"Look mommy, I colored inside the lines." The five year old mentioned, looking up at the blonde woman sitting beside him. She smiled lovingly, brushing her fingers through his brunette hair, "That's good munchkin, you really are getting to be a big boy." Just as she finished her sentence, she couldn't stop the chorus of coughs that travelled up her throat but she did manage to cover her mouth out of courtesy.
"Will you color with me?" For the past week the young tike has had to listen to his mother get sicker and sicker; she finally agreed to come to see a doctor at the nearest clinic after he cried nonstop for two hours. He knew just how to manipulate her and deep down she knew he was right, plus she was tired of feeling like crap knowing she had a son to take care of. And here she was, yet again in a new city, limited funds, and another complicated situation, "Sure Henry. Here, hand me the red crayon." Henry grabbed the red one, handing it to her while keeping his focus on staying inside the lines.
Without a word she began coloring as well, making sure to stay out of his way. "I've got to get you enrolled in school soon and find a job..." She muttered mindlessly as she colored, hoping she wouldn't have to cough anymore so Henry wouldn't worry. As they waited for her name to be called, he would look up at her every so often to double check that everything was alright. He may have been young but he knew his mother was all he had in this world. Their coloring trance was broken when the nurse stepped out from the back and called out, "Emma Swan to see Dr. Mills."
Emma stood up, quickly helping Henry gather his handful of colors and closing his book, neatly tucking it into his Cookie Monster backpack, "Come on, kid. Let's go make mommy better." She gave him a reassuring grin as she covered his little hand with hers, following the nurse toward a small room. "Have a seat and I'll be right back to check your vitals." Emma nodded, picking Henry up and placing him in the chair beside the door as she hopped up on the examination table. "Now remember Henry," she started off but Henry quickly intervened, "Stay quiet so you and the doctor can talk. Don't speak unless spoken to and always remember manners. I know, mommy."
He really was an intelligent five year old and it made her heart swell with pride to know that out of all the wrong things she's done in her life, her child was one of the right things. When the nurse came back into the room, she smiled at Henry who politely smiled back before locking his gaze with his mother's as her vitals were checked. "Temperature's normal. Blood pressure isn't too high but you do need to watch it. Just relax and the doctor will be in momentarily."
As Emma thanked her, the young woman left the room once more, leaving the door cracked open. The brunette five year old was swinging his legs back and forth as they hung off the chair, his eyes still locked with hers, almost as if he were mentally asking questions but getting the answers from her expression. "Something wrong, kiddo?" Emma could always sense a shift in her son's mood just by the look in his eyes.
"What's stress?" He asked, ignoring her question altogether. A bit taken back, she hadn't expected him to have really been paying attention while the nurse was in the room. She figured he would've travelled off into his imagination instead, but that's what she gets for underestimating him. "It's~" Emma softly sighed, wracking her brain to find words he could understand, "Okay, how do I explain this? Uhm, you know how sometimes mommy gets upset? Not with you but with other stuff." Henry nodded, "Like when you lost your job?" Not quite the example she had in mind but it would do, "Yes, like that. Stress is being upset about certain problems."
"But the nurse said you have to watch it. Why?" He quickly added, ready to add on to his knowledge of the world, "Because the more stressed out a person is, the quicker their blood flows in their body and that can hurt them." That made his eyes widen, a glint of fear popping up in them, "Then no more stress, mommy!" Emma wanted to reassure him that everything would be fine but another series of coughs made its way up her throat and boy, if she thought Henry had fear in his eyes before, she was underestimating how concerned he truly was.
The instant he saw her hunch over a bit, bringing her hand up to cover her mouth, he leaped from the chair and clung to her leg, eyes welling with tears, "Mommy!" She tried to use her other hand to soothingly stroke his hair but her coughs were just too strong for her to focus on anything else and that just scared him even more. Before he could say anything else, the door opened and in walked a brunette woman who Henry turned around to look at with droplets of tears falling from his eyes. He thought she looked to be around his mother's age and judging from the white coat she was wearing, he deduced that she was the doctor that was supposed to make his mommy all better.
So finally he let her leg go and shyly made his way to the doctor, who was definitely a tad confused by what she walked in on but smiled at the pair nonetheless. Locking eyes with the little boy, she noticed that he was crying as she bent down to be eye level with him, "What's wrong sweetheart?" Her voice was calming amongst his mother's sounds of sickness. Henry used his sleeve to wipe his tears, planning to answer her once he was able to compose himself but the raven-haired woman stopped him midway, grabbing a tissue from her pocket and wiping his tears for him instead.
"You shouldn't dirty your clothes that way. Now why don't you explain to me what has you so sad? Hm?"
"My mommy's really sick and I'm scared." He replied softly, peering toward the tile floor beneath them. Looking between the young woman and her son, the doctor gave a reassuring grin when Emma had a look of sheer terror on her face, hoping she wouldn't be judged harshly for her son's outburst. "You don't have to be scared. Now that your mommy's here in my office, we can figure out what's wrong and how to make her better. Can you do me a favor?"
Henry slightly nodded, fear and curiosity written all over soft features. "I'm going to need some help trying to find out what's wrong with your mommy. Do you think you can be my assistant for today?" Instantly relief washed over the five year old and without hesitation he nodded his head fiercely. "Wonderful!" Dr. Mills exclaimed, standing back up and ruffling his hair with one hand. Looking back toward Emma, she watched at the blonde mouthed the words 'thank you', simply replying with a bow of her head.
"So tell me, what shall I call you, young assistant?" Oh boy, if he thought getting to play video games all day was fun, nothing compared to getting to play doctor in an actual doctor's office! "My name's Henry." "It's nice to meet you Dr. Henry. I'm Dr. Mills and it's a pleasure to have you be my assistant today." Emma was completely intrigued by the scene unfolding before emerald eyes, surprised at how the doctor was going to extra lengths just to keep her son from being upset; it made her grateful for the kind people of this world. "What do you need me to do first, Dr. Mills?"
The eagerness to get started was evident on his bright face. Tapping her chin in thought, Dr. Mills paused momentarily before giving a soft "Ah-ha!" And she pulled out a small stepping ladder from one corner of the room, placing it beside the examining table on one side of Emma, "Step up there and we're going to have a look at your mommy's throat, okay?" He didn't need to be told twice, just knowing that he would have a helping hand in his mother getting better was all the encouragement in the world that he needed. Emma, on the other hand, was trying hard not to chuckle at the way Henry's mood had shifted so fast.
He was usually never this excited unless she had suggested they have pizza and ice cream for dinner. Which, by the way, didn't happen that often; no need to make the kid sick too. While Dr. Mills grabbed the necessary tools to get her testing started, Henry kept switching his gaze between his mother and the doctor. Emma gave a compassionate look as she tapped his nose lightly, leaning close to whisper, "You know, I think I have a taste for some ice cream after we leave the doctor's office."
But before he could exclaim just what he thought about that wonderful idea, Dr. Mills returned with a few handy instruments, one of which she handed to Dr. Henry. He examined it for a minute, "Isn't this a popsicle stick?" Both women chuckled, "It looks like one but I assure you that it's used for medical purpose only. Now, we need to have a look at your mom's throat. So Miss Swan, I need you to open wide."
Nodding, Emma complied, "Yeah, I know the drill." She joked before opening her mouth extra wide, her eyes glancing toward her son, who was coming closer with the popsicle stick. "Now put the tongue depressor on her tongue and gently hold it down." She instructed, guiding his hand hand while the other held a small light up so that she could get a better look. "Hmm. I see…" Dr. Mills spoke to herself.
As she continued testing, Dr. Henry was there every step of the way, being as helpful as he could. "All done!" Dr. Mills mentioned as she put her stethoscope back around her neck. "From the looks of it, it's just a bad cold. I'm going to write you a prescription for some strong antibiotics for that as well as your throat because if the coughing doesn't improve soon, you're certainly going to have a sore throat." She spoke as she wrote down something on a note pad, rather too quickly for Henry's liking because he couldn't quite figure out what the scribbling was, and handed it to Emma. "If nothing gets better or anything gets worse, I want you to come right back here and see me, okay?" She looked down at Henry, "Will you make sure of that, Dr. Henry?"
With the utmost certainty he nodded, "Very good. I know you'll be in trustworthy hands then, Miss Swan. Hey Henry, why don't you go right out that door to the Nurse's Station and tell them Dr. Mills said you deserved a special treat for being such a good assistant today. If I remember correctly, they have some yummy animal crackers and coloring books." Although she had him at animal crackers, the mention of a coloring book put some pep in his step as he ran out the door.
Emma took the prescription and placed it in her purse, "Thank you so much for everything, Dr. Mills." "Don't mention it, dear. I have a soft spot for children." Both women just smiled sweetly at one another, "Do you have any?" The brunette shook her head, "I'm afraid I haven't been lucky enough yet. Though I do have a niece and nephew who are adorable in their own right."
Emma slipped her hands into her jacket just as Dr. Mills stuffed her hands into her lab coat, "Well you're great with them. I've never seen Henry take to someone so quickly like he did with you. He's usually reserved and observative before making a move."
Knitting brunette brows, she slightly tilted her head, "Really? I meant to ask, I read on your chart about your blood pressure. Is everything alright, you know, stress wise?" The young blonde exhaled a deep, exhausted breath, "Sort of. We've just moved here and I'm trying to get everything settled. It's just hard when you have to constantly move around. I know it's taking a toll on the kid and he's probably bottling stuff in because he doesn't want to upset me."
Emma caught herself and rubbed the palm of her hand against her face, "I'm sorry, I shouldn't be rambling like this."
A hand came up to rest on Emma' shoulder and it felt like a little of her load had been lifted off her back, "You don't have to apologize. Listen, I would like it if you let me show you around the city sometime. To help you and Henry get better acquainted with your new surroundings."
It was a sweet offer and really helpful but Emma knew her attention needed to be on her finances, "I would love to accept but I need to look for job. We're living on limited funds at the moment and it'll run dry pretty soon."
Dr. Mills gave an understanding nod of her head and for the first time Emma noticed how the light enhanced chocolate-colored eyes, "Listen, I think I may be able to help with that too. At least let me take you both out to lunch once you get better. It's the least I can do." She really wanted to decline again but the way Dr. Mills was looking at her, she just couldn't refuse again, "Alright. You really don't have to be so kind, Dr. Mills."
"Regina. You can call me Regina. And I know I don't have to but I want to. Here's my number and I trust you wrote yours down on the paperwork you filled out earlier, correct?" The blonde picked up Henry's backpack and took the second piece of paper she was handed, "This is my personal cell phone number and you can reach me anytime."
Just when Emma was about to issue another thanks, Henry popped his head back into he room, "I hit the motherload!" He exclaimed, holding up the various coloring books he had coaxed out of the nurses by batting his eyelashes.
Regina and Emma looked at each other before bursting into a fit of giggles, Henry just wore a knowing smirk; everything was going to be just fine here.