Henry tapped his pencil against his notepad, lost in thought. He scribbled a few words before a yell of "heads up, Mills!" broke his reverie and a football slamming into his chest knocked the breath from his lungs and made him drop his book and pencil.

"Sorry 'bout that," Nicholas laughed as he jogged up. "Hey, come join the game, bookworm," he teased, motioning for Henry to toss the ball back. "Quit studying so much."

Chuckling, Henry stood and bantered back, "You know I only sit out because I kick your ass, Nick," as he threw the ball over the older boy's head and ran out into the field with the others, completely forgetting about his writing.

Gwyneira was sitting and watching the boys play their game. She didn't have many friends, mostly just her sister, Rosa, and certainly none that were boys. But she liked them, liked watching them, and the one who had just left the picnic table was one she'd noticed before. She had seen him writing in that book of his many times. Noticing he had left the book behind to play the game, she moved to where he'd been sitting and opened the notebook.

Gwyn opened the pages, flipping through words, little snippets of writings, some slightly erotic and her light blue eyes widened. They were just little pieces, descriptions of wide, chocolate eyes, or full red lips. There was one of dark, thick, and wavy hair, growing out and what he'd imagined it would feel like to run his fingers through it. Swallowing, she realized there was only one person who fit all of the descriptions in the pages. She looked up, making sure he wasn't paying attention, and when she was certain, she slid the notebook into her own bag and left.

When Henry got back to the apartment he shared with Emma every other week, he tossed his backpack on the floor and sprawled across his bed. After a few minutes of relaxing, he sat up again, grabbing the bag and rifling through it for his notebook. Two searches turned up nothing, and he dumped the bag out on the floor, spreading everything out. He even flipped through his history book and math text, but to no avail.

"Shit!" he hissed, springing up and retracing his steps through the apartment, thinking that it might have fallen out. When he didn't find it anywhere in the house, he left again, returning to the school and checking everywhere he could think of. The last time he remembered having it was right before the football game, so he searched the field, the stands, even the picnic tables nearby. His last stop was the lost and found, and when it wasn't even there, he swore viciously again. He needed that notebook. He carried it with him everywhere, and it contained all his fantasies. If anyone found it, he'd be screwed. Granted, he was always careful not to be too specific in his writings, but there was still some pretty racy stuff in there, and he definitely didn't want to have to explain it.

Gwyn poured over the pages for the evening. This boy, Henry she believed was his name, was wonderful with words, and she found herself desiring his attention. If he could write such things about someone he shouldn't be writing them about, she wondered what he could write when it was okay. She wanted to be the girl he wrote like about that.

Rosa had entered her room twice that night, asking what she was reading so studiously, and all she'd done was send her away. It felt naughty, almost dirty to enjoy such words, but she did. Finding herself almost obsessing over the them, she imagined herself with the boy who wrote them. Imagined them together, doing some of the things he had written about.

Henry was distracted all through dinner with Emma, losing track of the conversation several times, until she finally gave up trying to talk to him. After dinner, he barely managed to finish his homework, and once it was done, he ran out to the store to buy a new notebook, spending the rest of the evening writing in it.

The next morning, he checked the lost and found again before class, then again at lunch, and a third time after school. Still no notebook.

She watched him the whole day, in the two classes they shared, and in the halls between his other classes. Each glance at him made her like him more, though she knew it was senseless. When she saw him leaving the school, she hurried up to him.

"H-Henry?" she called softly, though loud enough to make sure he heard her.

"Yeah?" Henry answered reflexively, turning at the voice. The blonde catching up to him looked a little familiar, but he couldn't place where from, so he smiled politely and waited for her to speak.

Smiling, she introduced herself. "I'm Gwyn. We have lit and calc together. I-uh, I just wanted to say hello."

"Oh." Henry shrugged a little and grinned. "Hi. Uh, yeah, I've seen you in class before," he added, remembering her now that she'd mentioned it. "You're pretty quiet."

"I am. My sister tells me often. I don't know if you know Rosa?" She shifted her feet, putting her weight on one leg. "I wanted to ask you if, maybe, you'd want to study with me? For the calc test on Friday?"

Surprised, Henry tilted his head slightly. "Oh, um... sure, I guess. We could meet at the library after school on Thursday?"

Beaming at him, Gwyn nodded. "That sounds great! Thanks, Henry! I'll see you then. Well, I'll see you tomorrow, but I mean, then, too, to study," she answered, finally forcing herself to stop talking.

"Okay, cool." Henry bobbed his head a little awkwardly. "Um, I gotta get home, but yeah... see you Thursday."

Nodding, she watched as he left, excitement filling her body.

Thursday came and Gwyn spent the entire day impatient for the school day to end. When the final bell rang, she hurried to the bathroom and checked her hair, patting it down in the few places where it had come out of her braid. Satisfied, she made her way to the library and looked for Henry. He didn't appear to be there yet, so she picked a table and pulled out her calc text and notebook.

Henry showed up a few minutes later, slipping into the seat across from Gwyn and smiling. "Hey, how's it going?" he asked as he laid out his books as well, turning to the chapter the test was on.

"Good! How are you?" she asked in kind. Noticing his eyes, she realized she really liked the color. Smiling widely, she looked down at her book.

"Not bad." Henry hunched over his book and frowned a little at it. "So are you any good at this stuff? I'm not terrible at it, but I really hate it. I usually study with my mom, but there's some kind of budget crisis and she's been really busy. I guess your offer to study together couldn't have come at a better time," he joked.

Giggling, she nodded. "I'm pretty good at school stuff, I just get like, obsessive before exams and tests or papers." Gwyn looked away for a minute, then looked back at Henry and cleared her throat. "So... your mom, she's the mayor, right? The really pretty one?"

Henry nodded. "Yep. Mom's the mayor and Ma's the sheriff, and I don't get away with anything, ever," he chuckled.

"Yeah... your mom's old enemy is like, my name sister or something. I don't really know how to explain it." Flipping to the practice guide in the back of the chapter, she uncapped a pen.

"Your name sister?" Henry asked, looking back up at her and tilting his head curiously. "What do you mean?"

"Back home my name was Snow-White, my sister was Rose-Red. Much less known than your grandmother, though," she stated casually. "You probably don't know much about us, though."

"Oh hey, I know that one," Henry nodded. "Snow-White and Rose-Red and their widow mother, in the cottage in the woods. And there's a talking bear and a really rude dwarf, too, and it turns out the bear was a prince and Snow-White marries him and Rose-Red marries his brother. But... you're not married, are you? Weren't you kinda young when the curse was cast?"

"Well, no, I'm not married," she answered with a laugh. "We're supposed to marry them when we're eighteen, but I have no intention of doing so."

"Why not? Don't you love him?"

"I don't really know him. I mean, if I do fall in love with him, maybe we'll marry someday, but that certainly isn't going to be the moment I graduate high school!" Gwyn gave him a wide smile, soft though, and sincere. "Besides, what if I find someone else I'm interested in?"

Henry nodded as she spoke. "That makes sense. Grandma says you can't help who you fall in love with, even if it's not who you're 'supposed' to love." A tiny smile played at his lips as he thought about his own secret love.

"Do you love someone?" she asked hesitantly, though she already had an idea.

Ducking his head, Henry focused on the math text in front of him. "Uh... so about the test tomorrow..."

Gwyn nodded. "Right. I believe we have to know chapters thirteen through sixteen. We can start with your weakest, if you'd like."

Henry agreed and they quickly worked through the material, taking turns quizzing each other until they were sure they had everything memorized.

The next day, Henry caught up to Gwyn after the test, finishing just after her and hurrying up to her in the hall. "Hey, how'd you think you did?"

Pleased that he came up to her first, Gwyn gave him an easy grin. "I think I did pretty well. There were a few questions I'm worried about, but it wasn't too bad. What about you?"

"Well, I should pass, at least," Henry chuckled. "Anyway, I wanted to thank you for the study session yesterday. It really helped."

"Of course! Anytime, really." In a bold move, for her anyway, Gwyn rested her hand on his arm. "So, I was wondering if maybe you'd like to go out this weekend? Maybe to a movie or dinner or something?"

"Oh, uh..." Henry reached up, pulling his arm away from her as he rubbed the back of his neck. "I'm not sure about that," he said apologetically. "You're really nice and everything, but... well, I kind of like someone else. Sorry."

Blushing, she nodded slowly. "Um, yeah, okay," Gwyn answered, biting her lip to hold back any emotion. A quick thought rushed through her mind, and though she tried to stop herself from speaking, she couldn't. "Well, then maybe you should just come over for a minute tonight or tomorrow? I have something of yours."

Henry frowned in confusion. "Uh, okay? I'm going to my mom's after school, so I can stop by on my way, if that's okay?"

"Sure!" Nodding, she pursed her lips before saying, "I'll see you then."

Henry nodded as well and took a couple steps backwards. "Okay, well, thanks again for the study session. I'll see you later." With a wave, he turned and headed down the hall to grab lunch at the cafeteria with his friends.

After school she hurried home and pulled the notebook out from under her mattress. Pulling out her phone, Gwyn quickly began snapping photos of every page, keeping evidence of the material.

After making sure he had everything he needed from Emma's, Henry drove across town to the mansion, remembering at the last minute that Gwyn had wanted him to drop by. He pulled up to the small house she lived in with her mother and sister, and knocked on the door, rocking back on his heels.

Hearing the door, she tossed the notebook on her desk and made her way to the door. Rosa was out with friends and her mom was sleeping, so no one else could get it. When she got to the small foyer, Gwyn opened the door. "Hey, um, do you want to come in a sec while I go grab your book?"

"Sure." Henry stepped inside and looked around, taking in the mostly bare walls. "What book of mine do you have? I know I didn't forget my calc text at the library."

"Oh, no, you didn't. It's just a notebook I found by the football field the other day? Maybe... Monday, I think?" she answered, watching his face.

Henry paled slightly. "You... found it? Does it... have my name in it?" he asked slowly, trying to figure out what was going on. He knew he hadn't written in that book that it belonged to him, so how would she know?

"I don't think it does. I recognized your writing, after we studied together," she lied. "You should become a writer. You're very good with descriptions."

"Oh." Henry nervously scratched at the back of his head, then rubbed his neck. "Uh, thanks?" his voice squeaked and cracked on the word, and he cleared his throat. "So... if you wanna get that for me, that'd be great." At that moment, he wanted nothing more than to flee with his notebook.

"Sure." Walking away from him, she turned into her room and retrieved the notebook, bringing it back out. She held it tightly in her hands, saying, "I read it all. It's really, very descriptive."

Swallowing hard, Henry pointed out, "You already said that," a feeling of dread welling in the pit of his stomach.

"You really hurt my feelings when you said you wouldn't go out with me. I mean, I understand you like someone else, but by your descriptions, I don't think you could really do anything about them," she told him, looking away momentarily. "You really should give me a chance."

"I-I don't..." Henry shook his head. "I never gave enough of a description..."

"Henry... Maybe you didn't in a single description, but all of them put together?" Gwyn looked at him with raised eyebrows. "Even you should know better."

Henry winced. He hadn't thought of it like that, his thoughts when he wrote were always in the moment. "Look, Gwyn... just... Thank you for giving me my notebook back. I'll see you around at school." He held out his hand expectantly for the book.

Holding out the notebook and keeping a tight grip on it, she said, "You really should go on a date with me."

Letting out a disbelieving laugh, Henry grabbed the edge of the book, giving it a tug. "Are you serious? You're blackmailing me for a date over a notebook?"

"I wouldn't really call it blackmail. And I couldn't care less about the notebook, more about the contents of the notebook."

"Okay, fine. Tomorrow night, I'll meet you at the movies," Henry gave in, shaking his head and yanking on the book again.

Releasing her hold, Gwyn smiled. "It's a date. See you tomorrow, around seven?"

"Sure, whatever," Henry muttered, quickly retreating to his car. Like hell he was going to give her the satisfaction of taking her out on a date. He fumed the rest of the way to the mansion.

The next evening, Gwyn donned her nicest dress, which really was fairly plain and light blue. She walked the short distance to the theater, arriving at five to seven. Waiting around outside, she leaned against the building and watched the other patrons in search of Henry. Gwyn waited a while, finally checking her phone to see that it was a quarter past, and the movie had already started.

She went home, uncertain if she was more angry or hurt. Finding the school directory of phone numbers, she rang the Mayor's house.

Regina looked up at the ring of the phone, wiping her hands on a dishtowel and striding out of the kitchen, her heels clicking on the tile floor. "Mills residence," she answered, one hand on her hip. It was unusual for anyone to call the home line, since both she and Henry had cell phones.

"Hello, Mayor Mills? My name is Gwyn," she started hesitantly, almost regretting making the phone call. "I was looking for Henry? We had a date tonight and it seems he didn't make it, and I just wanted to make sure he was okay?"

"Oh?" Regina frowned. "Hold on one second." Pulling the phone from her ear, Regina pressed it to her chest to cover the mouthpiece and called up the stairs, "Henry?"

Henry came out of his room and leaned over the bannister. "Yeah, Mom?"

"Sweetheart, there's a girl on the phone, she says you missed a date with her?"

Frowning, Henry came down the stairs. "I'll take it," he said, holding his hand out for the phone. He waited until Regina had left the room before bringing it to his ear. "Seriously?" he hissed into the phone.

"I should be the one asking you that! You stood me up!" she said, holding herself back from shouting. Sitting down on her bed, Gwyn fidgeting, shifting her feet and switching the phone to her other hand. "That wasn't really in the plan."

"Yeah well maybe you should've had a plan that didn't hinge on blackmail," Henry argued. "Look, I'm not interested in you, okay? I said what I had to to get my notebook back, that's it. Now we can go our separate ways and forget each other exists."

"How could I possibly forget," she started, lacing her words with false sweetness, "when I have all the proof in pictures?"

Henry stilled, his breath catching for a moment as panic washed through him. "What?"

"I took pictures of all the pages, Henry. You don't really think I'm that naive, do you?" she bit, rolling her eyes despite the fact that he couldn't see her.

Gritting his teeth, Henry muttered, "If you don't leave me alone, I'm going to tell my ma about this. Blackmail is a criminal offense."

"Feel free. Make sure you show her the notebook. I mean, you'd rather do that than have someone else show her, wouldn't you?" Gwyn asked patiently.

"Is the reason you're so quiet because you don't want people knowing you're such a bitch?"

"Is the reason you don't date people your age because you're always daydreaming about fucking your mommy, and you don't want to call out the wrong name?"

Henry inhaled sharply and automatically glanced around to make sure nobody heard what she'd said. "What do you want from me?" he hissed.

"I already told you what I want. I don't want to get married at eighteen without ever having dated anyone else. I want a boyfriend. Preferably one who does couple-type things with me," she answered, shrugging and staring at her desk.

"You're a pretty girl, why can't you get a boyfriend who actually wants to be your boyfriend?" Henry asked, trying to come up with something, anything, that would change her mind on the subject.

"Because I like you. The things you wrote... I want to do some of those things," Gwyn answered, her voice lowering.

"What?" Henry whispered, the blood draining from his face. Before he could respond further, Regina walked through the room again and gave him a questioning look.

"Are you all right, Henry? You look ill."

"I'm fine, Mom," Henry shook his head. "Um, I'm gonna go out." Turning back to the phone, he added, "I'll be there in a few minutes, we should talk in person."

"See you then." Gwyn hung up the phone and anxiously waited his arrival.

Henry ignored his mother's questioning look as he stalked to the door and shoved a pair of sneakers on his feet. "Be home later," he muttered, slamming the door shut behind himself and jumping in his car. When he pulled up to Gwyn's house, he pounded on the horn, making no move to go to her door.

Pulling on a light jacket and slipping on her shoes, she headed out the door, calling to her sister and mother that she would be back later. When she went out to his car, she stood outside his window, knocking on the glass.

Henry hit the button to roll his window down, simply saying, "Get in."

"I'd rather walk. Why don't you get out?" Folding her arms over her chest, she gave him an expectant look.

Growling, Henry rolled the window back up and turned the car off, stepping out. After locking it, he shoved his hands in his pockets. "Look, you can't do this," he said, leaning against his car. "It's not right."

"Neither is wanting to fuck your mom, but that's not stopping you from writing about it. Maybe some good times will get it out of you," she answered, starting to walk, jutting her forehead to encourage him to do the same.

Henry slouched as he walked beside her. "Okay, fine, I get it. I'll date you, okay, just... stop talking about the stuff in my notebook like it's... dirty."

Nodding, she gave him an awkward smile. "And we'll do some of the things you wrote about?"

"I..." Henry looked around helplessly, trying to figure a way out of the situation. "Do you really want your first time to be with someone who doesn't really want you? I know I don't want my first time to be with someone I don't really want."

"Well, it's hardly going to be any different than if I wait until I marry my prince," Gwyn answered with a snarl. Humoring him, she rolled her eyes and looked at him. "Okay, so say you'll actually ever get to fulfill your fantasies... don't you want to actually know what you're doing? I mean... she's obviously experienced, why would you want to have no idea what to do?"

"I have an idea," Henry countered. "I just... I want her to be the first. The first is special, it's not something you ever forget, no matter how many others might come after."

"How very... romantic," she answered smartly. Sighing, she bit her lip and decided on a compromise. "Okay, maybe for now we'll do the other things. We'll see about the actual sex. For now."

Henry shook his head slightly, muttering under his breath, "You're so fucked up."

"Says the person who writes about fucking his mom."

"You said you wouldn't talk about it like it's dirty."

"You're talking shit about me to me, I think that allows for me to bite back," she countered, rolling her eyes again. "You can even call me Snow while we mess around, in case you're harboring the hots for your grandmother, too."

Henry's jaw clenched, and he took a moment to control his temper. "First, ew. Second, I said we'd date, I didn't say we'd mess around."

Sighing, Gwyn pinned him with a glare. "Did I not already mention that we'd be doing things from your notebook?"

"Screw you."

"Well, that's the intention," she told him smartly.

Henry shook his head. "Look, I just... I'll take you out and all, and I won't stand you up again, but don't make me have sex with you."

"That's hardly acting like a boyfriend. I already offered my compromise." Stopping her steps, Gwyn put a hand on his arm to encourage him to look at her. "Do we have a deal?"

"A deal?" Henry snorted. "People make better deals with Mr. Gold."

"If you're just going to stand here and pout, I could forward the photos to your mom instead." Turning around, she started walking back toward her house.

"Okay, fine!" Henry burst out, grabbing Gwyn's arm before she could get very far. "Okay. I'll... play along. I'm," he grimaced slightly, "your boyfriend now."

Smirking, she nodded and hooked her hand around his elbow. "Good. Then you can walk me home and we'll have a proper date tomorrow. What time works for you?"

"Whenever," Henry sighed. "My only plans were with my Xbox."

"Good, I'll see you for a movie at four?" Gwyn asked, her words more demanding than questioning.

Henry nodded. "Yeah." His body was tense, muscles locked to keep him from lashing out at the girl on his arm, and he decided that as soon as he dropped her off, he would grab his sword from home and go out to the woods to take out his frustration on a defenseless tree.

Holding his arm the whole way back, she considered the things she could get out of this deal and smiled. "Henry... you don't have to hate me. I think, if you give yourself the chance, you'll actually find you like me."

Snorting, Henry rolled his eyes. "Yeah, sure." He stopped in front of her house and shook his arm free. "See you tomorrow."

"Goodnight, Henry," Gwyn said softly, leaning up and kissing his cheek. "See you tomorrow."

Henry got in his car as quickly as possible and, not even trying to hide it, wiped his cheek off before driving away.

Henry had been acting strange for a week, and Regina was even more suspicious when she'd gone into his car to get his garage door opener and the car smelled like heavy cleaners, particularly like bleach. Scrunching her nose at the smell, she headed inside and called up the stairs for Henry to come down.

"Yeah, Mom?" Henry called, slouched as he poked his head out his room, then made his way down the stairs.

"What's going on with you?" she asked, eyebrows stitching together in worry.

Henry tilted his head in attempted innocence. "School?"

"Your car smells like bleach, and you've been taking hour long showers, you're broody whenever you come home." Stepping toward him, she gripped his forearm and gave him a worried look. "Sweetheart, are you okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine, Mom," Henry muttered, shrugging away from her slightly. "Just, y'know... school."

Tilting her head, Regina reached for him again. "I know you better than that. And what about school would make you bleach your car?"

Henry struggled for something to say for a long moment before deciding on the only version of the truth that he could admit, even if doing so made his skin crawl. "I... have a girlfriend, okay? And the only place we can... be alone, is my car."

It took her a moment to realize what he meant and she squeezed her eyes shut. "I see," Regina choked. Clearing her throat, she spoke again. "Okay, but... why are you so upset all the time lately? I worry about you, maybe a little too much, like Emma tells me, but I do. I just want you to be happy." She cupped his face in her hands, making him focus on her and her words.

Henry looked anywhere but at her. "I'm fine," he insisted. "Just a little stressed."

Pursing her lips, Regina nodded and brushed her hands over his cheeks. "If you change your mind and want to talk about whatever is actuallybothering you, I'm always here, sweetheart."

"Yeah," Henry rasped out, shrugging away again. His jaw worked furiously as he turned back to the stairs, fighting the feeling of self-loathing that welled up every time he thought about his 'relationship' with Gwyn.

Regina sighed and hurried to stand in front of him, a step above him. "I'm asking you once more, and then I'll leave you alone, if that's what you want. What is going on with you? You are not okay, and I want to help."

"I'm fine!" Henry snapped, pushing past her and into the bathroom, slamming the door and locking it behind him, immediately going to the shower and turning the water on, the temperature scalding.

Chewing her bottom lip, she did as she said, leaving him alone and heading to the kitchen. Regina started on dinner, listening to the water pound as her baby took yet another shower.

Henry stood under the spray, letting it run over him and imagining the heat burned away the memory of Gwyn's touch. Shuddering, he grabbed his body wash and a cloth, pouring a generous amount on the fabric and scrubbing at his skin - hands, arms, chest, groin... everywhere that had been in contact with the girl. They'd only been 'together' for a week and were already at third base. With how things were going, she was going to demand oral on their next date. He needed to buy more toothpaste.

Regina padded around the kitchen, gathering ingredients and preparing their meal. Once everything was in a casserole dish and set into the oven, she turned on the faucet, trying to get hot water. Nothing was coming out, so she left the dishes in the sink and made her way to the living room with a book, waiting out the time until there was hot water again.

Only coming out of the shower when the water was cold, Henry toweled off and returned to his room, flopping down on his bed and punching his pillow. He needed to get those pictures from Gwyn. He'd already tried getting into her phone, but was unable to guess the password she had on it. Growling in frustration, he punched his pillow again, then, deciding that wasn't working, got dressed in a t-shirt and sweats. If he couldn't get his aggression out at home, he'd go to the gym and use the punching bag.

When Henry stormed down the stairs, Regina stood and walked to the foyer. "You could at least leave me enough hot water to do the dishes with, Henry," she scolded. Taking in his appearance, she frowned. "Are you going somewhere? I just put dinner in the oven."

"Sorry," Henry muttered. "I'm going to the gym. Be back later."

"Fine," she answered, waving him off and heading back to the living room.

Henry left, both relieved at the end to the questions, and hurt at the apparent end to the concern. He ended up spending two hours at the gym, beating on the punching bag until his arms were jelly, sweat poured off him, and he thought he was going to pass out from the combination of exertion and hunger.

After wiping down with one of the complimentary towels and dropping it in the provided bin, he got back in his car to head home, his head weighted and fuzzy. Halfway there, the honk of a horn startled him, but his arms were too tired to react quickly enough, and his car collided with the oncoming car. His seatbelt tightened, the airbag deployed, and everything went black.

Regina received a phone call from Emma, telling her Henry was in an accident and they were on their way to the hospital. She could barely stand once the words were out. Lacking patience, she poofed herself to the hospital and waited for the ambulance to arrive. When she saw the lights and Emma rushing alongside a gurney, she whimpered at the sight of him being rolled in.

Emma only had eyes for Henry, hurrying along with him until an orderly held her back. "I'm sorry, Sheriff, you can't go in there," he said, standing in front of her.

"Get out of my way," Emma growled, just barely restraining herself from breaking the man's fingers.

The orderly kept his hands to himself, but repeated, "You can't go in there, I'm sorry. The doctor will be out as soon as there's news, but until then, you'll have to wait."

Emma snarled at him, but stalked to the waiting room, sitting down only to immediately jump back up again and start pacing.

Unable to wait quietly, Regina looked at Emma with worry. "What happened? What did his car look like? Was it really bad? Was he conscious at all?" She stood in front of the blonde, stopping her from pacing and waiting for her to talk.

"It wasn't good," Emma admitted. "He was unconscious. He woke up for a minute and mumbled something, but I didn't hear what it was before he passed out again. The front end of his car was crumpled in."

Biting her tongue, Regina thought about how the accident was partially her fault. She shouldn't have let him go out, shouldn't have let him drive when he was obviously upset.

Several long, torturous minutes passed while they waited for news, but finally Dr. Whale hurried into the waiting room to talk to them. "Henry's fine. He has a concussion and his left arm is broken, but everything else is minor in comparison."

Regina nearly collapsed in relief. "Can we see him?" she breathed hurriedly.

"One at a time," he answered, nodding softly. "Who first?"

Looking at Emma pleadingly, Regina asked, "May I please?"

Emma met Regina's gaze, seeing the desperation there, and nodded. "Go ahead."

She rushed into the room after Dr. Whale left her at the door. Taking up at Henry's side, Regina took his right hand in her own as she looked him over. "Oh Henry, my baby... How are you feeling?"

Blinking heavily, Henry looked up at Regina. "'M 'kay," he mumbled, wiggling his fingers slightly in her grasp.

Leaning over him, she brushed her fingers through his hair and bent down to kiss his forehead. "You had Emma and me worried sick. Do you remember what happened?"

"Not really," he admitted, turning his head slightly into her kiss. "Think I mighta passed out a little. Remember a horn."

"All right. Don't worry about it, sweetheart." Regina stroked his cheek, kissing his head again. "Is there anything you want me to do?"

"Uh-uh." Henry closed his eyes. "You mad at me?"

Eyebrows stitching together, Regina frowned at him and shook her head. "No, my darling, I'm not mad at you. Concerned about you, yes, but never mad."

"'Kay. Good. Don't want you mad at me." Henry blinked again, a slow lifting of heavy lids. "Ma here?"

"Of course she is, she's right outside. Dr. Whale said only one of us could come at a time," Regina answered, scratching the uninjured side of this head.

Henry hummed, nodding slightly, then wincing at the movement.

"I'll go get Emma," she told him, squeezing his arm as she backed away. Heading into the hallway, she let Emma know that Henry wanted to see her.

Emma spared Regina a smile before bolting into the room. Hovering over Henry, as if afraid to touch him, she quietly asked, "Hey, kid. How's the head?"

"Fuzzy-throbby," Henry murmured. "How toast is my car?"

"Pretty damn toast," Emma's lips twisted to the side in a sympathetic expression. "Sorry. The front end is pretty much totalled."

"Damn." Scrunching his face up, he let out a small snort. "I got to third base in that car," he said, a sarcastic tone coloring his words.

Emma let out a laugh. "Okay, kid, too much info, there." Reaching out to tentatively squeeze his shoulder, she added, "I'll let you rest, okay? You scared the hell outta me today. Do that again, and I'll kick your ass."

Lips quirking up slightly, Henry affirmed, "Noted."

"Good." She squeezed his shoulder again before slowly leaving the room, unsurprised to find Regina still in the waiting room.

Gwyn came bounding into the hospital, immediately spotting Regina and hurrying toward her. "What room is he is?

Raising an eyebrow, Regina looked at her questioningly. "Who are you?"

"I'm Gwyn," she answered, as though it should have been obvious. "I'm Henry's girlfriend. I got a call from a friend who told me Henry was in an accident. I want to see him!"

Emma looked at the girl curiously as she approached. "Henry never mentioned you," she pointed out. "And he's half unconscious and needs to get his arm set and casted. You can see him when he's moved out of emergency."

Frowning, Gwyn sat down in a chair a few away from Regina. "We haven't been dating long, just a week. Of course he wouldn't tell his mothers."

Regina narrowed her eyes at the girl. This was the girl who had called her house a week previous, complaining that Henry had stood her up, and now he was dating her... it didn't sit well with her. "Henry is resting, as the Sheriff stated. Perhaps you should just go home."

Tilting her chin in the air, Gwyn shook her head and said, "I'm fine here."

Emma half-crouched in front of Gwyn, bracing her hands on her knees. "Look, kid, it's gonna be a while before Henry's up for visitors. Why don't you come back tomorrow?"

Frowning and pursing her lips, Gwyn waited a moment and finally nodded, but not without shooting a glare at Regina. "If you think that's best, as Henry's mom, I suppose I'll do that."

Catching the look, Emma nodded and firmly replied, "We do," as she straightened and stepped back to stand next to Regina.

"Go home, dear," Regina said, her voice laced with false kindness. "Henry should be up for visitors tomorrow."

Gwyn nodded and left, walking past his mothers and back out the way she came.

After she was gone, Emma turned to Regina, brows furrowed. "Okay, it's not just me, right? She's kind of... totally creepy? Because I'm getting a serious bunny-boiling stalker vibe from her."

"Yeah, she's... definitely weird. And I don't understand it. Just a week ago, she called the house asking if Henry was sick because he stood her up," Regina mused. "Now he's talking about how he needed to clean his car because it was the only place they could be alone."

Emma nodded thoughtfully. "He said something about getting to third base in his car. Maybe he changed his mind about her? But yeah, I don't know about you, but I'm going to keep an eye on her. I don't like her."

"I wonder if he knows who she is, from the Enchanted Forest." Regina shook her head in an attempt to rid herself of the thoughts. "Anyway, do you mind if I stay in his room tonight? We had a small argument before he went to the gym and I just... I would feel better if I stay."

"Of course." Emma smiled reassuringly. "Call me if anything changes. I'll be back in the morning." After a pause, she added, "Do you want me to get you anything?"

"No, we should be fine. Thank you, Emma, for taking care of him when you found him." She knew she could always trust Emma with that, at the very least, but it had terrified her, hearing he was in an accident. Sighing, Regina gave the most encouraging smile she could manage.

Emma nodded. "Get some rest, Regina." With that, she left, taking a moment to poke her head in on Henry again before heading out.

Regina snuck into Henry's room as quietly as possible, not wanting to disturb any sleep he was getting, since the nurses would be in to wake him every two hours, per Whale's instruction for his concussion. Quietly moving a chair closer to his bedside, Regina sat in it and made herself as comfortable as possible.

By the time morning rolled around, Henry was nursing a pounding headache and sore chest from the seatbelt, but was much more coherent. "Morning, Mom," he said around a yawn, blinking sleepily at her as he carefully rolled onto his side.

Yawning and stretching, Regina smiled and stood up. She leaned down to kiss Henry's forehead and brushed his hair back. "Did you sleep okay, despite the pain?"

"Yeah," Henry nodded. "Waking up every couple hours to answer questions about my name and the date sucked, though."

"Yeah, I know. But they have to check, and you obviously passed. We'll see if Dr. Whale will let you go home today." Regina smiled hesitantly, then rolled her lips together and sighed. "You had a visitor last night."

"Besides you and Ma?"

Nodding, she said, "Gwyn? She said she's your girlfriend."

Henry froze, and his heart monitor immediately spiked. The auditory indicator of his distress had him taking a deep breath and willing himself to calm down. "Uh, yeah, she, she is," he mumbled, looking down.

Frowning, Regina cupped his face in her hands, thumbs rubbing his temples to try soothing him. "Sweetheart... what's going on with you and this girl?"

"Nothing. She's my girlfriend and I really like her." His aim for convincing fell short and landed in the area of repeating a mantra instead.

"You stood her up last weekend. And now you're dating her and you're angry all the time? You practically yelled at me last night, for no reason. That's unlike you."

"I said sorry," Henry pointed out, rolling onto his back again and looking away from her. He wasn't sure what hurt more - his injuries, the situation with Gwyn, or the way he had to keep pushing his mother away to hide the truth from her.

Regina moved to sit on the edge of the bed, running her hand down his arm. "If you decide to talk about whatever it is you're keeping from me... I'm here, darling. Anytime, and I won't judge you."

Swallowing against the bile he felt rising, Henry just nodded silently and squeezed his eyes shut.

Nodding, Regina squeezed his arm and watched as her favorite person went through emotional turmoil. She was two steps away from crawling into the bed and cradle-rocking him when there was a knock on the door. Regina stood to answer it, displeased to find Gwyn there.

"Hi!" she greeted too enthusiastically, as she invited herself to step into the room.

"G-Gwyn," Henry stuttered, his heart monitor speeding up once more. His gaze shifting to Regina, he asked, "Uh, Mom, can you... give us a minute?"

"Sure, I'll get you some breakfast and return soon," she answered, eyeing the girl as she turned and walked out the door.

Gwyn smiled at Henry and moved closer to the bed once the door was shut. "Are you okay? I tried to visit you last night, but they wouldn't let me."

"Yeah, I'm fine." Henry cleared his throat and fiddled with the edge of the blanket. "Sore, but... I guess that's what happens when you accidentally drive into another car, right?" He chuckled uneasily.

"How did it happen?" she asked, moving to take his hand, but smart enough to know not to sit on the bed. Worry lined her features, as she genuinely cared for him, despite her actions.

Henry shrugged a little, feeling the pull of the bruises across his chest. "Not really sure. I was coming back from the gym, and I was really tired and hungry, so I might have blacked out or something." Looking down at her hand holding his, he sighed quietly, but knew better than to protest.

"You should take better care of yourself." Squeezing his hand, she smiled again. "How's your car?"

"Totalled. Guess I'll be walking everywhere from now on."

"Won't your mothers get you a new one?" Gwyn asked, biting her lip. She shifted awkwardly, searching for more to say, but they didn't really talk that often.

"Maybe. Probably not right away, if they do." Henry smirked a little then. "I guess that puts a crimp in your plans, doesn't it?"

Glaring at him, she shook her head with a cruel smile. "Not really. My mom is working overtime a lot for a while, so she won't ever be home until well after dinner."

His hope deflating, Henry asked, "What about your sister?"

"Well, my sister knows about us. I'm sure if I ask for her to not come home, she'll find somewhere to go," she answered easily, annoyance growing at his continued hesitance.

Sighing, Henry nodded slightly. "Just keep in mind that I'll have to walk home and I gotta be home before my mom gets off work."

"That gives us at least an hour, I'm pretty sure plenty can be done in that time." Looking at his left arm, she flinched slightly. "They said your arm needed to be set and put in a cast?"

Henry looked at his arm as well, nodding. "Yeah. Once the swelling goes down. Dr. Whale is gonna put a brace on it so I can go home, and I'll come back when it's normal-sized again for the cast."

Nodding her understanding, she asked, "Do you have to miss any school?"

"I dunno. I guess it depends on how much my head hurts when I wake up in the morning." Henry was already planning his speech to Regina, looking forward to a day away from Gwyn.

"You'll let me know?" she requested. "I can pick up your class work and assignments that way." Gwyn grew flustered when there was a knock at the door, followed by Regina's entrance with a tray of food.

"Did you have a nice visit, sweetheart?" Regina asked him, looking past his girlfriend.

Henry tried to hide his relief as his mother's appearance, and nodded. "Yeah. Thanks for getting me breakfast, Mom."

"You should probably go, Gwyn. Henry needs his rest," she suggested pointedly. "I'm sure you can talk later, on the phone."

Narrowing her eyes, Gwyn nodded and leaned down to Henry, pressing a demanding kiss against his lips.

Henry let out a surprised noise and tensed slightly, very aware that Regina was watching. Still, he slowly returned the kiss.

Continuing the kiss for a long minute, she finally pulled away and smiled at him. "I'll talk to you later, honey!" When she turned around, she was greeted with Regina holding the door open in wait.

"Goodbye," Regina urged, watching as the girl finally left. Closing the door, she moved to set the tray of food on his bed table and moved it to hover over his lap. Regina pushed the button to raise his bed further, so he could eat more easily, then she sat by his feet on the bed.

Henry smiled awkwardly and rolled his lips together, watching his mother. "You don't like her," he finally said.

Raising her eyebrows, Regina bit back a smirk. "That obvious?" she asked, not even a little concerned about Henry finding that upsetting. "For the record, Emma doesn't, either."

"She's a nice girl," Henry almost choked on the word 'nice' and reached for his fork to cover the near-slip.

"Henry, I'm the queen of playing fake nice. Have you forgotten that about me?" she asked, squeezing his leg just above the ankle.

Henry just shrugged, not wanting to get into the intricacies of Gwyn's personality, afraid of revealing too much. "I like her," he muttered, scooping some scrambled eggs onto his fork and taking a bite.

Pursing her lips, Regina nodded. "Okay, I will back off." She raised her hands in a placating gesture and bit her lip. "Henry... I just want to remind you that I'm here, when you're ready to talk. I'll always be here for you, sweetheart."

Nodding, but not answering verbally, Henry continued to eat his breakfast, even though the food settled in his stomach like a lead ball.

On Wednesday Regina headed home a few minutes early, hoping to get a head start on dinner. When she opened the door, she was greeted with retching sounds and a weak, but foul, odor. Frowning, she moved to the downstairs bathroom, finding the door slightly open. "Henry?" Regina called softly, pushing the door open to see him on the floor in front of the toilet.

Henry flushed the toilet quickly and wiped his sleeve across his eyes, drying the reflexive tears that throwing up caused. "Mom," he rasped.

"What's wrong?" she asked, grabbing the hand towel and soaking it under the faucet for a moment. Regina crouched in front of him, pressing the damp towel to his forehead.

Wincing at the concern, Henry shook his head slightly. "Nothing." His stomach churned again, and the taste of bile in his mouth mixed with the memory of the afternoon at Gwyn's house, the step up in their 'relationship,' and he bent over the toilet again, shaking as his stomach rebelled.

Moving to her knees, Regina stayed behind him, holding the towel to the back of his neck. She rubbed her free hand over the length of his back, trying to soothe him.

When he finished and again flushed, Henry whimpered slightly and leaned back against Regina, squeezing his eyes shut. "Don't feel good," he muttered.

"Are you in pain? Or just nauseated?" she asked, wrapping her arms around him. Pressing a kiss to the back of his head, she held him tightly to her. "Do you want some medicine?"

Henry shook his head and curled into her, turning to wrap his arms around her and being careful to not accidentally hit her with his cast.

Regina carded her fingers through his hair, shushing him soothingly. "Did you eat something bad? Are you having any other symptoms?"

Wincing at the unintentional irony, Henry shook his head slightly and burrowed into her, trying to hide from the world in her embrace.

"Okay," she answered softly. Leaning back against the wall, Regina pulled him with her, keeping her hold on him. The sight would likely look strange to anyone else; he was practically a grown man, nearly sitting in her lap, but she didn't care.

Henry didn't know how long they sat like that before the taste in his mouth was too much to ignore, and he shifted away. "I need to brush my teeth," he explained as he stood a little shakily and held out his hand to help Regina up as well.

Standing, she pressed the back of her hand to his forehead. He didn't seem to have a fever, but she couldn't be completely certain. "Well, you go do that, but then I want you back down here so I can take your temperature."

"'Kay." Hurrying to the upstairs bathroom where his toothbrush was, Henry coated it in toothpaste and started to vigorously brush his teeth, trying to remove the taste of vomit, as well as the memory of Gwyn.

Regina pulled the thermometer from the first aid kit under the sink, then headed to the kitchen. Checking the cupboards, she pulled out some chicken broth, opening it and pouring it into a pan to heat. She didn't know if today had anything to do with his mood lately, but she hoped not.

When Henry spat, the foamy toothpaste came out tinged with pink, and he made a face at it before rinsing his mouth and brush and heading back downstairs.

When she heard him coming down the stairs, Regina turned the broth down to a simmer and pulled the thermometer out of its casing.

Henry sighed as he slumped down on a stool at the island. "I'm okay, Mom, really," he tried to insist.

"Don't force me to take it the way I did when you were a baby," she teased, pushing the button and holding the tip at his lips.

Sticking his tongue out, then obediently opening his mouth, Henry took the thermometer under his tongue and closed his lips around it, resting his chin on one hand while he waited for the beep.

Regina poured a glass of water for him while they waited, setting it on the island and standing there until it beeped. Taking hold of the thermometer, she checked it and frowned. "No fever. So you're not sick. Are your nerves up about something?"

"No. I'm fine," he said again, taking a drink of water before standing again. "I'm going up to my room."

"Henry Mills! Stop it! Sit back down, now!" Regina yelled, pursed lips and a scowl prominent on her face.

Shrinking back a little, Henry sat down again, looking at the counter and playing with his glass.

"I've been giving you space, plenty of it. But you have been angry, and upset, acting bitter toward me, tiring yourself out at the gym to the point of exhaustion. Exhaustion that got you into a car accident, might I add." Regina threw her hands up, bringing them back down to the counter. "You need to tell me what's going on, and you're not leaving here until you do."

"Nothing's going on," Henry said, not quite able to look her in the eye, his gaze focusing over her shoulder instead.

Sighing, she shook her head and pinched the bridge of her nose. "We both know that's not true. When did I become someone you won't talk to?"

Determined to not talk about it, Henry lashed out instead. "Maybe around the time I found out you're the Evil Queen? Or did you forget about that?"

Regina recoiled, surely being hit would have hurt less than his words. Tears filled her eyes and she did her best to hold them back. Clearing her throat, she said, "Be that as it may, I'm still your mother. I care, even if you don't."

Henry averted his eyes in guilt, immediately regretting his words and wanting to comfort his mother. Instead, he again muttered, "I'm going to my room," and stood, hurrying out before she could protest again.

Once he was gone, Regina let her tears fall. Walking to the stove, she pulled the pan of broth off and dropped it on the sink. She then headed to her room, not bothering to change before she climbed into her bed.

It wasn't often that Henry was relieved to go back to Emma's, but that Friday was one such instance. And to make matters even better, he had managed to get out of going to Gwyn's house that afternoon. Of course, it had come at the cost of promising to spend the entire next day with her, but he had rather expected that would happen, anyway.

It was much easier to hide things from Emma than from Regina, as he didn't have secretly harbored attraction to deal with as well, so he was able to relax a little. Still, there were a few uncomfortable conversations with his blonde mother about what was up with his new attitude problems, and his new girlfriend. By the beginning of the second week, he was almost looking forward to going back to the mansion.

On the next Monday, Emma used her lunch break to head to the town hall, not bothering (as usual) to knock before entering Regina's office. "We need to talk," she stated, closing the door behind herself.

Looking up from her work, Regina nodded. "About Henry, I assume? I can't say I wasn't expecting you eventually." She closed her laptop and stood to make herself comfortable in the cushioned armchair across the office.

Emma flopped down on the small couch with the sigh. "I know he's a teenager and everything, but something is seriously wrong. My water bill is going through the damn roof with all the showers he's taking, he's already gone through an entire tube of toothpaste, and even though he said he wasn't sick, I'd swear the bathroom smelled like vomit when I got home from work last Tuesday. He's mopey and quiet, and when he's not quiet, he's snappish and rude."

"I was dealing with the same things at my house." Clenching her jaw, Regina hesitated before making her assumption. "It has to do with that...girlfriend of his. I'm telling you, it all began when he started dating her."

"Yeah," Emma sighed. "I tried talking to him about her, but he said it was none of my business." She paused then, looking down at her hands, admitted, "When I asked him if they were at least being safe, he... He said 'like you were?' and said that he wasn't going to have a throw-away baby."

Regina sighed, then nodded in understanding. "When I tried to get him to talk to me he reminded me that I'm the Evil Queen. This isn't the boy we raised, and I don't know how to get through to him."

"I dunno." Emma rubbed her hands over her face. "Part of me wants to forbid him from seeing that girl, but that never works."

Hesitating, Regina played with the hem of her skirt for a moment. "I... I've never been with a teenaged boy, I was much older than that when I started having sex, but you... I mean, you spent time around them, right? I don't mean that as an insult. I just... is this how they act when they're...dating? How does she have so much hold over him after just a few weeks?"

Emma shook her head. "I know what you mean. And no, they usually only get like this when you try and make them stop seeing the girl, not just trying to get information about her. I have no idea how she has such a hold on him so fast. I've never seen her hanging out with Henry before, and I never knew who she was before she showed up at the hospital. If he was going to date anyone, I would have assumed it would be Ava or Paige, since those are the girls he hangs out with. Or I should say hung out with. I overheard some of Henry's friends at the arcade talking about how he hasn't been around for a couple weeks."

"Can you look into her family?" she asked automatically. "I can't find them in my archives, maybe I'll go talk to Gold." Shifting awkwardly, Regina folded her arms across her chest. "I guess we could snoop, but I don't really want to go through his things. I never wanted to be that type of mother."

"I'll check her out," Emma nodded. "But... I don't know if I'd go to Gold or snooping just yet. Let me see what I can find. We want Henry to open up, if he finds out we went through his things, it'll just get worse. Trust me," she chuckled humorlessly. "I did the exact same thing."

Nodding, Regina said, "You're probably right. When you see him... will you tell him 'hello' for me? He won't take my phone calls."

"Course." Shaking her head, Emma added, "When I see him, I'm half-tempted to tell him to stop being a little shit."

"Do you think..." she started, biting her lip. "Is it possible he might talk to a man?"

"I don't know," Emma shrugged helplessly. "Maybe? Or he might see it as a ploy and close off even more. I don't know."

"Well, if he keeps acting like this, I'm going to lock him in my vault and kick that girl out of my town," Regina hissed. Pursing her lips, she stood to walk Emma out of her office. "Thanks for coming by. Let me know if you figure anything out."

"I will," Emma promised, stepping out of the office. "We'll figure this out." She smiled reassuringly before leaving.

The next day, Henry stood in the hallway leading to Dr. Hopper's office, shifting uncomfortably on his feet. He'd already cut his last class to get here without anyone knowing (hopefully), and he was wasting time just standing there, but wasn't totally sure he wanted to go in. Finally he took a deep breath and knocked on the door, telling himself that if Archie was free, it was a sign. If not, he'd head back to school.

Hearing the knock, Archie checked his clock and frowned. Opening his planner, he didn't see anyone written in, so he stood and made his way to the door. He was surprised to see Henry, but welcomed him in quickly. "What can I do for you, Henry?"

"Uh... do you have time?" Henry asked, half hoping that the answer would be no.

"Of course. Everything going okay at your homes?" Archie asked, eyebrows raised.

"Yeah... no... I dunno." Henry sat on the couch and bit his lip. "Um... what do you do when someone is blackmailing you?"

Furrowing his brow, Archie leaned forward and said, "You alert the authorities. Is someone doing that to you?"

"I didn't say that," Henry protested quickly. "But what if you can't report it? What if, what they're blackmailing you with would ruin one of the best things in your life, if not your entire life?"

"Is there anyone you could trust with the information-hypothetically?" Archie asked.

Henry started to automatically say no, before pausing and actually thinking about it. "Maybe you," he admitted.

Nodding, the therapist leaned back in his chair. "Okay, then let's discuss it. Your secrets are safe here, Henry."

Hesitating, Henry stayed silent for a long time before slowly saying, "I have this notebook. I write a lot about, um, someone. Never enough to identify who it was, I thought. But this girl, she found it and she figured out who it was."

"Okay. And I assume it's the person you're writing about that is where the worry comes in?" he asked.

Henry nodded.

"And this girl who found it... she's the one blackmailing you?"

Another nod.

"Henry," Archie started, "I can't help you if you don't give me more to go on."

Looking down, Henry whispered, "I don't know... how to talk about it."

"Just start at the beginning. What was in this notebook?"

Henry squirmed in his seat. "Kind of erotica?"

"That's... not terrible. You're at the age when things like that become an interest." Archie set aside the notepad he had picked up, deciding it wasn't necessary to log this particular session. "Who was it about?"

Henry's movements became more agitated, and he looked around the room at everything but the man in front of him. "My mom," he whispered.

Opening his mouth to speak, Archie immediately closed it while he considered his response. "Regina? And... this girl is holding that information over your head?"

"Yeah." Henry clenched his right hand into a fist, pressing it into his thigh.

"What is it she's asking you to do, for her to keep such information private?"

It was another few moments before Henry answered, struggling with the fear that Archie would think badly of him for what he'd done, more than even what he'd written about. "I'm her boyfriend now."

"Her boyfriend? So you... take her on dates? Spend time with her?" he prodded, understanding that there was more Henry wasn't saying.

Henry nodded slightly, adding, "And... y'know... other stuff boyfriends do. Stuff I wrote about."

Eyes widening, Archie shook his head, feeling raw anger in a way he hadn't in a long time. "Henry, that's not right. You really ought to tell someone. No one should compromise themselves like that for any reason."

"But then she'll tell," Henry replied miserably. "And Mom will hate me. And everyone will think I'm sick. She gave the notebook back, but she took pictures of it. And now Mom and Ma are constantly trying to talk to me about what's wrong, and I've been throwing up a lot and just... I don't know what to do."

"I think that you should discuss the situation with Regina. I understand it's delicate, but I know her well enough to know that she'd be more upset about you allowing this girl to take advantage of you than she would about some words you've written down." Archie steepled his fingers in front of his chin and spoke again. "She would never want you to go through this type of situation."

Henry slunk down in his seat, that word, let, boring into his brain. "I can't. It's not just words, it's how I really feel."

Lowering his voice, Archie shook his head. "Henry... What this girl is doing to you... it's basically rape. Perhaps she doesn't see it that way, but any consent you've given her by agreeing is manipulated by the threat she is holding over your head."

Biting his lip again, Henry didn't argue that. Couldn't argue that. "But how do I tell my mom? I can't... I don't want to ruin our relationship."

"You have to trust that she loves you enough to overlook it." Archie shrugged and wiped his hand over his face. "I can't tell you she'll let it roll off her shoulders right away, but Regina loves you more than anything. I truly do not believe that she would allow it to ruin your relationship."

Henry swallowed hard and nodded minutely. "Okay."

"And you need to do it soon. You should never have to be with someone that you don't want to be with. This... this girl needs to be reported and dealt with."

"Okay," Henry repeated. "I should... I should head home."

Archie nodded and said, "Feel free to come back here and talk to me if you need to."

"I will," Henry promised, forcing a small smile. As he left, he thought about how he could face Regina and tell her what had been going on. He was almost home when he realized he didn't have to face her at all. Running up to his room to grab the notebook, he wrote two notes, one for the front, saying 'Mom, read this, it'll explain everything' and the other, longer one for the back. 'Gwyn found this and figured out who it was about. She took pictures and said she'd tell if I wasn't her boyfriend and did things I wrote. I'm sorry.'

After attaching the notes, he hurried to drop it off at the mansion before returning to Emma's apartment and texting Gwyn that he couldn't come over, that he was sick.

Regina arrived home from work with the intention of changing and relaxing while she was alone. Upon her arrival, she found one of Henry's notebooks on the floor between the foyer and the staircase. Picking it up, she read the note on the cover and chewed her lip in concern. She took the notebook to her study, sitting in the couch and opening it to read.

She read through every page, eyebrows raising and gasps slipping past her lips quite often. It didn't take her long to wonder if the words were about her, and even less time after that to fully realize that the entire journal was, in fact, about her. Regina felt slightly uncomfortable as she read, but that only lasted until she got to the second note. The second note brought her anger.

Gathering her purse, she slipped the notebook in her bag and stormed out of the house, driving over to Emma's. She pounded on the door without fail.

With Emma out having dinner with her parents, and Henry having declined, he was the only person around to answer the door at the vigorous knocking. With a feeling of dread in the pit of his stomach, he went to open it, knowing it would either be Regina or Gwyn, and he didn't really want to see either of them at that moment. "Uh, hi, Mom," he greeted meekly, seeing the older woman there.

Regina nearly crumbled when she saw him. Stepping past him into the apartment, she dropped her purse on a chair and pulled out his notebook. She set it on the table, leaning back against the surface. "This..." she said, putting her hand on the notebook. "This is what these past few weeks have been about?"

Henry nodded silently, unsure how she was going to react.

"And you've been doing the things in this notebook, with Gwyn?"

"I had to," Henry whispered, his voice breaking.

"I would rather have known all along than have you go through that, Henry," Regina said, her voice as quiet as his had been.

Looking down, Henry shifted on his feet, feeling like a child being reprimanded. "I didn't want you to think I was a freak."

Searching his eyes, Regina moved toward him and wrapped her arms around his waist. She pressed her cheek to his chest and sighed heavily. "Sweetheart. I-I would have protected you. Now you've gone through... through this and I can't do anything to take away that experience." Regina wasn't able to say the word, she couldn't... the thought that she couldn't keep her son safe from such a thing pained her to the deepest parts of her soul.

Henry's knees weakened, pulling them both to the floor as he clung to his mother and pressed his face against her neck. "I'm sorry," the words came out shudderingly as his breath hitched and tears welled in his eyes.

Regina shook her head, holding him tight. "You have nothing to apologize for. You were wronged, that is not your fault. I'm so sorry you went through that." She began rocking him, her cheek resting against his hair.

"She's gonna tell everyone," Henry groaned, squeezing his eyes shut to try and push the tears away.

"No she's not, darling. I promise. Emma and I will take care of it, and this will stay between you and me." Regina pressed a kiss to his head, inhaling sharply.

Henry managed to take another two deep breaths before relief overcame him and he cried into Regina's neck, clutching her tightly.

She held him, every so often running her fingers through his hair, or rubbing his back to soothe him. This was, by far, the worst thing she ever could have imagined happening to her child, and all she wanted was to take his pain away.

Henry wasn't sure how much time passed while he cried, but he finally quieted, staying in Regina's embrace. It was only when the door opened that he realized it must have been at least an hour since she'd arrived.

"Uh... hi?" Emma greeted, confused as she looked down at the two figures on the floor, holding each other tightly. "What's going on?"

"You and I have some place to be," Regina said, pulling out of Henry's hold and standing up.

Henry stood up as well, feeling a little lost as he wandered over to the couch and sat down, picking up his Xbox controller, but making no move to turn either the TV or the console on.

Glancing back and forth between the two of them with wide eyes, Emma asked, "Okay, what happened?"

Looking at Emma, Regina raised one hand to signify that she needed a moment before she could explain. She walked over to Henry and rested her hand on his shoulder. "Why don't you go over to my house for tonight? You can take my car and I'll ride with Emma. We'll talk about this more later, okay?"

"Okay," Henry agreed, nodding. "And I'll be careful," he added, knowing that he was both a little distracted and hadn't driven since the accident.

"Please do. We don't need anymore damage done to you." Pressing a kiss to the top of his head, she whispered, "I love you, sweetheart. I'll see you soon."

"I love you, too, Mom."

Emma watched as Henry took the keys from Regina and left, more than a little surprised that he seemed to be ignoring her. "Okay, seriously, what the hell is going on?"

"Henry told me why he's been so upset lately and I'm taking care of it. We don't wish to share the details with you, not unless Henry decides to press charges, which, he and I will discuss tonight," Regina informed her. "You are going to take me to Gwyn's house."

"Charges?" Emma's eyes widened again, and she put her hands on her hips. "Regina, I need more to go on than that. Why am I taking you to our son's girlfriend's house, and what is this about pressing charges?"

"This has to be between Henry and me unless he says otherwise or decides tomake it legal. I'm sorry... I can't tell his private business." Regina frowned and turned away for a moment before looking back at Emma and saying, "You are taking me because I may otherwise do something against my better judgment."

Frowning as well, Emma slowly replied, "Okay... Come on, then." As they walked to her car, she added, "Oh, I did some research on her. Seems pretty normal to me. Her story is a fairytale here, but it's not really well known. In the Enchanted Forest, her name was Snow-White, and her twin sister was Rose-Red."

Regina stared at Emma and gave a dark chuckle. "Of course it is. Snow fucking White. That damn name will haunt me for the rest of my life."

"Whoa, okay, what?" Emma stared at the other woman, trying to remember if she'd ever heard her utter anything stronger than 'damn' before.

"Nothing. Let's just go. I need to get this done so I can discuss with Henry what his options are." Regina moved to open the passenger door while she considered the irritating name.

Emma threw her hands up, letting out an exasperated huff. "Okay, fine, leave me in the dark about our son," she muttered, getting into her Bug and slamming the door.

"Emma, it's really not my place to tell you. I'm sorry. I know I would be livid if the roles were reversed, but my loyalty will always be to Henry first."

"Yeah, I know, I get it, I just hate not knowing what everyone else does." Emma swung out of her parking spot and drove to Gwyn's house, wondering what the hell Regina was planning to do.

Running over all the possible scenarios that could happen, Regina focused on trying to keep herself calm; it would not do well to charge in there and murder the minor that hurt her son.

As she pulled up to the small house, Emma asked, "Should I come in with you, or wait here?"

"Perhaps you should wait out here and... I don't know, if you see anything that looks remotely like fire, come inside?" Regina answered, taking a deep breath.

"Sure," Emma drew out the word, watching Regina in concern.

She knocked on the door and waited impatiently for an answer. When Gwyn came to the door, Regina tensed her jaw and spoke. "May I come in?"

"I hardly think that's necessary," the girl responded, frowning and folding her arms over her chest.

"I do." Regina pushed past her, entering the house and looking around the small front room. "Is your mother home? Or your sister?"

Slamming the door shut, Gwyn turned around and shook her head. "No, I'm alone. I was supposed to have a date with Henry earlier, but for some reason he cancelled."

"Yes, well, good. And you won't be seeing Henry anymore from here out. Am I clear?"

"No. Henry's my boyfriend, I don't think you get to control his life just because you're his mother."

Regina took a few steps closer to her, their faces mere inches apart. "You will not text my son, or call him, or talk to him at school ever again. You will not look at him, you will not speak of him, and you will not ever touch him again."

Eyes wide and back straight, Gwyn gave an amused chuckle. "And what makes you think so?"

"Because if you make one attempt to come near him, I'll have your ass in jail," Regina growled. "I know about your blackmail and your rape. My son never deserved such a thing."

"And what are you going to do if I release all of his writings?" she asked warningly.

"Then you will spend so much time in jail that you won't even recognize who you are when you get out." Clenching her fists to keep herself from harming the girl, Regina growled, "Or I'll kill you."

"You wouldn't get away with that."

"Who's going to stop me? Henry is the most beloved person in this town, if anyone hears what you've done to him, you're in more trouble than I can give you on my own."

Gwyn stopped arguing, saying no more. Instead, her eyes widened and she nodded. "I-I'm sorry."

"Save it," Regina answered, shoving past her once more and leaving the house, slamming the door behind her. When she got into Emma's car, she looked forward and nodded. "All right. You can take me home now."

"Everything work out okay?" Emma asked tentatively as she started up the car and pulled away from the curb.

"I think so," she answered, taking a few steadying breaths. "I don't think she should be an issue anymore."

"So she was the reason for Henry's change in mood?"

Raising an eyebrow and pursing her lips, Regina nodded. "I told you she was."

"Yeah, but..." Emma sighed. "So he'll be back to normal now?"

"Mostly. But he might need some time," she answered, looking out the window, away from Emma.

Pulling over, Emma turned in her seat to face Regina. "Okay, look. I know you don't want to betray Henry's trust, and I get that, believe me. But Regina, I need to know. You don't have to give me details, and I promise I won't go looking for anything more, but you have to tell me what she did to him."

Letting out a heavy sigh, Regina nodded and closed her eyes for a moment. When she opened them back up, she turned toward Emma. "Gwyn blackmailed Henry into a relationship."

"Shit," Emma drew out the word on a long exhale. After a moment of silence, processing that, she chuckled wryly. "It's a good thing I didn't know that before you went in there, or I would've gone with you and encouraged the fire."

"I haven't been this angry since... Well, since I met you," Regina offered, chuckling darkly. "I just... What the hell is wrong with people?"

"I have no fucking clue." Shaking her head, Emma started driving again, quickly arriving at the mansion. "Hey... take care of our kid, yeah? He needs you."

Nodding, she agreed and thanked Emma, leaving the car and heading into her house. Once inside, with the door locked tightly behind her, Regina called out for Henry.

"Upstairs," Henry called back, lifting his head from the pillow he was clutching.

Setting down her purse, Regina took her coat off and kicked off her shoes. She then headed upstairs, turning to check Henry's room. When she didn't find him there, Regina headed down the hall to her own room. Finding Henry on her bed, she walked over and sat down beside him. "Hello, sweetheart," she said softly.

"Hi." Henry looked up at her a little sheepishly. "I'm sorry, I just... feel safe around you, and you weren't here, so..."

Smiling, Regina took his hand and squeezed. "It's okay, you don't need to apologize, Henry."

"I just didn't want you to think I was being weird," Henry said quietly. "I mean... after the notebook."

"I... Henry, about the notebook, I'm... flattered that you think those things about me. I guess I just don't understand why."

Sitting up, Henry shrugged a little. "I don't really know why, either. And when I talked to Archie, we talked more about Gwyn than about you."

"Okay. Well, do you want to talk about it? Or about Gwyn?" She asked gently, not wanting to push him.

"I don't wanna talk about Gwyn," he replied quickly. "I don't wanna even think about her ever again."

Nodding, Regina rolled her lips together. Hesitantly, she asked, "Did you want to talk about the notebook?"

"I guess..." Henry swallowed. "... that depends on what you thought about it."

"Well, I just... I don't know what to think," she answered honestly. "I mean... like I said, I'm flattered, just confused."

"What, um... what did you think of my writing? I-I mean, the quality of it." Truthfully, Henry wondered if she'd found it as arousing to read as he had to write, but he couldn't exactly ask that.

Blushing, Regina cleared her throat and said, "Well, it was really, very good. I've read published romance novels that weren't written nearly as well as yours."

"You read romance novels?" Henry asked, surprised.

"Um, guilty pleasure?" she answered, chuckling lightly, only slightly embarrassed.

Chewing on his lip for a moment, Henry asked, "Regular romance, or... erotica?"

Regina considered not answering, but if she could distract him from what he'd been going through, even for a little while, she would do it. "Both," she finally offered, biting the inside of her cheek.

Henry opened his mouth to ask a follow-up question, before closing it again and shaking his head minutely. "Do you think it's weird, that I see you that way?"

"I... don't think it's weird. Unexpected, yes, but Henry, everyone has feelings they can't control and if that's something you feel, I'm not here to judge you for that," Regina said, looking down at her hands when she finished speaking.

"Have you ever had feelings like that? I mean, not necessarily about me, but... about someone?"

Frowning, she tilted her head in confusion. "You mean, ever? Or someone I shouldn't feel that way about?"

"That you shouldn't feel that way about," Henry clarified.

Regina bit her lip and thought for a moment. "I've lusted after someone I couldn't have before, but the situation was quite different."

"Could you... tell me about it?" he requested hesitantly. "I mean... you already know about mine."

Considering and deciding that it couldn't do any harm, she stood up and walked around to the other side of the bed, sitting back against the headboard. "Are you sure? You might not like who it's about."

Henry gave a wry grin. "Grandpa?"

Smirking, Regina nodded. "How did you know?"

"I remember you undressing him with your eyes a few times when I was younger." Henry shrugged and leaned back against the headboard next to her. "I didn't really understand it at the time, but later, yeah, it was pretty clear."

Chuckling, she gave him a sideways glance and began to explain. "Well, I first thought of it back in the Enchanted Forest. I figured, you know, Snow took my True Love, so I should take hers. I imagined scenarios where Snow would catch us together and it would crush her. Then I started picturing what it would be like to have him and make her watch. Unfortunately for my cruel plans, David is quite incorruptible."

Henry shook his head with a laugh. "Yeah, it's definitely gotta be True Love... no other man would be able to resist you."

Regina found herself blushing at his compliment. Biting her lip, she turned her face toward him. "I think that you feel more than others would. I've been unwanted by more than enough men to disagree."

"That's crazy." Meeting her gaze, Henry smiled. "You're the most beautiful woman I've ever seen, I can't even imagine what kind of man wouldn't want you."

"Well, thank you, Henry, that's very sweet." Reaching over, she grabbed his hand and squeezed it. "I love you. You're a good person, you know that?"

"So are you." He squeezed her hand in return. "And I love you, too." After a pause, he looked down at their hands, frowning. "Can I... ask you something?"

Regina focused her eyes on his face and cleared her throat. "Of course you can, sweetheart."

"What was... what was your first time like?" Henry fiddled with her fingers and rubbed his thumb over the back of her hand.

"I... Well, Henry, it was with the king. It wasn't a choice I made, I was simply fulfilling a duty." Regina looked down, once more reminded that she couldn't protect her son from having a similar first experience.

"The, um, the first time you had a choice... what was it like? Was it better?"

"Much better." She nodded, squeezing his hand and using her free hand to tilt his chin up. "Sex is a wonderful experience when it's a choice you get to make."

Henry gave a small smile. "I wanted my first time to be with someone I cared about. I tried to convince Gwyn to not have sex, but she said she didn't want to get married at eighteen without having been with someone else first." He sighed and leaned over, resting his head on Regina's shoulder. "People suck."

Shifting, Regina wrapped her arm around his shoulders, squeezing him tight against her. She used her other hand to take his hand once more, weaving their fingers together. "I'm sorry your first time was forced. I would do anything to change that, if I could."

"Maybe it's better this way," Henry murmured with a sigh. "It wasn't... I mean... I-I don't think I did it right."

Regina frowned, but considered what he'd been through. She doubted he would feel comfortable talking about sex with too many others. "Do you... um, I can answer any questions you might have," she offered.

"It's not that I have any questions," Henry corrected. "It's just... I mean, I read online about how, y'know... hard the guy is supposed to get. A-and before, when I would... it would be... b-but then when we... it was, I mean, up, but not really... hard. Or anything."

"Oh, Henry... I'm sure that had to do with the circumstances," she reassured. "It was an awful thing you went through, that's bound to have an effect on you."

"You know what bothers me the most about it?"

"What's that, darling?"

Henry looked down, his brow furrowed as he moved closer into Regina's side. "She didn't just want sex. She wanted to do what I wrote about. And my writing, that was... it was about you. It's like she took something that was mine and yours - even if you didn't know about it - and perverted it."

Wincing, she bit her lip and dropped her head to rest on his. "I'm sorry, Henry. I really wish I could make it better. Something so private and personal should never have been used against you. And certainly not to hurt you."

"I just wish there was a way to erase it," Henry whispered.

Regina snorted uncharacteristically, then apologized to Henry. "Sorry, don't take that rudely. I just... it took a long time for me to get over certain things with the king, it's kind of unfair how long it can take."

"Being with someone you chose didn't make it better?" Henry asked, deflating even further.

"Well, to be fair, I spent years married to the king." Focusing her eyes on him, Regina squeezed his hand. "I will do as much as I can to help you through this, okay?"

Henry nodded. "Thanks. Was he... the king, was like... violent or anything? Or just like... mechanical about it, or what?"

Shrugging, Regina relaxed her body against the headboard of her bed and sighed heavily, "He wasn't violent at first. Just fulfilling an obligation. Then he grew to enjoy my body and would... well, if I didn't act like I was enjoying myself he would... remedy that."

"What do you mean... remedy that?" Henry asked slowly, stretching out and wrapping his arms around Regina's waist, his chin resting on her chest as he looked up at her, like he had done when he was a child.

"Well," she answered softly, entirely unsure she wanted to get back into her past. "He could hurt me, a lot, until I acted like I wanted it as much he did."

"That's counter-intuitive, and he was an asshole."

"One would have to be, to be able to be so cruel to another person." Regina sighed and bit her lip, thinking of the people she had hurt.

Seeing the look on her face, Henry hugged her tighter and whispered, "I'm glad you're not like that. You make me feel safe, not afraid."

"I'm glad I make you feel safe. That's all I want for you, is to be safe and happy." Regina looked away, pursing her lips and nodding to herself. "I love you."

"I love you, too." Henry tilted his head and leaned up so he was even with her. "What's with the look?" he asked quietly.

"Nothing to worry about, sweetheart, really," she answered softly, her fingers still playing in his hair.

"If I can tell you anything, that means you can tell me anything, too," he insisted, holding his weight with one arm and reaching up with the other hand to cup her shoulder.

Looking at him, Regina considered her words, mentally deciding how to answer. "I was once someone's monster," she confessed.

Henry frowned. "What do you mean? Like... in context of the conversation?"

She bit her lip again, realizing she was probably going to have raw and sensitive lips the next day. Sighing, Regina prepared for hatred. "I once did something quite similar to what was done to you."

The frown deepened, and,unwilling to believe the words being said, Henry repeated, "What do you mean?"

Letting a few tears of regret slip out of her eye, Regina tried to cover her eyes while she spoke. "I took advantage of someone, the way you were taken advantage of. I... possessed a heart and we... I used him."

Henry pulled away at the words, sitting up straight. "Tell me the whole story," he said quietly, his stomach churning.

Regina let several more tears fall, looking away from Henry and shaking her head. "I... you've already started thinking of me differently, I don't want to share more and have you hate me."

"And if you leave it how it is, I always will," Henry pointed out. "I need to know why and how and who, otherwise it'll eat at me. You don't want that, do you?" It was a cheap shot, he knew, but a necessary one.

Frowning, she shook her head and swallowed thickly, pulling her knees up to her chest. "The huntsman. I made a deal with him and sent him out to bring me Snow White's heart. He didn't succeed, so I took his. I made him my... my pet."

"Why? Why your pet, why not throw him in the dungeon or have him executed?"

"Because I... was making an example of him. I was punishing him. I enjoyed what he looked like." Pausing, she wiped away some tears and spoke again, "Henry, I'm not proud of what I did, but I can't change it now."

Looking down, Henry nodded slightly. "Did... During the curse, did you still... use him like that?"

Regina simply nodded her response.

Henry chewed on his lips, brow deeply furrowed as he considered that. Finally he looked up and asked, "Would you ever do something like that again?"

"Never," she answered honestly. "I don't think I fully understood what I was doing when I did it before. As the Evil Queen, I saw things as mine, and people weren't people to me, they were tools and things. I... I'm not like that anymore."

Searching her gaze and seeing only honesty, Henry nodded. "Okay."

"Okay?" Regina whispered, fingers wiping at her face.

"Yeah. Okay." Henry smiled and reached up, brushing his fingers over her cheeks as well to dry her tears. "You did terrible things when you were the queen, because you were hurting terribly. It doesn't excuse it, but it does explain it. But those things you did, you didn't do them to me. You've never done anything but love me and keep me safe, to the best of your ability. I love you no matter what you did in the past. That was literally another life. You're a different person now."

Regina gave him a watery smile and said, "You are too forgiving of me."

Henry shook his head slightly. "I don't have to forgive you," he pointed out, "you didn't wrong me."

"Not this time," she answered softly. "But I'm still a villain in the story."

"Not in my story," Henry replied, mirroring her tone. He cupped her cheek with one hand, his thumb smoothing over her cheekbone as he looked at her with all the love he felt.

Leaning into the touch, Regina covered his hand with hers and squeezed it affectionately. "Thank you, Henry."

Swallowing hard, Henry started to lean closer, before he caught himself and practically lunged backward, breaking the contact between them and looking down at the bedspread.

"Henry? Are you okay?" she asked, missing his hold. He hadn't been affectionate the past few weeks and she missed her son.

Henry nodded, but didn't look back up. "I'm sorry. I just... I was going to kiss you," he admitted in a whisper. "And I know that's not okay."

Regina's eyes widened in surprise and she put her hand on Henry's cheek. "I... would that, would it make you feel better?" she asked hesitantly. She felt out of her element comforting him, she was good with little things, not big, significant things.

"I don't want anything that you don't want, too," Henry said, still quiet, but firm in his statement.

"I... Henry?" she said softly, her fingers moving over the skin of his face.

"I want to kiss you," he reiterated, "but I don't want to do to you what was done to both of us. Even if it's not on purpose. I-I don't want you to feel obligated, just because you want to make me feel better."

She nodded her understanding, and Regina couldn't, for the life of her, understand what had her leaning forward. Hesitantly, she pressed her lips to Henry's in a soft kiss. For a moment, she let herself forget that she's his mother and allowed herself to enjoy his attention.

Henry actually whimpered against her lips, his hands coming up to gently cup her head, fingers weaving into her hair. His chin trembled, and he inhaled a shuddering breath through the kiss, his eyes squeezing shut against tears that began to slowly streak down his cheeks.

Regina understood his emotions; she'd once felt that strong relief of feeling something that was good instead of forced. Pulling away just slightly, she dried his tears and let her eyes flicker between his.

"Thank you," Henry whispered, managing a genuine smile, even though it was watery and tremulous.

She didn't say anything, only moved her hands to his chest and bunched the fabric in her fingers. Pulling him close to her, Regina kissed him again, parting her lips against his to let him decide how to respond.

Henry hummed into her mouth, moving forward again so she was back between the headboard and his body. Tentatively, he grazed the tip of his tongue against her upper lip.

Regina slid her tongue out to meet his, her arms wrapping around his shoulders. She gave a soft moan as they kissed, and she found that she didn't really mind the feeling at all.

Slowly, Henry drew out the kiss, finally breaking it and resting his forehead against hers. "I love you, Mom."

"I love you, Henry," she answered, squeezing one of his biceps, where her hands had moved in their shift. "More than anything."

Smiling, Henry slid down the bed so he was laying down and pulled Regina with him, wrapping his arms around her. "If you don't mind me asking... when you went to see Gwyn... what happened?"

"I-I... told her if she goes near you, I'll have her put in jail. And if she releases your writings, she'll be in jail, or I'll kill her," Regina said, twisting her lips.

"Sounds like a good plan." Henry gave a half-smile. "We're paired together on a project in lit, though."

Regina looked at him, watching carefully for his reaction. "I can call and get you switched to a different lit class and a different calc class, if you'd like. Switch the periods with each other, so you can keep the same teacher and stay caught up?"

Henry perked up a little, then paused. "What would you give for a reason?"

"That I'm the damn mayor, and they'll do as I ask," she answered, holding back a grin.

Henry let out a full laugh for the first time in weeks and tilted his head to peck her lips, grinning against them. "That's awesome."

Regina gave him a wide smile, pleased to hear his laughter. "Hey, when Emma and I were driving, she kept pressing about what was going on. I didn't tell her much, just that Gwyn had blackmailed you into being her boyfriend. She just... wouldn't drop it."

"That's okay," Henry assured her with a nod. "I knew I'd have to tell her something. Not sure I want her knowing what Gwyn was blackmailing me with, but otherwise, it's fine. I trust Ma."

"Mm, did you bring your notebook here when you came?" she asked, eyes flicking over the surfaces in the room.

Henry's eyes widened. "Ah. Shit. I think it's still on Ma's table." He winced, hoping that his other mother could resist the temptation to snoop.

"Well, let's hope it's safe there." Regina pulled Henry close again, pressing her cheek against his shoulder. "Are you feeling any better?"

"Yeah," Henry nodded, curling into her. "Can't guarantee I'll be okay tomorrow, or in an hour, but I'm good now."

"I don't want you dealing with any of it alone, okay? Anything you need to talk about, I want you to tell me," Regina requested. Relaxing, she realized she could only hope he could handle that.

Nodding, Henry agreed, "Okay. But... I want to see Archie about it, too. And... and I think I want to tell him about the kiss."

She pulled back again, looking into his eyes and nodding. "Okay. I just... I want you to do whatever you have to, to feel safe."

"So... if I wanted to push a certain blonde over the town line...?"

"Well... I'm not stopping you," she answered with a smirk.

Henry chuckled and pressed his nose into Regina's hair. "If I wasn't scared shitless of her sister, I just might."

"I haven't met the sister," Regina mused. "I can't imagine anyone being worse than her."

"Well, Gwyn's largely accepted as the nice one. Rosa's kind of... intense." He shrugged, adding, "She's not mean or anything, but she's a lot more forthright."

Humming, Regina said, "At least with forthright you tend to know what you're getting." She leaned up, looking in Henry's eyes. "Do you want to not discuss it?"

"I dunno. I keep thinking about it." Henry sighed loudly. "I feel dumb. I mean, if I'd come to you when it started, none of this would've happened. And I keep thinking about... the things I did with her. That's what the hot showers were about, by the way. I was trying to... I don't know. Scrub her off of me."

"You are not dumb, and you have no reason to feel that way. I just... it's just too bad that we couldn't have figured out this mess before things got out of hand." Regina cupped his cheek in one hand. "I don't care if you suddenly decide you're into your grandmother or you are confused because you want to have sex with Rumplestiltskin, I want you to know you can come to me. No matter how uncomfortable the subject is. I'm here for you."

Henry squirmed, making a face. "Okay, everything about those two examples is uncomfortable. Literally everything. There is nothing okay with those words."

Mouth twisting in a smirk, Regina let out a soft chuckle. "I'm pleased to hear that."

"Want me to yourself or something?" Henry half-joked, raising his eyebrows.

"You are a handful," she answered, laughing at him. "I meant because I would be a lot less flattered by your attraction to me, if you were attracted to them, as well."

"Well then prepare to be flattered, because you're the only person I've been looking at for some time now."

Blushing, Regina looked back down and hid her face into his hold. She groaned in confusion, then shook her head against his chest.

"What's wrong?" Henry asked, frowning. He'd expected the blush, but the rest of her reaction was a surprise.

She looked up at him, biting the inside of her cheek as she considered how to talk about it. "You know, all my life, I've only kissed three people I've cared for. And I've only been in love with one person I've slept with, so maybe I'm just starved for affection. But when I read the words you wrote, I found myself growing curious, and I feel as though I shouldn't, because I'm your mother."

"I'm your son, and I wrote them," Henry pointed out. "But, for you, I think it's natural to be curious. I mean, you didn't know right away that my writing was about you, right? So you would've... gotten into the mood of it, first, I guess. And when someone looks at you like that, I think it's human nature to look at them a little curiously, too."

"What could I have possibly done so right that you can see me the way you do?" Regina asked quietly.

Henry shrugged, not really having an answer. "You were you. That's enough for me."

Leaning up, she kissed his jaw, then pulled back. "You are the best person I have ever known."

"Because of you." Henry tilted his head down and kissed her, quickly and gently, on the lips again. "Is that... okay?"

"Seems to be," Regina answered, surprised at the thrill that warmed her body.

Henry smiled happily. "Yay."

"Yay?" she asked, smirking at him.

Feeling a little shy, Henry shrugged. "Yeah. Yay. I like kissing you, and I like that you're okay with it."

Giving him a nod, Regina smiled softly. "You're a pretty good kisser," she told him, wanting to see his smile back.

Henry grinned happily. "Thanks. You're... kind of the first, in a way."

"Really?" she asked, eyebrows raised. "I didn't expect that. I always thought maybe you and Paige were dating and not telling me or Jefferson."

"Nah," Henry shook his head. "Paige is cool, but she's just a friend. Besides, even if I was interested, Ava would kill me. She's had a crush on Paige for two years now."

"Well, unless Paige returns those feelings, Ava will have to deal with someone dating her eventually," Regina answered with a smirk. "So, you don't have a secret Emma notebook lying around somewhere?"

"There's a difference between having to deal with it, and having to deal with it when it's one of your friends," Henry pointed out. "And also, ew. No. Ew."

"So I'm really just... that special to you?" she whispered, still surprised.

"Of course you are," Henry whispered back, bringing his hand up to cup her cheek. "You're... I don't know how to explain it."

"I'm not used to that. I-" Regina didn't know how to express her appreciation for his care, so instead she leaned into his hold and pressed her lips to his.

Holding her gently, Henry moved his lips with hers, sighing as the kiss drew out.

Sliding her tongue along his bottom lip, Regina moved one hand to cup the back of his neck. She shifted her body up a little, staying in Henry's hold but bringing their mouths closer together.

Wrapping his other arm around her, his cast heavy at her lower back, Henry met her tongue with his, sliding them together.

Regina was set on allowing Henry to choose the pace, so she kissed him slowly, but passionately. She scratched her fingers through his hair, her free hand on his chest.

After an indeterminate length of time full of soft, slow kisses, Henry pulled back, brushing her hair away from her face and smiling. "I know that... I'm seventeen and it's kind of weird and all, but... could I maybe... stay with you tonight? Like, not... I just... want to be near you."

Nodding softly, Regina said, "Yes, of course you can." She pressed a soft kiss to his cheek and smiled gently. "I'll drive you to school tomorrow so I can get your schedule changed."

"Thanks, Mom," Henry murmured, turning his face into her neck and relaxing on a long sigh.