all aspects and raised him to have enough trust in her to discuss these things. Besides, he's still a child, a kid, he's just not…

"I don't know, I'm suggesting condoms, maybe the pill for little Gracie?" Agent Isaac says mockingly.

And on an instant, Jefferson is leaning close to the man, over his desk, gripping the lapels of his jacket, as Regina closes her fist tightly, preventing herself from punching this man back into tomorrow.

"Listen to me, and listen to me closely, Isaac," he near whispers. "If you ever make another comment like that about my little girl and Regina's son, I will not hesitate."

"Is that a threat?" The sheriff asks calmly, staring straight at Jefferson's eyes.

"I guess we'll find out," is what Jefferson says before he roughly lets him go, straightens up and turns to face Regina, anger on his face. And just when he's about to speak to her, her phone rings from her back pocket.

Regina reaches for her phone in desperation, only to let out a sigh of relieve when she reads the name on her screen.

My Little Prince

She takes a deep breath, trying to calm herself down before answering firmly. "Henry, what are you—"

"Please don't get mad," he begs in that voice so uniquely his.

"Is Gracie with him? Is she okay?" Jefferson asks desperately, a hopeful look on his face and Regina just raises a hand to stop him, takes another deep breath to calm the strange feeling that's settled on her stomach. Anxiety.

A moment passes, then two before her hand moves to her middle, and she holds herself before she replies. "How can you ask me that when—"

"Mom, listen to me," he interrupts her, excited, always so excited.

And he sounds so happy, so so happy, while Regina feels her heart clenching, a mix of emotions from relief to betrayal to stress to overthinking finally catching up with her.

"Henry," she says, one stubborn tear falling from her eye before she takes a deep breath. "Is Grace with you?"

"She ismom but listen—"

"What have you done Henry?" She asks, the words of the officer catching up with her and she feels Jefferson cussing behind her.

"Mom," Henry begins.

But Regina's had enough in a minute, and instead of letting him explain himself she just barks into her phone.

"Where the hell are you? You guys thought you could get away with this? Without either one of your parents finding out? Did you guys think us so stupid? God, Henry, you lied to me, straight to my face for three weeks! Three weeks Henry!" She near yells.

"MOM! STOP!" Henry yells in desperation.

And she does, just finds herself panting against the phone, shocked, as the slight pressure on her head increases indicating the beginning of a migraine. She huffs into the phone, presses her palm to her head and rubs her temple, breathing in and out, not wanting to make matters worse but completely ignoring her son's miserable apology.

"You've got 60 seconds to explain yourself and you've already wasted 30. So, speak," Regina says on firm tone, looking at Jefferson just to see how affected he is by this conversation. His mind is running a mile per minute, she just knows it, just like she knows she's due for an earful as soon as she hangs up. But deep down, Regina knows her son, knows he has to have a good reason for this. A reason she's dying to hear.

She hears him on the other end of the line take a deep breath and murmur something and God he's testing her patience today.

"Henry," she mutters darkly.

"Okay, okay, okay."

"Ten seconds," she reminds him.

"Please don't get mad," he pleads.

"Seven."

And he quickly rambles on, and on, and on saying nothing of substance as she does the countdown in her head.

Five

He's jumping from topic to topic, nervous, he's so nervous.

Four

He's stuttering, murmuring I… I… I…

Three

"I wanted to give something back to you, so I found him."

Two

Wait

"Wait what?"

"Mom," Henry mutters, hopeful, so so hopeful and so sure of himself while Regina frowns, confused. "I found Robin Locksley."

And her phone slips from her hand.