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INDIANA JONES
vi. IF ONLY

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PRESENT DAY
STORYBROOKE

PANIC. IT'S ONE OF the worst things in the whole world. It's the feeling of not knowing what's going to happen next. It's the feeling of worrying about someone's safety. It's the stress that comes with being a parent or a Nanny. Most parents typically worry about their child's safety after they've fallen down from riding a bike or after they've tricked them into thinking something's wrong when it's really all just a prank. The second incident mentioned had happened plenty of times to Anna James. Perhaps that was why she was so skeptical of Henry's sudden disappearance.

The girl stood alongside Sheriff Graham, who had appeared at the Mayor's home in a flash after searching all over the town. Regina and Anna couldn't stop arguing. Regina was furious at Anna for falling asleep whereas Anna was irritated because she was just a stress out college student. On top of that, Anna was pissed because Regina was awake when Henry disappeared. What was she doing that distracted her from hearing Henry leave the house? If only Anna knew that it wasn't what Regina was doing. It was who.

Relief. It's one of the best feelings in the whole world. It's the feeling of knowing that everything's okay. It's the feeling that rests in between stress and happiness. Relief, much like ignorance, was bliss. It was the feeling Anna got when she spotted Henry Mills standing alongside an unfamiliar woman with curly blonde hair.

"Oh, Gosh! Henry!" Anna shouted, pushing past Regina to run at the boy. "Oh, you're okay! Where have you been? I've been worried sick! We've been worried sick!"

Henry smiled, despite the fact that the girl with weak-looking arms was squishing his whole body. Anna was a lot stronger than he thought. "I'm sorry," Henry mumbled.

The woman with curly blonde hair stared at her in confusion. "Hey, kid... isn't she a little young to be your mom...? Or the Evil Queen...?" the woman questioned, her eyebrows furrowed together.

Anna released her loving embrace on Henry just in time for Regina to rush forward and hug him. "Oh, I'm not Henry's mother. I'm his Nanny," Anna corrected politely with a smile etched onto her tired face. "You know, like the Nanny named—Never mind. I'm Anna. It's nice to meet you, uh..."

Sticking her hand out, the woman introduced herself. "Emma. Emma Swan. Henry mentioned you, just as a sister, not a Nanny," she mentioned. "I'm his birthmother."

Her eyes widened to the size of dinner plates. "Y-You're Hen's birthmother?" Anna asked in shock. "O-Oh, okay. Wow. I'm meeting Henry's birthmother in fuzzy socks and sweatpants. Okay. Right. Wow. I'm sorry we had to meet like this. Wow. Okay."

As Anna nervously rambled to herself, Regina's head poked upward. "...You're Henry's birthmother?"

Instead of strangely feeling content and safe with Anna, Emma suddenly felt uncomfortable and nervous. She flashed Regina an awkward smile and meekly responded with, "...Hi."

An awkward pause seemed fall onto all of them as Henry sprinted into the house. Once Sheriff Graham offered to go check on Henry, the trio was left in silence once again. It really started to sink in that Henry Mills' birthmother was standing right in front of Anna and Regina.

Regina started up conversation again with a flashy smile. "Thank you for bringing him home," Regina gratefully told the blonde. Emma merely nodded, as Regina's smile became one of the most welcoming smiles imaginable. "How would you like a glass of the best apple cider you've ever tasted?"

"Got anything stronger?"

Anna cracked a slight smile at the little comment. Together, the three of them made their way into the home. As Regina went to retrieve her world famous apple cider, Anna and Emma sat together in Regina's tastefully designed study. Anna stared at her tired reflection in the Kelly Wearstler-like mirror on the wall.

Emma wasn't quite sure what it was, but she felt safe with Anna being in the same room as her. A feeling of security and warmth was all Emma felt when she was with Anna, which was strange considering she just met the boy she gave up 10 years ago.

Soon enough, Emma was downing a glass of Bourbon while Regina sat opposite of her and Anna in a chair. "So... you adopted Henry..." Emma finally said after swallowing a little bit more.

Regina nodded in response. "Yes. He's been with me since he was three weeks old. Anna's been his Nanny for as long as I could remember," Regina explained. Emma looked over to Anna in confusion.

"So Anna's not your daughter...? Wait a second, how old are you? You're like 15, right? Where are your parents if you're the Nanny?" Emma wondered, firing off question after question.

Although Anna had been in plenty of job interviews for part time jobs, getting asked several questions at once was always frightening to the girl. Regina knew this, which was why she took the liberty of answering the questions.

"Well, Anna is 16, and she's a child genius, as you would call it," Regina informatively said. "I've known her father for years. He needed to go out of town for a new job and Anna needed to stay here for college, so he reached out to me and we struck an agreement and... well, here we are."

Regina Mills' fear meter was off the charts. It was an adoptive mother's nightmare to meet their child's biological mother for the first time. Regina wasn't sure what  Emma wanted with Henry. She was what Regina decided to call a wild card.

"Right. How did he find me?" Emma wondered.

Regina shrugged. "No idea. The records were sealed when I adopted him. I was told the birthmother didn't want to be found," Regina explained, reciting what she was told the day she adopted Henry. "Is... Is that still true?"

It was then when Anna realized why Regina was acting so strange. She had assumed it was because she was emotionally exhausted. It was really because Regina was afraid. She was afraid that Emma wanted to take Henry away.

Emma nodded and said a little statement to confirm that this was still true. Believing her, Regina let out a small exhale of relief. "I'm really sorry he dragged you out of your life," Anna mentioned. "He's a really great kid. I... never thought he would do something like this."

"I'm sure he is," Emma said, giving a small smile to Anna.

"You have to understand. Things have been tough lately... ever since I became Mayor," Regina began, feeling rather emotional. "I try to balance everything but... I guess it's not going as well as I'd hoped. I just—I just want him to be happy. But you see the way he looks at me... And lately, he's become withdrawn. He's been acting out, even to Anna, which has never happened before. So I sent him to see a therapist."

Everything clicked in Emma's head. "Guy named Archie with a Dalmation? Henry thinks he's Jiminy Cricket?" Emma queried. Dr. Archie Hopper was known as Henry's therapist. Anna hardly knew him. She just knew that he was a good guy and wanted the best for Henry.

The question made sense to Anna, considering she'd heard plenty about this kind of thing from Henry. However, it made no sense to Regina. "Excuse me?" Regina asked.

"He says his therapist is a cartoon character. From his book," Emma continued.

"...What book?"

Emma fell quiet, thoughts running through her mind. She looked to Anna, who shook her head. Anna pressed her lips together when she felt Regina's eyes on her. See, Henry never actually mentioned the storybook to Regina and Anna never thought it was necessary to tell her about it.

"You know what, it's none of my business," Emma decided. "He's your kid and I've caused enough trouble. I think I should be heading back."

Regina gave her a warm smile. "Of course. No trouble at all." Once Emma left the home, Regina turned to Anna with a hard look in her eye. "So... what's this about a storybook, I hear?"

Anna sighed. "Look, Regina, I didn't deem it necessary to tell you since you've been so busy. Really," Anna explained tiredly and truthfully. "If I knew Henry was planning to run away because of it, I would've told you sooner. Honest."

Sighing and rubbing her temples, Regina said, "Alright. I believe you. Get some sleep, Anna. Goodnight."

"Goodnight, Regina."

The girl climbed up the stairs and flung herself onto her bed. As she shut her eyes, all Anna could think about were the two green eyes that stared back at her in her dream.

'It's probably nothing,' Anna thought as she fell asleep.

If only she knew that things were about to get a little interesting in Storybrooke.

If only.