[center][img=http://i33.photobucket.com/albums/d94/Malfoys_one_and_only_girl/240x160StorybrookeRegina.gif?t=1407788618][img=http://i33.photobucket.com/albums/d94/Malfoys_one_and_only_girl/Signatures/240x160Henry.gif?t=1407732235][/center]

Henry left the hospital not long after Dr. Stevenson and he had spoken, returning to his room to prepare himself for the dinner date tonight: showering, fresh shave, a more formal herringbone coat, along with picking up a couple things from the convenience store. Time seemed to rush by until it was nearly 6:30. 

He parked outside the mayor's house with less than 5 minutes to spare, doing a quick hair-check before stepping up onto the front porch. 
[i]'You can do this, Chesh, it's just dinner with the Evil Queen....and maybe some other stuff. Bloody hell.'[/i] He thought to himself before knocking sharply on the door, hands falling to his pockets as he awaited his host. 

There was a pause that seemed to go on for ages, but Regina finally answered the door with a warm, bright smile.

"Henry." She welcomed. "Good, I've just taken the lasagna out of the oven." Her dress apparel hadn't changed too much from when they had spoken with one another at the school, except now she had lost the suit jacket, showing off the brilliant dark blue silk shirt she wore underneath that buttoned up in the front, the top three buttons of course undone. She had done away with the scarf as well, having been at home able to cover up the bruising on her neck with makeup.

She opened the door wider for Henry to walk in past her, and then shut the door behind him.

"Why, thank you." He responded in a gentlemanly manner as she opened the door, stepping through the threshold and taking in the sight. The house was nothing short of marvelous, the walls colored a crisp white and the floors a shiny hardwood. Little in the way of paintings were in the house, but somehow - it worked. The furniture was of exquisite craftsmanship, exuding an air of both regality and modernity. 

"I must say, Madam Mayor...your house is nothing short of marvelous!" Henry exclaimed, thoroughly and sincerely impressed, taking off his glasses to get a better look at the furnishings.

"Why thank you!"

Regina led Henry from the main hall to the dining hall where most of the food she had prepared throughout the day was laid out, the only thing missing was the main dish of lasagna that she had promised. She issued a chair for him to sit in, then said,

"I'll just pop into the kitchen and get the lasagna." She informed him quickly, and walked through the open threshold that took her there. Once out of sight, Regina pulled her phone from her tight slacks and opened up her recent text messages. Regina wasn't much of a texter, but she only had one word to send out. Scrolling through them, she found Robert Leland's name and opened up the thread, typing 'GO' and sent it out quickly. He would know what she meant.

Using oven mitts, Regina grabbed the lasagna and brought it back to the dining hall and placed it in the center of the table, allowing herself to sit across from Henry and crossed her legs.

"So you think you'll stay then, in Storybrooke?" She asked, picking up her glass of wine that she had already filled before Henry had arrived. "At least...for a while...?"

"Sure, I don't see why not." He responded with his (practically) signature grin. "That is, unless you have a problem with it?" He asked simply, no hostility whatsoever in his tone - just genuine curiosity. 

"Nothing keeping you from wanting to go back?" Regina inquired, blatantly ignoring his second statement. "No family, friends?" She quirked an eyebrow and lowered her voice in pitch. "A lover?"

"Nope, 'fraid not. My family's been gone for awhile...I lost my sister in a...house fire. I'm the only one left-" Regina quickly shot him an apologetic look. "-no lovers or girlfriends to speak of," his eyes met hers. "Yet." He finished, a slight twinkle in his eyes. 

"Well, that's a shame." Regina stood at the table and began to fill Henry's plate with the food she had provided, handing the plate to him with a generous amount of food and then helped herself with a portion less than half of what she gave him. "But no..." Regina said sitting down again. "...I don't have a problem with you staying, so long as you behave."

If someone would have told Regina three hours ago that she would be condoning the stranger that would surely be the one to break the curse into [i]staying[/i] in Storybrooke, she would have never believed them. However, now, the way she saw it, getting Henry to be closer to her rather than Mr. Gold could only prove to be beneficial towards her. [i]SHE[/i] would not be the one to drive Henry out, something or someone else would.

Henry nodded in thanks as she handed the plate to him, grinning from ear to ear (when did he stop?) while she spoke. "Oh, don't worry, you'll expect no trouble from me. It'll be as though I've been here my whole life." He promised sincerely, taking a small bite of the lasagna. 

"This is absolutely delicious!" He commended with an approving nod. "I've never tasted anything quite like it." He added. 

"Well, I'm not the greatest cook, but I do manage. Lasagna seems to be what I'm best at, if of course you don't count my apple pie." Regina replied modestly.

"Apple pie. I remember that being a treat when I was younger. My family wasn't the...wealthiest, so it was the little things that counted most." He said in a solemn voice, but seemed to perk up again as if nothing had happened. 

"There's an apple tree just in my backyard, I've been tending to it ever since I was a little girl, so apples aren't exactly scarce around here." She breathed out a sort of small laugh, and returned to drinking her wine.

The evening went on as such until they had both had their fill of food and conversation. Regina had made a mention that she had an apple pie in the freezer, and it was decided that she was to put it into the oven just so Henry could see how delicious it really was. While they waited, they retreated into the living room which was as large and elaborate as any other part of her house, though this room had a lush, white carpet spreading across the floor, a roaring fireplace in the center of the wall across from them and a quiet theme of horses.

Regina filled Henry's cup of wine before setting the bottle back down in the ice bucket on the coffee table in front of them and leaned back into the corner of the couch, kicking off her black heels so that she could comfortably bring them up and underneath her.

"...I can still remember the look on my father's face when I had cleared the course while riding bareback. He was so happy I swear I saw tears." Regina finished her story, since the topic of the horses in the room piqued Henry's interest, and she had told him of her experience riding horses often as a little girl.

"You know..." Regina said after a small pause. "...that could very well be what drew me to you, Henry." She went on. "My father's name was Henry also...the most noble, honest man I had ever met..."

Henry smiled as Regina told her story, taking random sips of his wine as she spoke before switching onto the subject of her father; who shared Henry's name. 

"He sounds like a good man." He replied warmly, letting out a soft exhale.

"He was." Regina replied almost curtly, letting the implication that her father was no longer alive hang in the air like a bitter cold.

"I'm terribly sorry for your loss." Henry said, empathetically; easily reading the signs that Regina's father was no longer alive. "I'm sure he's very proud of you." He reassured gently, removing his glasses again as if to add emphasis to his statement. 

Regina was unable to hold back a scoff, her mind now going to what her father would say about all of this...would he be proud? She remembered his last words to her before she ripped his heart out, that whatever it was that made her happy, then he would be happy also. But again, that was [i]before[/i] she ripped his heart out for her own selfish reasons for wanting this curse. But that wasn't likely a story she'd be willing to share with the man sitting a few feet away from her, so she settled on simply answering with,

"I hope so."

Henry offered a warm, genuine smile in return; being about all he could do with so sensitive a topic. "My father was never around much. Wasn't his fault, just couldn't afford to pay the bills. Constantly worked two to three jobs at a time, never saw us much. He was a provider...but never a father - hopefully he found rest." Henry finished, taking another swig of wine. 

Regina looked from her half-empty wine glass to Henry, meeting his eyes. So...Henry came from poverty. She wanted to sneer on impulse, but held back when a gut-wrenching realization hit her; Daniel had been from poverty too. She was to marry him, to have a fulfilling life as the stable-boy's wife. She never wanted this...power. The money, the fame...she could have done without it all, all for Daniel. She had [i]wanted[/i] a simple life.
Without realizing is, her thumb and forefinger fidgeted with the simple, twisted ring around her index finger on her right hand, but the moment she realized it, she quickly cleared her throat and set the glass of wine down on the table in front of them. Apparently, wine made her think too much.

"Well...enough of that." She said quickly, her eyes glancing even quicker up to the analogue clock on her wall, wondering if Robert had enough time to go through Henry's room yet or not. She'd rather not give him too much credit, and decided to stall Henry here a little longer. That shouldn't be a problem. An almost wicked smile crossed her lips as she looked back to Henry as she reached out with her hand and set it gently on his knee. 

"You're still in the interview process you know..."

"Oh am I?" He asked in mock confusion, that same hungry look coming into his eyes. "I think I did pretty good on the last question." He commented with a sultry smile. 

A thoughtful expression pursed at Regina's lips, threatening to make her smile.

"Yes, but, the question was only [i]halfly[/i] answered, Mr. Carlyle." She reminded him in a professional manner, now deciding to let her lips split into a stunningly beautiful white smile.

"Half answered, eh? Well, how do I answer the other half?' He asked, cupping his chin with a single hand, shifting slightly in his seat.
Keeping her smile, Regina removed her hand from his knee and sat up a little straighter, placing both her hands into her lap.

"You act like you've never had an interview before Henry, you can't ask for tips from the boss." She chastised him with a wicked grin.

"Yes, quite right, I had nearly forgotten!" He replied, not-so-subtly licking his lips. "Now then...let's get started on that second half." He said in an almost mischievous manner. 

He began to lean in towards her, setting his own glass of wine on the table to free his hands. "Tell me if this is right." He asked before planting a longing kiss on her neck. 

Regina couldn't help but to move instinctively, raising her chin up towards the ceiling and let her eyes flutter closed, only letting out a soft "hmmm..." in response.

Henry took this as an obvious sign to keep going, kissing around the more sensitive parts of her neck, a single hand draping down on her hip. The covered bruising on Regina's neck made itself aware to Regina a few times while Henry kissed her neck, but the dull pain acted as a sort of stimuli, and Regina wrapped her own arms around Henry, holding her hands on the backsides of his shoulders.

Henry cocked his head in very close to her ear. "Let's see what you can do, Madam Mayor." He said before abruptly planting his lips against hers, picking up where they had left off in the classroom just a few hours ago.