"Ok, Mrs. Mills, I need you to push…"

"On three," Henry Mills instructed as he held his wife's hand. "1…2…3! Push!"

Cora gathered her strength and pushed until she couldn't push any more.

"That's great. Your baby is making their entrance into the world, backwards and face down, but don't worry…Can you push again?" The doctor had a concerned expression on his face and Henry saw it. The doctor tilted his head towards Cora as if to imply that she needed to continue to push. Henry simply nodded his head.

"Ok, darling, one more time, alright?"

Cora shot him a mean stare, but ultimately muttered, "Ok, this hurts!"

"You're doing wonderful. You ready?" Upon receiving an agreement nod from his wife, Henry looked to the doctor and nodded.

"Ok," the doctor excitedly said. "Mrs. Mills, push now!"

Cora pushed with all her might. In a few agonizing seconds her daughter arrived. She was crying, which was a good sign.

"She's here, Cora," Henry beamed, "Regina is here!"

While this interaction was taking place between husband and wife, the doctor turned Regina over and was momentarily surprised. He placed a latex gloved hand on her upper lip of her mouth. He thought it was a speck or something else that was there. Unfortunately he was incorrect.

"Doctor, may we see our daughter?" Henry stepped up next to the man.

"Oh yes, of course," the doctor said and handed baby Regina wrapped in a blanket over to her parents. Cora outstretched her arms to receive her daughter. Once Regina was nestled in her mother's embrace, both mother and father looked at their newborn daughter.

"What is that small line," Henry inquired as he pointed to the spot on Regina's upper lip that was clearly visible.

"Honestly I'm not sure. In my opinion, it's too big to be a freckle or birthmark."

"What is it, Doctor," Cora quietly demanded to know with a concerned look on her face.

"I believe it's a scar," the doctor determined.

"A scar," Cora asked and looked mortified. "How did it get there? Did the ultrasound device cause this? Will it go away as she grows up?"

"Ma'am, I'm not entirely sure."

Seeing the distraught expression on his wife's face, Henry pulled the doctor to the side and said, "Tell me, doctor, will the scar go away? Will it get, uh, bigger?"

"As I told your wife, I'm not sure," the doctor confessed sadly. "I've never seen this presented before. The best thing to do is just go home, when you're released, and just love your daughter."

Henry nodded his head and returned to his new family.

Two years later…

"It hasn't gone away," Cora said nervously to her husband. "In fact, it's gotten bigger. The pediatrician can't explain it. When I asked if there's medicine like a cream or something, he replied, 'No.'"

Henry was sad, but it's a scar. "It doesn't matter."

Cora yelled, "It definitely DOES matter, Henry!" she shook her head in disgust at the idea of her daughter's scar.

"Cora?" Henry was shocked. "What do you mean?"

"I'm finding it difficult to look at her. I think we should talk to a plastic surgeon."

Henry was appalled. "I can't believe you," he yelled at his wife. "I won't go to the appointment."

"You do what you need to do, but I am taking her," Cora vehemently answered. She immediately picked up the phone and called information, which supplied her with a number. She wrote it down and then called. "Hello, I'd like to make an appointment for as soon as possible…Today? 1pm? Perfect. Name…Regina Mills. Thank you," Cora said and then hung up the phone.

A few hours later, Cora wrapped her daughter up and put her in her car seat. She lowered the cover of the seat so that Regina's face would be hidden. She wordlessly left the house in a car that she had called her to pick her them up.

In twenty minutes she arrived at the doctor's office and checked in. She made the mistake of putting the car seat on the counter so she could use both hands to fill out the necessary paperwork.

"Oh, an infant. How old?"

"Two years old," Cora said coldly.

"May I?" The nurse went to lift the cover of the carrier. As soon as she did, she was startled. "Oh," she said remorsefully.

"That's why we're here," Cora meanly said. She grabbed Regina's seat and walked away to take a seat in the waiting area.

A few minutes later, they were called into an exam room. Cora placed Regina on the examining table and raised the top of the carrier, but didn't pick her up.

Then the door opened and he doctor and nurse walked in. "Hello, I'm Dr. Whale. Are you Regina?" He looked at Cora who shook her head and meekly pointed to the car seat. The doctor looked at Cora strangely and Cora's intense stare frightened him. He then walked over to Regina and leaned over to look at her. "May I?"

Cora hummed in response so Dr. Whale lifted Regina from the seat. He held her within his arms and she smiled at him. He then touched the scar and immediately smiled to calm Regina. She didn't mind because she thought he was playing with her, which is something she wasn't used to. The doctor then asked the nurse for a small scraper to detach a small piece of the scar to be tested. The whole ordeal was easier than he thought as Regina didn't squirm or cry.

"Good girl," Dr. Whale cooed.

"Well, doctor," Cora impatiently said, which startled him.

He gently placed Regina back into her seat and turned to face her mother.

"Mrs. Mills, Regina has a Hypertrophic scar. They form because of some trauma. It is possible that she received this as she entered the world…" he nervously looked down at the wooden floor.

"Are you implying this is my fault?" Cora's temper flared.

"No ma'am. Just telling you how your daughter got this scar. It's just one of those things."

"Will it go away? On its own? With medication?"

"No."

"Will it continue to grow?"

"Yes it will. As Regina grows up the scar will most likely grow with her. The coloration possibly will change. The scar, I believe, will grow from above her lip to her left eye. It will keep growing up to that vein in her forehead and travel down the other side of her face."

"Are there any type of surgical procedures that can be performed?"

"Yes. However because of where the scar is projected to grow, you risk possible blindness in one or both of her eyes and possibly even death because of the vein. I'm sorry. You can get a second or however many other opinions, but they will tell you pretty much what I have told you today. I'm sorry."

Cora quickly picked Regina's car seat up from the table and stormed out of there in a hurry. She ran to her awaiting car, fastened Regina in and got in herself. Then she cried. She sobbed, in fact. She was scaring Regina who began to cry right along with her mother. The driver was silent as he sensed that Mrs. Mills needed to release her emotions.

Cora reached into the backseat and roughly rubbed Regina's thigh. "Sshh," Cora said to her daughter. In a few minutes both of them stopped crying. The driver felt certain that it was time to drive them to their home.

Once there, they entered the house and Cora bellowed, "Henry!"

He sprinted out of his study with a concerned expression on his face. Cora thrust Regina's car seat at him and then ran off to their bedroom. She slammed and locked the door. She ran straight to the liquor cabinet where she drank away her sorrows with as much alcohol as they owned.

After every bottle was emptied and thrown to the side, Cora drunkenly passed out on their bed.

Five years later…

Regina was seven years old and she was so much more advanced than her peers. She knew something wasn't right with her, but the few friends she made didn't say anything.

One spring day, she walked into her father's office and sat down in a chair. She waited patiently for him to look up from a magazine.

"Yes, Regina?"

"Daddy, am I different?" Regina looked at her father with an expression of concern on her face. Her father noticed this and came over to the other chair and sat down.

"Well…"

"Please tell me the truth?"

"Yes, you are different," he began, "but not in the way that you think…"

"What do you mean?" Regina was intrigued by the answer she received.

"You're more loving, kind, compassionate, kind hearted, loyal than anyone I've ever known," her father said with a huge smile.

"Ok, I know I look different from my friends. Is that why Mother hardly wants anything to do with me?"

"Oh, sweetheart," her father said as he wrapped his only daughter into a tight hug. "Your Mother is going through something. It's taking her a long time I know. She may never fully come to terms with it."

"What is it?"

"That you don't look like everyone else," her father said truthfully.

"Is that, uh, my fault?"

"Regina, listen to me, okay?"

She nodded her head and stared intensely at her father.

"This is not your fault. It's no one's fault. It's just how it was supposed to be. Right now, your mother doesn't realize this. This is not your fault. She's being selfish and she's losing out on know how amazing you are. As you grow up please don't be mad at her because of this, ok?"

Regina didn't really know what he meant by that so she just shook her head in confirmation. "Thanks Dad," she said and hugged him tightly.

Regina passed her Mother on the way back to her room. Silently she walked up to her and wrapped her arms around her mother's waist and squeezed. Cora put her hand on her back and awkwardly patted it. Regina released her and continued on her way to her room.

Her father saw their interaction. When Regina was in her room, he implored, "I wish you would try harder to get to know her, Cora. You're teaching her that a person's appearance is more important then their heart, mind and soul." He crossed his arms and tapped his foot as he waited for a response from his wife.

The only response he received was a huff and a shrug of Cora's shoulders.

This made Henry very upset. He turned to grab his coat and keys. "I need to go out. I'll be back later." He looked straight ahead as he exited the house.

Later that day, the doorbell rang and Cora walked to open it. Standing in front of her stood two police officers. They solemnly took off their hats as they explained that there was a car accident and that her husband's car hit another vehicle. They informed Cora that Henry had been thrown from their vehicle.

"Did he make it?" Cora already felt like she knew the answer, but she needed confirmation.

"No, ma'am," the police officer solemnly replied. Cora screamed and the noise was heard throughout the house.

Regina was in her room playing with her toys when she heard the scream. She bolted to the staircase and saw the officers attempting to console her mother. She timidly tip toed down the stairs and looked harder at the scene in front of her. When the officers noticed Regina's presence, they were startled, but immediately looked sad for their reaction.

"Mother, what's happening?"

"Your father has died," she said stoically.

"What?" Regina was shocked and she immediately began to sob hysterically. "Daddy's gone?"

"Yes, I'm sorry," one officer replied. He attempted to comfort Regina, but she dodged from the interaction and ran away from the scene.

"Should I go after her?"

"No, leave her be. What do I need to do?"

"Well, ma'am…we need you to identify the body…"

"Okay," Cora said and exited the house.

"Shouldn't you tell your daughter?"

"No, I don't want to subject her to that." Cora lied to the officers. She just didn't want Regina there to make people look at her and her face.

"Ok," the police officers escorted Cora to the backseat of the car.

From inside Regina's room, she saw the car back out of the driveway and drive off. She saw her mother in the backseat and from seeing that, Regina's life was forever changed.

It was the first time that she could recall that she hated her mother for what she did. Everything else prior to her father's passing, she somehow forgave. This, however, was unforgivable.

A few days later they buried Henry. It was the most difficult thing that Regina would ever have to experience, but she did. She did it pretty much without her mother by her side. She went through that experience to honor her father. To Regina, he was the one person who didn't see her as flawed. He just saw her…his daughter. Regina cried herself to sleep almost every night for a very long time.

Seven years later…

Regina was looking forward to her freshman year of high school. Against Cora better judgment she allowed her daughter to continue her education outside of the house even though she had always thought that she should have been home schooled due to her "situation". Henry had convinced her to allow their daughter the opportunity to discover the world and attempt to make friends.

So Regina nervously entered the halls of Storybrooke High School with her friend, Zelena, by her side.

"You okay, Regina?" Zelena noticed her friend's anxiousness.

"Yes, I'm fine," answered Regina as they walked into the building. As soon as they did, the large hallway became quietly. Too quiet.

Then one husky boy yelled, "Oh, look it's Scarface Mills!"

Regina ducked her head down, but continued to her assigned locker and immediately fiddled with the lock. She opened it and threw her coat and small purse into the locker and slammed it shut. She took a deep breath and then continued to her first class as she walked with her head held high.

Of course people gawked, stared, murmured and pointed at her, but she tried her hardest not to allow their meanness to affect her. She finally found her classroom without Zelena who had a different class schedule as Regina. As soon as she found the first empty seat, she plopped down into it and rubbed her temples. When she finished that she put up a solid, invisible wall of protection around her. Her mother taught her how to protect herself and her feelings. Cora just didn't know.

Regina was looking out the window when a girl with long blonde hair entered the room and found an empty seat. It just happened to be next to Regina's. When she did turn her head, Emma smiled at her. Regina pretended to not see her staring at her.

Emma turned head to the other side and motioned to her friend, Ruby, to ask, "Who is that?"

"Regina Mills," Ruby scoffed and chuckled.

"Oh." Emma was surprised by Ruby's reaction, but didn't give it much thought. Soon the teacher entered the room and got the students' attention.

When the bell rang to signal that class was over Regina sped out of the room quickly. Emma was sad because she wanted to talk to Regina.

"I wouldn't if I were you," Ruby said as they walked out of the room.

"Why not?"

"Regina's different."

"She's beautiful…"

"Yeah, ok," said Ruby sarcastically and then walked away.

Later that evening, in Regina's bedroom she lookedd at her reflection in her mirror. The scar had grown significantly since Dr. Whale had initially warned her mother that it would. And Dr. Whale was also correct in the direction of the scar. It had grown to just over her left eyebrow. It had a darker red tint to it.

Regina took a deep steadying breath as she looked at her reflection.

"I really am ugly!" Regina berated her. She scratched at the scar with her sharpest nail, but nothing happened. Just like the times before nothing happened. She turned quickly around and bolted to her bed where she collapsed onto it and sobbed.

On the other side of town, Emma lay in her bed unable to go to sleep. She kept thinking about that dark haired beauty.

"Regina," Emma said out loud. "I need to get her attention. Oh, I know…write her a note tomorrow."

Emma smiled at the idea and this allowed her to fall asleep.

Before she knew it, Emma's annoying alarm clock rang and she jumped out of bed. She showered, got dressed into her tight black jeans and white sleeveless shirt. She'd complete the outfit with a red leather jacket downstairs.

When she entered the kitchen, she was greeted by her parents, Mary Margaret and David.

"Good morning," Emma said with a smile as her mother poured some cereal and milk into a bowl. She devoured it just as the front door opened and closed.

"Are you ever going to ring the doorbell first," David criticized with a smile.

"And where would the fun be in that, Mr. Swan," Ruby replied to egg him on.

He chuckled.

Pretty soon, the two girls were off to school. When they arrived, Emma quickly put her bag away, but kept her notebooks and a few text books. She hurried to her first class. Emma sat down and pulled out her notebook and simply wrote, "Hi!"