Secret Santa

The first gift showed up after Thanksgiving. Regina Mills had suffered through another family weekend at her half-sister's McMansion, sitting there with a smile on her face while competing yet again for her mother's affection.

Regina never won.

Despite giving her up so as not to be hindered by being a young single mother, Cora Mills doted on Zelena from the moment she had reentered her life. Regina believed it was because Zelena had achieved everything Cora had wanted first for herself and then for Regina. Zelena was the COO of a global investment firm, married to the scion of a powerful Maine family and had an adorable little girl who was already fluent in French and on her way to being a mathematical prodigy...at least according to Zelena.

(Her husband, Hades, was a very down-to-earth guy who had more realistic expectations for his daughter and a clearer understanding of her abilities. Regina didn't mind talking to him, even with his annoying tendency to whisper and pause between words).

To other parents, having a daughter who was the District Attorney and the heir apparent to the mayor's office would make them proud. Cora Mills, though, only cared that Storybrooke was a small hamlet in the middle of nowhere, Maine and so Regina stood no chance of ever being president. (Not that she wanted to be. She was happy where she was). And to Cora, she should just focus on being more powerful than she was now and that only power and money would make her happy. Not the friends Regina had made in Storybrooke, not the man who had loved her until he was tragically taken from her nor the son who made her so proud.

Regina did her best to keep her darling Henry out of such ugly competition, refusing to talk about him to Cora or Zelena. It forced his grandmother and aunt to talk to him, so it almost seemed like they had an interest in him when all they wanted were more reasons to criticize Regina. Because they didn't care that Henry's teacher had submitted one of his short stories to be published in an anthology, that he was teaching himself Japanese, or his latest accomplishment in scouts. All they focused on were his poor math grades this year.

Poppy thankfully wanted to have a tea party with her cousin so Regina ushered her son out of the room, away from his critical relatives. "He's only averaging a C plus? He could be doing so much better," Cora said.

"We're working on it," Regina replied, tersely. "He's going for tutoring after school and we're doing extra math work at home."

Cora still shook her head. "I don't think you really understand how serious this is, Regina. How will he get into a good business school if he can't do math?"

"I don't think Henry wants to go to business school." Regina frowned.

Her mother sighed. "What about law school? Medical school?"

"I think Henry wants to be a writer," she replied. "But he's ten. He has time to figure that all out, Mother."

Cora frowned. "That's his problem. He has no focus because you're not making him have one. Henry has so much potential and you're letting him waste it."

"It sounds like Henry's exploring his potential just fine," Hades chimed in. "He's ten and already a published author. Kudos to him."

"The arts are not a proper career," Cora snapped at him and he retreated again. Regina lost her only ally in the name of family peace.

It continued like that for the next couple days so that when she got back to her office on Monday, she felt like she needed to sleep for a week while everyone else looked refreshed.