Chapter Text
Regina believed in promptness. She may have been overly prompt at arriving at the orphanage, all her paperwork sorted and notarized in her briefcase. She’d kept everything in triplicate. The social worker had insisted on pick up at this shabby atrocity of an orphanage instead of the hospital. Something about her office space. Frankly, she didn’t care so long as she got the baby she so desperately wanted. However, she was…two hours early, and the very rude nun had told her to wait. Her burning desire for what she wanted was the only thing making her bite her tongue from eviscerating the old hag.
The wooden chair in the bare, poorly lit hallways, on which she was perched, was uncomfortable. The varnish scrubbed down a few hundred too many times to appear clean, even if it likely was. All in all, it was a fairly wretched if not uninhabitable place. The anxiety and excitement left her oddly…bored and on edge.
Out of the corner of her eye, she saw movement. Regina glanced down the area before one of the large windows. Curled up on the window seat, a book in her lap was a little girl. The girl’s tongue was poking out to one side as she carefully wrote in what looked like a workbook of some kind. There was a crinkle in her brow. It was hard to tell how old she was, the oversized clothing that hung off of her was unhelpful in gauging age.
Regina’s attention returned to the clock. If she wasn’t in a land without magic, she’d have set it on fire. Who did these people think they were making her wait? Still, she restrained her instinct to go demand they aid her, now. It was not long, but she felt the eyes of the child on her. It was…Regina turned, raising a brow as she looked at the girl. “Were you planning on making a request or did you intend to stare all day, dear?”
The girl hesitated, but then lowered her book. “Are you any good at numbers?”
“I am.” Regina realized as the hood of the atrocious sweatshirt the girl was wearing fell back that it looked like she hadn’t brushed her hair in days, and the attempt at a braid was really quite tragic. Who was raising the children here?
The girl didn’t unfold, but she leaned forward a bit. “It’s just Sister Mary Anne is bad at it and I need ta get this done…”
Atrocious manners, but the child was well, a child. Regina stood up. “Well, if Sister Mary Anne is incapable.”
The girl’s lips twitched upwards at her tone, as she shifted to make room for her.
Regina took the offered seat and looked down at the workbook. It was simple long division. She could see the issue as she took in the failed attempts of figuring out the problems. “Well, I can see why you’re having difficulties. Did no one tell you to start at the front and work from there?”
The girl blinked. “What?”
“Pencil.” Regina held out her hand.
Regina watched approvingly as the girl breezed through her work at a quick clip. Capable child, even if her math teacher was apparently a troglodyte. “I assume you have a name?”
The girl looked up at her with brown, grateful eyes and a shy smile. “I’m Skye. Thanks for the help, lady.”
“You may call me Regina, I suppose.” She could hear the other children running and screaming outside. Some game no doubt.
Skye’s smile grew. “You here for one of the babies?” There was a slight lisp to her words from a few missing teeth.
And Regina couldn’t help smiling at the girl. “I am, how did you know?”
“You’re pretty.” There was a slight nod to her head. “An your dress is really nice, an’ ya haven’t been here before, so you’re not one of the foster parents.”
“Very well reasoned, you are correct. I’m adopting a baby in a little over an hour.” Regina felt the flutter of hope. She was going to have a child, someone to love and be loved by.
Skye glowed slightly at the praise. “That’s cool.”
“Indeed, it is very…’cool’.” Regina always had liked the more intelligent individuals, and there was no harm in this. “Is there a reason you are in here and not out there with the other children?”
Skye curled in on herself slightly, eyes flicking away from her face. “No.”
She raised a brow. Reaching out she used one knuckle to gently lift the girl’s head. “I do not appreciate being lied to, young lady.”
Skye tensed in a horribly familiar way that Regina knew she’d done a hundred times for her own mother.
Regina dropped her hand, feeling like she’d been burned. She was unsure of what to say to the girl sitting curled beside her. But Skye’s eyes didn’t turn away from her face. Instead, the child bit at her lower lip before she replied.
“I got sent back…again. They think I’m cursed, and they won’t get picked if they’re around me. Sister Mary Anne just says I’m a bad seed.” And under the hurt, there was a kernel of anger.
Regina stared at the girl. “Well, they’re inbred fools then. There’s no magic in this world.”
Skye giggled. “You’re not supposed to call people names.”
“I’m just shaking in my shoes at the thought of what Sister Mary Anne might say.” She said dryly, but she enjoyed the quiet humor of the moment.
Skye’s grin was blinding.
Regina’s eyes tracked to the girl’s hair. It really was bothering her. “Never let them see that they can hurt you.”
“I know. That’s why I’m here.” Skye replied like it was obvious.
Regina wasn’t entirely sure what the pang in her chest at those words was. “I can’t make the fools grow brains they were not born with, but I can fix your hair? It's atrocious, dear.”
The girl’s cheeks pinked, but she didn’t seem afraid. Instead, she just looked at her with a measuring gaze. A gaze that really shouldn’t be on the face of a child this young. “Ok.” And then she shifted, turning her back to her.
It shouldn’t have warmed her heart how it did, but Regina found herself smiling as she pulled a small travel brush out of her purse. With careful and practiced motions, she gently took out the braid in Skye’s hair. It was clear the girl had done it herself. Which struck her as sad. Getting the tangles out was simple work.
Skye spoke up, her voice a quiet mumble. “Thanks.”
“It is no trouble.” And it wasn’t. “I suppose you have a favorite class in school?”
There was a slight pause. “I like math. It makes sense sometimes. I’m gonna be behind again though.”
“Why is that? You certainly understand the material well?” Regina carefully removed a knot at the back of the girl’s head.
Skye’s voice was more a mumble than anything else. “I have ta change schools every time they send me back.”
“That hardly seems fair.” Regina wasn’t entirely sure what else to say to that.
Skye shrugged. “Just how it is.” The girl’s shoulders had softened the longer she brushed. “Your baby’s lucky.”
“Yes, well, so am I.” Regina was touched by the simple assurance she’d be good at it. “And any family to have you will be very lucky.”
It took a minute for Skye to reply. “You think so?”
“I do.” Regina began to part the girl’s hair into sections, her fingers easily twisting it into a far nicer braid than she’d originally intended. She let her voice take on a purposely imperious tone. “So, what are children interested in these days?”
Skye giggled at that, relaxing.
Regina had never played Connect4 in her life. But she also had taken her first two losses with as much dignity as was expected. This is to say she’d been ruthlessly seeking her revenge in attempting to not let Skye win a single other round. A thing that had simply lit a spark in Skye’s eyes. Their current score was 20-4 in Regina’s favor. Which seemed to fill the little girl with glee.
“Ms Mills?” A voice called from down the hall.
She looked over, the nerves suddenly back. “Ah, finally.” Regina looked at the little girl’s face who’d kept her company. “Thank you for the rousing game, dear.”
Skye’s smile faded at the eyes, but then like a flicker it was gone. “Thanks!”
Regina smiled fondly and then stood, lifting her briefcase as she walked towards the social work. “Mrs. Shaw I believe then?”
“Yes, lovely to meet you in person finally, Ms. Mills.” She held out her hand.
She shook the woman’s hand firmly. “I take it everything is in order?”
“Yes, come on in.” Mrs. Shaw looked over Regina’s shoulder to where Skye was carefully putting the game away. “And Ms. Poots, you should be outside!”
Skye startled, a guilty look flashed across her face. “Sorry, Mrs. Shaw.”
“Go on out and play, you won’t make friends if you hide inside.” She made a shooing motion.
Skye took the cue and hurried off, workbook and a cardboard box of Connect4 in her arms.
“Sorry about her, Mary Sue’s a bit of a troublemaker.” Mrs. Shaw shook her head. “Now, please.”
Regina’s eyes flicked back to where the little girl had disappeared.
//// Nine Years Later ////
Skye Mills smoothly parked her car in front of her house. She barely waited to yank her keys out of the ignition before she was up and out. Slamming the car door shut, she jogged up the steps. She grinned as the door was already opening before she got to it.
“Skye! You should have called!” Regina had an apron on over one of her many business suits as she opened the door. “Your hair!”
She just laughed and hugged her mom, the tension from her first semester at college fading at the familiar warmth and smell of home. “Missed you too, Mom.”
Regina’s hug was as tight as always, like she never wished to let go. “I thought you promised to call? What if the roads had been bad?”
“I was fine.” She rolled her eyes but squeezed her mom harder anyway. “You taught me to drive, remember.”
Regina pressed a kiss to her forehead as she pulled back. Her fingers caught a lock of her hair. “Highlights?”
“You like?” Skye asked as she let herself be herded into her home.
“Proper grammar, if you would, please.” Her mom patted her cheek. “And they are lovely, dear.”
Skye leaned into the contact. “So, if I got some purple ones put in?”
“Why don’t you go get your brother? Dinner is almost ready anyway. You can tell us all about your classes.” Regina said, which meant she’d find a way to ground her, college or no college, if she put ‘tackey streaks in’.
Skye laughed and shot off up the stairs. The family pictures on the walls as she went were familiar, not much had changed in the month and a half she’d been gone. But well, the point of a school in-state was so she could come for the occasional three-day weekend. So that things didn’t change without her there. Not that anything ever changed in Storybrooke.
She slid on socked feet the last two feet into the doorway of Henry’s room. “Sup!”
His head snapped up from where he’d been reading a weirdly huge book. “SKYE!” Henry scrambled off the bed and dived for her.
As she hugged him, she sighed. It was good to be home, she really didn’t care if it made her lame.
“You’ve been gone forever!” Henry pulled away, pout on his face.
She messed his hair up. “We talk like twice a week.”
“It’s not the same.” He grabbed her hand and yanked her over to the bookshelf. “I kept all the new issues separate for you.”
“Thanks, but you’re going to have to show me after dinner, mom says it’s ready.” Skye laughed.
Henry looked at her, something…hesitant on his face. “Ok, I guess.”
Her head tilted to the side. “Did mom ground you or something?”
“No, just…” He shook his head. “It's nothing.”
Skye raised a brow but didn’t comment, she’d torture it out of him later. For now, she’d been eating cafeteria food for almost two months, and that was pestos she was smelling. “Come on, dinner, food, mom interrogating me.”
“I’m not supposed to mention you have a boyfriend?” He had a sly grin on his face.
Her hands fell on his shoulders as she pushed him out of the room. “Breathe a word and I’ll kill you.”
“The new Transformers movie.” His stupid grin grew.
Skye groaned. “Really?”
“What did your roommate say last skype call, ‘oh Skye, Mark still in there’?” Cheeky little shit.
“Fine, but if you tell mom, I’ll never sneak you into a PG-13 movie again.” Skye caved, Mom would lose her shit if she knew she was dating. It wasn't serious, she wasn’t bringing anyone home for the holidays.
Henry’s normal, happy mood was properly back in the fullest. “Deal.”
“Come on, before Mom really does kill us.”
Skye watched her mom performing her nightly ritual before her armoire of removing her makeup and jewelry. “I was thinking of going down to the stables in the morning?” It was nice, she’d missed this.
“That sounds lovely, I have some paperwork I need to drop off at the office, but I could meet you and Henry there? We could get some pumpkins on the way home.”
She smiled. “Sounds nice. So, Henry has Ms. Blanchard next year, you have a war plan for parent-teacher conferences yet?”
“I have no idea what you are speaking of,” Regina replied with all the prim assuredness that meant she definitely had a war plan. The smug curl of her lips confirmed it doubly.
Skye hummed. “Sure, you totally haven’t been planning for a rematch since I had her.”
“A war requires an opponent that requires some effort to vanquish dear.” Regina shot her an amused look as she finished her evening ritual. “I assure you, I require no such effort to ruin Ms. Blanchard’s day if I feel so inclined.”
She’d get Henry to report back to her. Still, it was a year off. “She does squeak when you look at her too long.”
“Weak constitution.” Her mom’s feud with Ms. Blanchard was hilarious, she wasn’t sure what the cause was, but Skye’d long learned to accept it as a fact of life. Like the sun rising.
Skye slid to her feet. “Night, Mom.”
“Good night, dear.” Regina wasn’t the most effusive of parents. Her terms of endearment often sounded more routine than sincere if you didn’t know better. But Skye did know better. “I better not find you hunched over that laptop of yours when I confiscate your brother’s flashlight and comics later.”
She gave a two-fingered salute. “Aye, aye. Sleep, no ruining my eyesight.”
“You’ll need reading glasses before you're thirty if you keep up your screen habits,” Regina warned.
Skye just laughed as she left her mom’s room.
“I mean it!” Regina called after her, tone exasperated.
It was a well-worn argument, and Skye was kinda immune, though she did try to at least leave one light on when she was on her laptop to help with eye strain. So maybe she wasn’t immune at all? She wasn’t sure. But she wasn’t taking psych 101, so not something she was worried about. She’d had enough shrinks during the two years she’d had to talk to Dr. Hopper, thanks very much.
Skye leaned against the doorjamb of Henry’s room. “Mom’s doing a sweep in half an hour, hide the flashlight.”
Henry’s head popped up from under the covers. “Thanks.” He paused, chewing on his lip. “You’re good at finding stuff…online right?”
“Yeah…?” Skye frowned slightly.
He shifted. “Can you keep a secret?”
“Obviously.” But Skye got the hint and shut the door before dropping down onto the foot of his bed. “What’s up?”
Henry was clearly chewing over his words, his cheeks puffing slightly. “It’s just…do you ever wonder about your real parents?”
“You mean birth parents?” She blew out a long breath. “Yeah.”
His voice was low. “Did you ever try and find yours?”
“I did.” Skye shook her head. “Couldn’t find them.” She did have a lead about an organization called SHIELD. But she wasn’t going to mention her very illegal hacking into government agencies to her baby brother. Also, she was being careful. Mom would kill her if she got arrested.
Henry leaned forward. “Do you think you could try and find mine?”
“Yeah, I could dig around a bit.” Skye hesitated. “You know mom’s still our ‘real’ mom right?”
He pulled back but nodded. “Yeah.”
“Ok, I’ll take a look.” She winced. “You might not like what I find, though. People don’t…give up their kids cause it’s all sunshine and roses and shit.”
“I know that. And you’re not supposed to swear in front of me.” He rolled his eyes.
She shrugged. “Eh, just say Ms. Blanchard said it if you slip in front of mom.”
He sniggered, his giggle light and happy. “Why does she hate Ms. Blanchard so much?”
“No idea.” Skye reached out and flicked his nose. It was good to be home.