So, I've had this idea in my head for a little while, and while I know many people have re-imagined the series right from the start, I too have had my own ideas and am only now writing it out. There will be moments, especially in the very beginning, where I will borrow some dialogue from the first episode (obviously I take no credit) and use it to my own advantage, aside from that, this is an original story with canon divergence (and at times re-imagining of the beginning, with its own twist as you'll soon see…)

As I've written this story, I've been subjected to some very targeted hate and harassment (a troll perhaps?) in other stories that I'd been posting at the time of writing this very story, hate that is targeted against me and the way I write these beloved characters of ours, and to me personally, being childish and calling me names, and calling me childish when I call them out on their antics, bullying, and harassment. It's been proven that I'm not the only one, just one in a dozen that is subjected to this individualized hate. While I will never let things like that get me down, it's the sheer positivity that thrives in this fandom and that positivity wins over the hate we all receive on a daily basis that keeps me writing and sharing these stories with all of you. Nothing will ever make me stop writing, not when I love these characters as I can create them beyond what is canon, and not when I can create these characters into people we all can relate to on one level or another. Targeted hate, especially, will never cause me to stop writing, so your attempts are pointless. [You know who you are, so I suggest you stop reading my stories since they're so boring to you and stop wasting your time Felicia/Mindi and mine, thanks. Perhaps you should just find another writer who writes what you want to read or write your own, just a friendly suggestion :)]

So, without further ado, this one is for all the believers, all the ones who wish for this to be our fairytale, our happy ending. This is me making it happen because what else is fanfiction other than to make something we believe come true in words and in stories, in characters that we've come to love and cherish and want to make our own? I do hope you enjoy the ride, as slow of a burn as it is. It's going to be (hopefully) a good one for you, as it has been for me!

A storm was brewing just outside of town, but ten-year-old Henry Mills knew that it wouldn't quite make it. Most of them never did unless they started in Storybrooke. It was just the way it was, the way it always had been.

He sighed as he leaned against the windowsill and watched the dark clouds skip across the darkening sky. He pressed a palm to the cool glass and his eyes went wide when he heard a wolf howling in the distance. It was faint, but he'd heard it. He'd been hearing it for the last couple of nights ever since the first of October.

"Henry?"

He groaned as his mother knocked on the door. "Yeah?"

"Time for bed," Regina said as she eased the door open and he turned to her, watching her with her forced smile as she motioned for him to get into his bed. "Did you brush your teeth?"

"Yeah."

Regina walked over to the bed and pulled back his sheets. He hesitantly climbed into his bed and laid back, keeping an eye on his mother as she tucked him in. It was just a routine, nothing more and even he knew that. She was just playing a role, like an actor in a play or a movie, and he could see right through it all.

"Henry?"

"Yeah?"

Regina sighed as she ran her hands over his hair. "I wish you would talk to me," she said quietly. "Is there something going on at school?"

"No, school is fine."

"Then what is it?"

"Nothing," Henry said tightly. "I'm tired. Good night."

"Good night, my little prince," Regina said with a smile as she leaned in to kiss his forehead, just as she did every single night for as long as he could remember.

As soon as his mother was out of his room and the door shut tightly behind her, he threw back the sheets and reached under the bed for the book his teacher, Mary Margaret Blanchard, had given to him the week before. It was heavy and old, and the stories inside of it fascinated him. The first time he'd read through it, he hadn't thought much, just thinking they were any old fairytales, but the next night he flipped through the book again and that's when things began to fall into place.

So many of the illustrations in the book looked like people in town, but the one he noticed first was how much his own mother looked like the Evil Queen. He stared at one picture for the longest time, and he was convinced that it was her right down to the shape and color of her eyes, to the scar on the right side of her upper lip.

It wasn't until he'd seen those similarities that he started to see how different Storybrooke really was. Nothing changed, the people didn't change, nothing in the town changed. Not even the weather, for the most part, changed. It amazed him that he had gone so long thinking that everything he knew was completely normal, but it really wasn't. It was so far from normal and it got him wondering if he was truly the only one who noticed any of those things.

The more he read the book, the more he began to understand. The town and its people were cursed, cursed because of the Evil Queen, and only the Savior could break the curse and save them all. But who was the Savior? The book said it was the daughter of Snow White and her prince, but Henry didn't know anyone in town by the name of Emma, and he knew just about everyone because his mother was the Mayor—and the Evil Queen.

Henry flipped through the book to the page where Snow White and Prince Charming had to give up their daughter, put her in the wardrobe to escape from the dark curse so that she could come back to save them all one day.

He closed the book and placed it back under his bed, mindful to put a few of his old comic books on top in case his mother snooped around in the morning. Once he was sure enough time had passed and that she too was in bed for the night, he went to sit at his desk and turned the computer monitor on.

When he was five, his mother told him he was adopted after he'd had a fit of stubbornness and anger. He had a mother, someone out there that had given him up the same way that Snow White and her prince had given up their own daughter. But where was she? Who was she? He'd been curious for years, but never knew how to find her, but thanks to the Internet and it being his only connection to the world outside of Storybrooke, his options were limitless—at least to a point.

Some of the websites he'd found seemed promising, but they all wanted a credit card in order for him to get the information he was seeking. He couldn't use one of his mother's since she'd know it was missing right away. He frowned at the screen and the website he had up and knew that tomorrow he'd have to find a way to pay the private investigator that ran the website and offered his services.

He needed to find his birth mother. Surely life with her would be so much better than life with the Evil Queen.

[X]

Regina paced the floor in her study and glanced down at the crystal glass and the cider that was in it. The sounds of the storm off in the distance didn't worry her, as she knew it would never cross the barrier that kept Storybrooke cloaked from the rest of the world. What worried her was the wolf she heard howling out in the woods not far from the house.

She hadn't heard it before that month, not in the twenty-eight years since she'd first cast the curse. She knew if she heard the wolf, that she wasn't the only one.

Anger bubbled through her veins as she continued to pace the floor and she cast a glance at the unlit marble fireplace and scowled as the wolf howled once more, though it was a little fainter than it had been before. She downed the last of her cider and stopped herself from pouring another glass. She needed a clear mind and the cider always made her feel a little out of sorts.

Tightening the belt on her gray robe, she walked out of the study and to the front door as the clock in the hall chimed just as nine o'clock hit. She unlocked and opened the front door, smiling tightly as she saw the police cruiser drive past the house slowly. After a few minutes, the blonde-haired deputy walked up the path to the front door.

"Good evening," the woman said with a crooked smile.

"Deputy Crane," Regina said and she stepped aside. "You're right on time."

"Is he asleep?"

"He should be."

The blonde chuckled throatily as she backed Regina up against the wall just before the stairs that led up into the foyer. Regina inhaled deeply and felt her body shudder at the closeness between them. Regina clicked her tongue against the roof of her mouth and the blonde backed down with a shake of her head.

"Follow me," Regina said simply and she walked past the deputy to lead the way upstairs to her bedroom. "And do be quiet. Henry nearly caught us the last time."

There weren't many people that Regina had under her complete control and those she could bend at will, but Elizabeth wasn't like the others, not in many ways. The Huntsman, Sheriff Graham, had been a lover for many years, but the novelty had worn off after years and years of their secret trysts. Unlike Graham, Elizabeth Crane was not entirely consumed by the curse, as she had been born in the Enchanted Forest just before it had hit, and she had grown up and flourished into a young woman there in Storybrooke, Maine.

She had also become someone Regina could easily control and bend to her will when the need would arise. She had easily manipulated and molded the young woman to suit her needs, all of them, but there were moments where the roles started to shift, to reverse, and it made Regina feel uneasy.

And she didn't cope with feeling uneasy well at all. Not when Henry had recently turned against her and was questioning things she had feared since she had first adopted him ten years ago.

"Hey," Elizabeth said quietly as she placed a hand on Regina's lower back when they reached the landing on the stairs. "You all right?"

"Fine," Regina snapped tightly. "Just be quiet, will you?"

"Yes, ma'am."

Regina glared at her before continuing the rest of the way up the stairs. She sent the deputy down the hall to her room while she stopped at Henry's door. She was hesitant to check on him, afraid she'd wake him up. She waited until the deputy disappeared into her bedroom before she eased open Henry's door and peered inside.

She frowned when she saw his computer monitor was on, but he was in bed with the covers nearly over his head, and his breathing a little erratic. She shook her head and stepped into the room.

"Henry," she said quietly. "You should be sleeping."

"I am."

"You're not. You have school in the morning."

"I know."

"It's past your bedtime," Regina reminded him and she tried not to let her bubbling anger surface, not when she had the gorgeous blonde deputy waiting for her in her room. "Henry," she said as she crossed her arms over her chest. "I mean it. Go to sleep. No more computer tonight and no comic books either."

"I know!"

"Last warning and if I check on you again and you're not sleeping, you're in some serious trouble. Do you understand?"

"Whatever," Henry muttered as he turned on his side, his back to her. "You're not even my real mom! I don't know why I even listen to you."

Regina dropped her arms to her side and clenched her fists, her anger boiling through her at hearing those words come from her son's mouth. She'd heard it plenty, especially in the last week, and it didn't hurt any less the more he said those things to her, whether behind her back or to her face.

She shut the door to his room behind her and headed down the hallway, fighting with the fury of emotions that were going through her all at once. She paused just outside her room and took a deep breath, a mask of indifference settling over her in the seconds before she flung open the door and strolled into the room like the queen she truly was.

"Now," Regina said, careful to lock the door behind her. "Shall we pick up where we left off last night?"

"With pleasure, your majesty," the blonde-haired deputy replied as she stripped out of her clothes with ease. "However do you want me, my Queen?"

Regina licked her lips with hungry desire. The blonde was gorgeous, there was no doubt about that, and though she found their encounters satisfying, there was always that underlying feeling of emptiness every single time. She shook that feeling as she stripped out of her robe, revealing the black silk negligee she wore underneath.

"You know how I want you," she said lowly as she approached the blonde. "On the bed, on all fours."

"Yes, your majesty."

[X]

Sirens blared just off in the distance and when it passed a few minutes later, Emma Swan swore she heard the howl of a wolf as she walked down the quiet, dark street in downtown Boston.

Don't be crazy, there are no wolves in this city, Swan, she thought as she turned the corner and crossed the street, using the spare key she had to unlock the door to the apartment building.

She walked into the dimly lit entrance and made sure to pull the door shut behind her, making sure she heard that click that the door had locked. One could never be too cautious, especially in that part of the city where it wasn't too safe no matter what time of day that it was.

Her whole body ached from the long, tiring day she'd just had and she walked down the front foyer of the building, bypassing the elevators that never worked and that were lazily taped off with green painters tape that had been there since the first time she'd first walked into the building nearly a year ago. She sighed as she pulled open the stairwell door, the hinges creaking loudly and she took the stairs two at a time, barely breaking a sweat as she headed up to the fifth floor.

The jobs at the bail-bonds office had been slow, so slow that she'd taken a job as a waitress in a dive bar just a few blocks away. It meant long, tedious shifts with horrible pay and very little tips, but it also meant that money was still coming in even if it was very little of it.

She scrunched her nose as she walked down the fifth floor hallway, carefully stepping over small piles of garbage that littered the badly stained carpet on the floor. As she passed by one door, she jumped at the sound of the yelling voices just beyond the door and the sound of something slamming hard against a wall from inside that apartment. She continued down the hallway as quickly as her tired and sore feet would take her, and she sighed in relief when she reached the last door on the left.

She knocked tentatively before trying to door and she frowned deeply when she found it unlocked. She stepped into the apartment, the place itself much cleaner and more cheerful than the entire rest of the building, and she was greeted by the smell of pasta cooking in the kitchen along with a pot of coffee that had just been brewed.

"Is that you, Emma?"

"Yeah, it's me," Emma called out as she removed her converse shoes and placed them on the rubber mat by the door. She made sure to lock the door behind her before making her way down the small hallway to the kitchen. "You know you should keep your door locked all the time, especially in this neighborhood."

"Those young thugs know not to mess with me," the old woman said as she turned from the stove when Emma walked into the small, cluttered kitchen. "Nobody messes with Miss Carla in this neighborhood."

Emma laughed and shook her head. It was true. She knew it as she'd seen the old woman take down three muggers with the giant gray purse she always carried around when she wasn't home. Emma helped herself to the coffee that was in the pot and leaned against the counter near the stove.

"Was she good today?" Emma asked and she watched the old woman as she stirred the soup in the pot with the wooden spoon for a moment before holding it out for Emma to take a taste. "It's good."

"Riley is always good for Miss Carla," she chuckled softly, but her smile quickly faded as she placed the wooden spoon on the counter and wiped her hands on the red apron she had on. "She is sleeping now. The poor child wasn't feeling well earlier, but I gave her a nice warm bath and some soup."

"Does she have a fever?" Emma asked, alarmed as she put the coffee mug down and was about to walk away when the old woman grabbed onto her arm gently. "You should've called me, Carla. I would've come as soon as I could."

"She is fine, she is resting. No fever, just a little cough. Nothing too worrisome yet. It is likely just the change in the weather now that autumn has arrived."

"You know I always worry," Emma said and she picked up the mug and took a small, tentative sip. "Miss Carla, I need a favor and I hate to ask but—"

"Do not worry about what you owe me," she said softly, her attention drawn back to the big pot of soup she had on the stove that had just started to boil and bubble. "I told you before not to worry, dear."

"I know, but it's just that—"

"Do not worry," she said again and turned down the dial on the burner. "I know you have been struggling. I understand. Being a single mother is hard enough as it is. As I've told you, do not worry. I will look after Riley as if she were my own."

"Thank you," Emma said softly and she fought back the tears of gratitude. "You have no idea how much that means to me, how much you mean to us."

"Things will pick up soon," Carla said as she picked up the spoon and stirred the soup. "Until then, don't you worry about what you owe me, do you understand?"

"Yes, ma'am," Emma nodded with a grateful smile. "Is she sleeping in the spare room?"

"Yes," she replied. "Would you like me to make you up a bowl to take home for dinner?"

"That would be wonderful, Miss Carla. Thank you," Emma said and she took a sip of her coffee before placing the mug on the counter. "Thank you."

Emma smoothed her hands over the ghastly pink uniform dress she had to wear to work and made her way out of the kitchen, down the hall and into the small spare room. She eased the door open and didn't bother to turn on the lights as she made her way over to the sleeping four-year-old in the small, twin-sized bed.

"Mommy?"

Emma smiled as she sat down on the edge of the bed and ran her hand over the soft blonde curls. "I'm here, Riles," she whispered and she leaned down to kiss her daughter on the forehead. "How are you feeling, kiddo? Miss Carla said you weren't feeling well earlier."

"Sleepy."

"We're going to go home," Emma said and she pulled the half-asleep girl into her lap and pressed a hand to her forehead and then to each of her cheeks to check to make sure she really didn't have a fever. "We're going to go home, okay?"

"Don't like it there."

"I know, kiddo, I know, but remember what I told you, right? That it is only temporary until I find us something better. I promise that'll happen soon, okay?"

"Tomorrow?"

Emma frowned and shook her head. "Not tomorrow. Not until I can save enough money for that place we saw last weekend. You remember, right?"

"Yes."

"You liked it there, didn't you?"

"Yes, Mommy," Riley nodded sleepily. "Go home now?"

"Let me just get your bag and we'll go home. Do you want to say goodbye to Miss Carla first?"

"Okay, Mommy."

Emma put her daughter back into the bed and walked out of the small room. She sighed as she picked up a few of the toys on the floor in the hallway and found Riley's little pink backpack sitting on the bench by the door.

She thanked the old woman for watching Riley all day and promised that she'd find a way to pay her before the week was over. It was a promise she'd been making for months, and one she hated that she couldn't follow through on.

She was already six days behind on her rent and she barely had twelve cents in her bank account. The tips she'd made that day, all thirty-four dollars worth, had already gone into paying the fees she owed to get the electricity turned back on just so she didn't have to bring her daughter back to a nearly empty and dark apartment.

Riley slept the walk back to their own building just a block and a half away. Emma frowned as she passed her car on the street, a car she hadn't driven in two months because she hadn't had the money to put gas in the tank. The building they lived in wasn't much better than the one Miss Carla lived in, as it was run-down, dirty, and the last place she even wanted to be even if it was the only place she could afford in the entire city.

Emma tiredly struggled with the key in the front door of the building, dropping them twice as she shifted her sleeping daughter in her arms, still careful not to wake her. A man wearing a hoodie with his face hidden in the shadows of the oversized baseball cap he had on pushed the door open for her and she thanked him with a silent nod as she carried Riley inside.

At least the elevators worked and she stepped inside, stroking a hand over the back of Riley's head and through her soft blonde curls as she hit number seven and waited for the doors to slide shut. She cursed in her head at the strong smell of urine that filled the elevator and she continued to stroke her fingers through Riley's hair until they reached their floor.

She had never wanted to have children, not after she had to give up her first child when she was barely eighteen and in prison serving time for a crime she hadn't committed. She had given up her first child because she didn't have any other choice. She had to give her son his best chance and at the time, she truly felt like she'd done the right thing. When she found out she was pregnant with Riley, while her situation was no better than it had been six years before that, she didn't want to give this child up, not even if it meant she would have a better chance than Emma ever had growing up or what Emma could give her.

When Riley was born, a stormy and muggy Sunday in August, she knew from the moment she had held her for the first time that she could not do it again, that she could not give up yet another child and not at least try to give her the best chance in life.

It wasn't easy; it had been far from it. She had next to no money, nothing to her name aside from the car she'd stolen that had led her to meet Neal, the father of her first child and the reason she ended up in prison in the first place. The first few months had been a test, a very trying test she felt she failed over and over again, but despite how hard it was, nothing beat that feeling she had every time she held her daughter in her arms and saw those piercing green eyes and that smile that melted her heart and made it all worth it.

Emma didn't know who Riley's father was, there had been too many men at that point in her life when she'd been living in Tallahassee for the two years before she ended up pregnant with Riley. She didn't know and she didn't want to know either because she had made it on her own for four years with Riley and she didn't need anyone to take care of her daughter, she didn't need anyone but herself.

As soon as she entered their apartment, she hit the light switch just by the door and groaned as nothing happened. Relying just on instinct and memory, she carried her daughter into the only bedroom in the apartment and placed her in her bed since Riley had long since outgrown her crib and it sat in the corner of the room unused for months on an end.

After she'd tucked Riley in and dropped her pink backpack at the foot of the bed, she headed out into the kitchen and opened the refrigerator door. She pulled out the last beer she had in there. It was warm, but it'd do. She walked around the apartment, opening up a few of the windows just a crack to let in some fresh air despite the chill in the air outside, and she sipped her beer as she stepped out onto the tiny balcony.

Things were rough, things were always rough, but it was nothing that she wasn't used to. As she leaned against the metal railing and looked out over the lights of the city that she could see from her balcony, she wished that things could be different. Better. Her wishes never came true. Not ever.

For the first time in a long time, she thought about the baby boy she'd given birth to while handcuffed to the hospital bed, a police officer there at her side while a nurse that had worked a double-shift delivered the baby since the doctor was off on some golf course and unreachable.

She had never held her baby boy, and it was a moment that she regretted when Riley was born and she'd held her for the first time. It was different with Riley, not because she'd been older and in an entirely different place in her life, but because she had allowed herself to hold that baby in the moments after she'd given birth, to hold the baby as she cried and wailed, and she had instantly felt a connection with her, and it was that connection she had felt, that love that was instant, that made her want to try to be the best mother she could be for that little girl.

Even if there were more times, more often than not, where she wasn't sure how she'd get through the day or the next one after that. When there were days where she didn't know where she'd get the money to pay the rent, the bills, to provide not just for herself but for Riley too. One way or another she always figured it out, but it was always a struggle. It was the only kind of life she'd ever known. As an orphan, she was always the only one she could count on, the only one she knew that wouldn't let her down even when she did at the lowest points where she and Riley were living in her car and she was struggling to find any kind of work that would help them keep their heads above water.

Emma exhaled deeply and took a swig of her warm beer. Again she heard the wolf crying out into the night and she shivered. She shivered not because of the chill in the air but because she knew there were no wolves in that part of the city, or anywhere close.

So, why did she hear it for the second time that night?

[X]

Henry dropped the spoon into the nearly empty bowl of Cheerios loudly, the sound startling his mother as he hopped off the stool and grabbed the paper bag lunch that was sitting on the counter for him.

"Come right home after school, Henry," Regina said as she followed him to the front door, her heels clacking against the tiled floor loudly. "Henry, do you—"

"Yeah, I know. I understand. Home right after school."

"You and I are going to have a chat about your attitude tonight at dinner," Regina warned him and he frowned as he stuffed his lunch into his backpack. "Henry—"

"Whatever. Can I go now? I'm going to miss the bus."

Henry ran out of the house and down to the corner where the bus always stopped to pick him and two others up. He knew he'd already missed it and once he was sure his mother wasn't following him and watching him, he headed in the opposite direction of the school and down to the harbor. The playground there, the castle, it had always been one place he could escape, especially from his mother, since she didn't know he liked to go down there when he skipped school.

He had barely climbed up onto the platform before he saw the cruiser come down the dirt road. He frowned deeply when he saw the deputy get out of the car and walk towards him.

"What are you doing here, Henry?"

"Nothing, Deputy Crane," he said as he stood up and walked down the steps. "I'm just going to school now."

"Want a ride?" The blonde asked with a smile. "Come on, I'll give you a ride. You missed the bus, didn't you?"

"How did you know that?"

"I know a lot of things, Henry," she replied. "I always patrol in the morning. I see you and a lot of the other kids get on the bus, or in your case, miss the bus. Are you trying to skip school?"

"No," Henry said quickly. "I just came here to read my book before school."

"What book? Did you mom get you some new comics?"

"No."

Henry looked at the deputy skeptically. There had always been something different about Elizabeth Crane. He remembered her when he was little and she wasn't always the deputy, and that's when it hit him. His eyes went wide as he looked at the woman and he shook his head. Nobody else in town ever changed, but he did and so did she.

"What is it?"

"Nothing," Henry said quickly. "Nothing, Deputy Crane."

"Deputy Crane? You always call me Beth, Henry," she said with a frown. She removed her aviators and shook her head. "Come on, what is it? You know you can tell me anything right? Not just because I'm a police officer," she said before she added. "I'm your friend too, aren't I?"

"I—I guess."

"No, I am, right? How many times have I babysat you?"

"A lot," Henry said. "More times than I can remember."

"So, that makes me your friend too, right?"

"I guess so."

"What? You don't think so?" The deputy asked before she walked up the castle and sat on the ledge, motioning for him to come and sit with her. "Tell me about your book."

"It's just a storybook," he shrugged before he joined her on the ledge. "A storybook of fairytales. It's not cool like comic books or anything."

"Must be cooler than comic books if you're skipping school to read it, huh?"

"Maybe."

Henry looked over at the blonde-haired deputy. There was something else about her, something he couldn't quite put his finger on. She seemed familiar but not because he already knew her and because she was a deputy in town, but because of something else.

"Beth?" Henry asked and she turned to look at him. "Have you ever had any kids?"

"Me?" She laughed in disbelief. "No, Henry, I've never had any kids. You know that. Why do you ask?"

"I don't know," he muttered under his breath and after a minute, he decided he could trust her. "I'm looking for my real mom, Beth."

"Regina is your real mom."

"No, she's not. She's my adopted mom."

"That still makes her your real mom."

"No, someone out there is my real mom and she gave me up," Henry said and he started to feel the hot sting of tears in his eyes. "She gave me up, Beth, but I still want to find her."

"If she gave you up, it was for a reason," Beth said quietly and she slung an arm around his shoulders. "Maybe she did it to give you your best chance?"

"With the Evil Queen?"

Beth laughed. "What?" She asked. "You think Regina is the Evil Queen? What kind of stories have you been reading?"

Henry inhaled deeply. "Well," he paused with a frown. "I don't know if you're ready yet, Beth, or if you ever will be."

"Try me."

"This town and everyone in it is under a curse, the dark curse," he said quietly and he looked around them to make sure that they were still very much alone. "My mom, Regina, she's the Evil Queen from the Enchanted Forest. She cast the curse almost twenty-eight years ago. Snow White and Prince Charming had a baby and she is the Savior. She's supposed to come and save everyone on her twenty-eighth birthday. I need to find her. What if she doesn't know?"

"Wait, back up a second here, Henry," Beth said and she stared long and hard at him. "I thought you were looking for your real mom, not some fictional character that is going to save us all from this so-called dark curse?"

"I am, but can't I look for her too?"

"I guess so, Hen," Beth sighed and she glanced down at the silver watch on her left wrist. "Come on, let's get you to school, okay? Your mom isn't going to be happy if she finds out you're out here playing hooky again."

"Are you going to help me?"

"Help you with what?"

"To find my real mom, Beth."

The deputy sighed as she hopped down from the ledge and helped Henry down onto the sand. "What do you want me to do?"

"Well," Henry said with a cheeky smile. "Do you have a credit card and some money I can borrow from you?"

[X]

Regina paced the marble floor in her office and glanced at the clock on the mantel every couple of steps. She had been immersed in endless paperwork, but when the call from the deputy had come in that she'd picked Henry up at the park and took him to school, a nagging feeling at the back of her head started to bother her.

Henry rarely skipped school and it made her furious that he even dared try to. She instructed the deputy to come to her office immediately after making sure he got to class, and now that it'd been nearly twenty minutes too long of waiting, she was growing furious with Deputy Crane.

"Where have you been?" Regina snapped when the door flung open and the young deputy walked into the room.

"I had a call after I dropped Henry off at school," she replied with a shrug and she walked over to Regina's desk and perched on the edge with her arms crossed over her chest. "He knows, Regina."

"He knows what, Elizabeth?"

"About the curse," she said lowly. "About you."

"What he knows is nothing more than what he has gotten from that book!"

"So, you know about the book?"

"Of course I know about the book," Regina scoffed. "I found it when I was cleaning one night when he was doing his homework with you. He doesn't know that I've found it."

"Did you read it?"

"Of course I did," she said and she sighed as she approached the deputy, her lover, and wished she could seek out the release she always found with her. "What else did he tell you?"

Elizabeth shrugged nonchalantly and reached out for Regina's hands. She allowed the gesture for only a few seconds before she shot the woman a glare of warning.

"He said he is looking for his real mom," she said quietly and Regina started pacing once again, furious that the deputy knew something she didn't. "He wants to borrow my credit card and some money to help find her."

"And? You told him no, didn't you?"

"I told him I'd think about it," Elizabeth shrugged. "Of course I'm not going to give it to him, Regina. He knows about the curse, he knows about you—"

"And there's no telling what else he knows," Regina finished and she groaned in annoyance.

She stared at the blonde-haired woman and scowled. She knew a lot of things, she knew of the curse and who she truly was, but what the woman didn't know was who she was or why she was one of the very few that had escaped from the curse in the same way that Henry had.

The town was filled with secrets, Regina had more than a few of her own, and they were secrets she was not ready to be found out, least of all by her son.

"Lend him the card, Deputy. I'll take care of the rest."