The days after Regina carried Henry out of the orphanage stretched unbearably. Time, which usually blurred together in the busy halls of the home, now seemed to drag. Each sunrise reminded Nathan of the same truth: Henry wasn't there anymore and will have to god knows how long before there back.
Nathan had thought he understood loneliness he'd lived it in both lives also with Emma leaving him but this felt different. He'd grown used to Henry's quiet presence, to the way the baby responded to him in those small, almost imperceptible ways. Without him, there was an emptiness Nathan hadn't expected.
Still, he refused to let that emptiness consume him again. He carried on the only way he knew how by helping.
In the mornings, Nathan was up before the staff, helping set the tables for breakfast. He buttered bread with careful hands, stacked bowls, and carried trays of food to little ones still too small to manage on their own.
By midday, he could usually be found sitting cross-legged on the rug, surrounded by toddlers and scattered blocks. His short platinum hair, streaked through with crimson, caught the light from the tall windows, and his golden eyes with faint purple hints seemed to hold the children's attention as much as his patience did.
At night, Nathan lingered in the nursery. The staff watched as they went around doing there rounds, letting him hold and rock the babies who fussed at bedtime. They often marvelled at his maturity.
"You've got a gift, Nathan," Miss Parker told him one evening as she watched a baby fall asleep in his arms. "Most boys your age wouldn't have the patience."
Nathan only smiled faintly. Thinking maybe he did or maybe it was something within him, he wasn't sure if it was a gift, he sometimes thought it was just that he knew how it felt to need comfort and not too have a family
Surprisingly Regina and Henry came back far quicker than Nathan previously thought and this seemed different from the scene from the show. He started thinking did he manage to change some of what was supposed to happen?
Though Regina had taken Henry into her care, Nathan still saw him a handful of times that week. Regina came by twice, each time carrying Henry as she handled paperwork or spoke with the staff. That definitely never happened in the show and started to worry maybe it will different, if his presence has changed this timeline.
Henry had grown a little—his brown hair was soft and wispy, his hazel eyes brighter now, more alert but even so, he cried often when Regina held him. She rocked him, spoke to him in a gentle voice that was so unlike the regal authority she wore around others, yet nothing seemed to work for long, at least that was the same.
Each time, Nathan edged closer. Not out of any grand feeling of destiny, but simply because he cared. And somehow, Henry quieted when Nathan was near. The squirming lessened, the cries softened into hiccups and hazel eyes blinked up at him with something close to recognition.
It made Regina pause.
Her sharp brown eyes would follow the boy with platinum-and-crimson hair and those strange golden irises touched with purple. There was something unearthly about him something she couldn't place. And yet, Henry's calmness in his presence was undeniable.
Though she said nothing, Nathan could feel the weight of her gaze on him. And beneath its intensity, he felt something shift. Her wariness hadn't disappeared but it was thinner now tempered by a reluctant acknowledgment and relief.
That evening as they started to leave the orphanage, Henry's little hand brushed against his, the System stirred faintly:
[Affinity Increase: Henry Mills → Strong Bond]
[Passive Perk Gained: Calming Presence – Your presence naturally soothes infants and young children, reducing stress and fostering trust.]
[Affinity Increase: Regina Mills → Slightly Strengthened]
Nathan's breath caught. Not destiny. Not magic. Just… bonds. Honest, complicated bonds.
By the seventh night, Nathan lay awake in his narrow bed, listening to the quiet breaths of the children around him. He stared at the ceiling, wondering when Regina would bring Henry again or if she wouldn't at all now, it seemed nothing cam be guaranteed.
A week wasn't long, but for a ten-year-old boy who had just begun to feel needed, it stretched like forever. He believed if they don't back by the end of next week he'll have to think of another plan to get too storybrooke.
Still, he believed she would come back even if it was just a small piece of him that did. She had to. And when she did, Nathan would be there. Not because the System told him to, not because fate demanded it or about Henry but because of him changing his fate and keeping an hold on it, no matter what.
(Hopefully you'll enjoy these 3 chapters I've posted ☺️)