22"Upon further review of your case, we find that the original evidence presented did not warrant a conviction. As such, this court overturns your conviction. Congratulations, Mr. Gonzalez, you are a free man."
Regina let out a huge sigh of relief as the hearing room erupted in applause. Turning to shake the hand of the man next to her, she was instead enveloped in a bear crushing hug. "Thank you, Ms. Miller," gasped the muscle-bound man through teary eyes. "Words cannot describe how much this means to me. I am forever in your debt."
"Mr. Gonzalez, the best way to repay your debt is to go home to your family," responded Regina, gently patting the large man on the back. "Make up for all the years that have been wrongfully taken away from you."
The man nodded in tearful gratitude and ran to greet his waiting wife and sons, leaving Regina to pack up her documents. 'Another happy ending,' thought Regina, suppressing the twinge of jealousy that always came with each victory.
...
"You can pretend all you want, but we know how you are, and who you will always be," Emma gloated. Regina's heart stopped- she wanted to protest, but after using her magic, the dimwits would certainly not be receptive to hearing her side of the story. Unable to find a response to Emma's declaration, Regina chose to retreat to her father's crypt.
Once alone, Regina frantically considered all her options. Confronting Gold was out of the question- it was hard enough getting the slippery imp to agree to a deal, let alone getting him to confess to murder. It wouldn't accomplish anything to try and talk to Henry now: her son was in school at the moment, and the Charmings would surely catch wind from his classmates of her attempts.
As the minutes went by, Regina was increasingly overcome by a creeping feeling of helplessness- the Charmings had successfully maneuvered her into a situation with no good options. 'I suppose that's just another instance of my past coming back to bite me,' she rued. She truly did want to redeem herself in the eyes of her son, but every sudden movement was met with alarm and suspicion by everybody.
Regina checked her watch. Henry would be getting off the bus any minute now! Maybe, just maybe, she could intercept Henry before Miss Swan did. She could tell Henry her side of the story- how she was innocent, how she was trying to change..
Nope. The insufferable blonde was waiting at the bus stop. Regina could only watch helplessly as Miss Swan embraced her son, watch helplessly as the hope her son had in her visibly died before her eyes. Regina could make out the words, "come on, I'll buy you an ice cream," as the pair headed off towards the direction of the diner. Determined to catch Henry alone, Regina followed them...
...
"Gina!" greeted her assistant, a spunky law student named Linda. Regina flinched in surprise as the girl skipped down the aisle until she stood next to the brunette. "She shoots, she scores! How's my favorite miracle worker feeling after winning the longest case of her career?"
Regina shrugged. "It's just one battle in a long war, Linda. There are so many wrongfully accused still rotting away in our prisons, being separated from their-"
"Come on, Gina!" interrupted the Linda. "Let's toss away that famous Gina Miller pessimism for just one night. We're all going for drinks tonight and we really want you to come with."
"Sorry, I can't. I have... errands I need to run."
Linda sighed. Getting her boss to interact with the people volunteering for her was like pulling teeth; the imposing woman seemed reluctant to form emotional bonds with anybody. Linda could guess bits and pieces of why; on the rare occasions that she would join in for drinks, a drunken Regina would confess about how her son had renounced her very existence. Coupled with the Miller Foundation's goal of freeing people wrongly accused of crime, she had a good guess of why such a renouncement had happened.
"Okay then... see you tomorrow Gina."
On her way out, Regina was swamped by journalists looking for a statement. She obliged. "It is a terrible thing to be accused of a crime you did not commit," she started, "to be accused of a crime by those who bear you no good will and would see you fail. Mr. Gonzalez was such a man."
She continued for five more minutes, detailing the case from start to finish, holding the reporters at rapt attention. At the end, she was sure that she had gotten the Miller Foundation on the map, and walked away pleased.
Outside the courthose, someone bumped her roughly in the shoulder. Turning to shoot a glare at the offender, Regina was greeted by a veritable giant who sported an ugly scar on the right side of his face. The man opened his mouth, but instead of an apology, he said, "Pretty ladies shouldn't try to get too over their heads." Before Regina had time to process the threat, the thug had lumbered towards a well dressed man who Regina quickly recognized as Ricky Alvarez. Regina had suspected that the Alvarez crime family had framed Mr. Gonzalez; although she couldn't prove the framing, pursuing that angle had yielded evidence that proved Mr. Gonzalez innocent.
Regina debated whether to take the threat seriously; in the end, she decided against it. She wasn't scared; she had faced far worse than the Alvarez family before.
…
Regina arrived at her loft a little after seven. Kicking off her heels, she padded towards the kitchen to grab a bottle of spiked cider. Pouring a glass to the rim, she moved towards her home office, where a pile of letters awaited her.
Dear Ms. Miller,
You probably get this a lot, but I've been wrongfully convicted of...
To Whom It May Concern,
I'm innocent. I've been framed by...
To: Miller Foundation,
I'm writing to you because I've been...
Regina sighed. She had read through a few dozen letters, and there were still a few dozen more; dozens of cases to pass onto her volunteers, who would fact check and review each one. But with only finite resources and manpower, there was simply no way to give each case the attention it needed. Some would sit in their cells, hoping for salvation that wouldn't be able to come from her.
Sipping from her nearly empty glass, Regina wistfully remembered her own case, one where she didn't have a defender on her side.
…
Regina waited half an hour for her chance; she got it when Henry trotted off to the bathroom, leaving Emma at their table. She teleported to the bathroom, appearing in a puff of purple smoke behind her son as he was washing his hands. Henry turned around in shock, and before he could shout, Regina waved her hand to silence him. He glared at her silently, waiting to see what she would do.
"Henry, Miss Swan's been lying to you," she started. The look Henry gave her indicated that he clearly didn't believe her.
"I didn't kill Archie," Regina continued, undoing her silencing spell. "I don't know what Miss Swan's done to make everyone believe her, but she's wrong. I did not kill Archie."
"Then why is it so hard to believe you?" asked Henry. "Mom said you attacked her outside your house. You just used magic here. Every time you say you've changed, you go and do something that shows you haven't!"
"I had no choice, Henry! They used magic to try and trap me first! And how else was I going to talk to you? We both know Miss Swan wouldn't let me see you. You have to believe me, Henry. I had no choice."
"And there's a reason why! You try to solve every problem with magic. You keep saying that you had no choice. There is always a choice."
'How I wish that were true,' thought Regina wistfully. "Henry, you know I'm not the person I was. I showed it at the well! If you would please talk to Miss-"
"Her name is Emma. And no, I will not talk to my mom for you. Not while I don't believe in your ability to change. So what happens now? Are you going to lock me up so you can keep me to yourself?"
Regina shook her head sadly. "Henry, I'm your mother. I swear I will never try to do that to you again."
Henry shrugged, heading out the door. The last thing Regina heard before the door slammed was, "You're not my mom."
...
Every time she won a case, this would happen. This time it seemed worse. On her walk home, a red leather jacket would frequently appear in her periphery; but every time she looked, there was no insufferable blonde there. Her mind seemed to love taunting her with memories of her greatest failure.
Regina decided that it would be impossible for her to do any more work. After showering and slipping on a nightgown, she plopped down onto her bed, snuggling under the heavy blankets. She reached for the recorder and flicked it on, resuming her nightly ritual.
"I don't believe in your ability to change. You're not my mom." Flick.
"I don't believe in your ability to change. You're not my mom." Flick.
"I don't believe in your ability to change. You're not my mom." Flick.
She repeated the task until she started to doze off. She had prepared the recording as her last act before leaving Storybrooke for good. It had taken months of repeating it every night before it started not resulting in tears. Now, one year after that, her heart was hardened just enough that the thought of her son didn't send her into instant despair.
Two things happened simultaneously. There was a loud knocking on her door, and her phone rang. Regina grabbed her phone off the nightstand as she climbed out of bed, plodding towards the door. Checking the caller ID, she saw that it was Linda calling.
"Why are you calling me this late?" Regina mumbled as she crossed into the living room.
"Late? It's only eleven- that's not the point, Gina! I just overheard at the bar! Ricky Alvarez said that he was going to deal with their 'Miller' problem! It's not safe for you. You need to get to a-"
Regina's brain hadn't caught up when she reached the front door and opened it. Her phone dropped to the ground and smashed.
"Hello, Gina."