Author's Note: This is a writing project I got going on with CallmeM. It's AU OUAT I do most of the writing, but she fills in if she feels something is missing here and there. As I said this is AU so it is more or less what would happen if it all took place in our world and Fairytale land didn't exist.

Disclaimer: I don't own OUAT and I don't make any money form it

The land with no magic

The Call

Regina Mills was looking at her son, lying there in the hospital bed, his eyes were closed, his face was so very pale and he looked so fragile. Her little eight year old by strapped through machines that would view his heart rate and everything else. She had been inside his room an hour ago as he had woken from a nightmare, but as he had fallen asleep she had went out to get a cup of coffee. Now she was watching over him from outside, now wanting to leave him for a second. After all he was all she got.

The middle-aged woman turned when she heard voice of a man and a woman coming towards her. They were arguing, this time about how he parked the car. Regina sighed she was used to this by now, ever since she had gotten to know them, which was about a week earlier she heard them argue about one thing or another. Right now she find it very tiresome. Actually she found the whole situation tiresome.

Walking over to them to interfere before they came closer and woke her son, she said, "Could you do this someplace else, he needs his rest."

Emma shot Neal a glare and he became quiet, before she turned to the older woman. Her eyes was dark as black diamonds, Emma took it it was her anger that made them that way. She swallowed hard and said, "We're sorry, so how is he today?"

"He's sleeping at the moment, other than that not much change," said Regina, eyeing the young blonde, she took her to be in her mid-twenties or so. She actually never required for her age while calling the adoption agency where she got her son. She most likely wouldn't have called them to begin with had it not been for the fact that he was ill and she needed his relatives for a possible match when it came to a bone marrow transplant.

"At least he's resting, and how are you?" asked Emma, still not taking her eyes of Regina. The woman that had raised their son for all these years. The woman who he most likely would see as his mother, the woman who without a doubt was just that. She would never forget their first conversation together.

It had been a late night about a week earlier, that Emma and Neal had had a fight over the fact that he was late for dinner again. It had happened for the second time this week and he hadn't call to say he would be late either. Turning out the car he was working on was taking longer than planned. He was a car mechanic, ironic considering they met while she was trying to steal a car sometime back. She still used it, they both did.

Emma had told him to heat his damn dinner and eat for himself, she didn't want his company at this point. He had sighed and went into their small kitchen to reheat the dinner while she sat down in front of the TV. Just then the phone had started to ring, and Emma had picked it up saying, "Emma Swan."

"Miss Swan, I am Regina Mills, I was wondering if I could borrow a minute of your time," she heard a woman's voice in the other end.

"Listen lady, if you are trying to sell me something I'm not interested," Emma had said, assuming that the other woman was.

"I can assure you that is not why I'm calling," said the other woman. Emma would have assumed by saying that she would have sounded annoyed, instead she sensed a slight frustration.

"I'm listening," Emma said, figuring she could at least be polite.

"A little over eight years ago you put a son up for adoption, he became my son and now he is fighting for his life. He is in need of a bone marrow donor, I was hoping you could help," Regina said, plain and simple.

Emma almost dropped the phone for a second, could this be. Her little boy was actually that sick, it had to be or this woman, whomever she might be wouldn't have called. She had often wondered what became of him, but this… Neal looked at her, she seemed shocked and confused. He put his dinner aside and walked over to her asking, "Babe, are you okay?"

"Not now, Neal," she said, holding up her hand, as she addressed the woman, saying, "Sorry, I just wasn't expecting this."

"I can imagine, neither was I, but as you could imagine I had no other choice, but to call," said Regina.

"I know, of course we'll help, just tell me where to find you," said Emma, her voice had the sound of defeat.

"There is a town called Storybrook in Maine, you'll find me, us at the hospital, just ask for Mayor Mills," said the other woman, with that he had hung up.

Emma had been in shock, utter shock that night, as had Neal when she told him. They had looked up the town online, Emma had found the name weird, but that was her last concerns. Finding the drive wasn't that long from where they were hey had decided to go at once. By the time they had gotten there is had been late night, Emma had asked for the Mayor once they had found he information desk and gotten pointed in direction of where she and her son was. She looked inside the window to see a dark-haired woman resting her head upon her hands on the bed of a young boy. She was dressed in a black skirt with matching blazer after what Emma could see, her heels was matching her black outfit.

Then Emma's eyes fell on the boy in the bed, he was pale, frail and sleeping. Her guess was that his mother would do everything to have him survive what he was fighting. She most likely never left his side unless she had to. Unlike herself and Neal that had given him away, when they served time in jail. He was even born in jail.

Emma sighed, turning to Neal saying, "We were right in giving him away, seems that she had given him what we couldn't."

"So we should give him what she can't marrow so he'll survive," said Neal with a sigh, holding her.

"We at least have to try, should we wake her?" Emma asked, for some reason worried the older woman hardly got any sleep.

He nodded and Emma gently opened the door and put a hand on her shoulder. Regina stirred, before turning to face to face the couple. She could at once tell who they were by their appearance and slowly got up. Motioning for them to go outside to talk, most likely because he needed rest.

It was one week later that Emma was again looking at a very tired Regina. As back then she assumed that she hadn't slept much after Henry got ill. Emma turned to Neal, whispering something, making him go inside Henry's room. Regina looked after him with worried eyes, but Emma dared to put a hand on her arm and said, "Don't worry, he won't harm him. How are you doing, Madam Mayor?"

"Why do you ask?" Regina said, with a frown, being on the defense.

"It's our son in there," said Emma in a soft tone.

"Our son, our son! That there is my son, I raised him, I changed his dipears, I feed him, I tended to him when he was ill, I held him whenever he had a bad dream, while you two… I don't really care. But he is mine," she hissed at Emma.

"Easy, I didn't mean to offend you, but I did give birth to him," said Emma cautiously.

"Giving birth to him doesn't make you his mother, especially since you tossed him out like he was garbage," Regina said, her eyes was shining with fury.

"I did what I felt was best, I was in jail at the time of his birth," Emma snapped.

Regina rolled her dark eyes, turning away, not caring to share the thoughts about it. Emma sighed saying, "Like you haven't done a mistake in your past?"

"I may have, but I would never give away a son if I could have one," said Regina with a very heavy sigh.

"Oh," Emma spoke, daring to put an arm on her shoulder, making her turn. Regina didn't speak, but the other woman could tell she was almost in tears, struggling to hold them back. Very carefully she wrapped her arms around her, holding her. The brunette's head leaning against her shoulder as she let her façade fall and started to cry. This was too much, this was all too much.

"Please don't take him from me, he is all I… we have," Regina whispered.

"We won't, I promise you that, we are here to help," Emma promised.

"Good, I couldn't live if we lost him, he is my everything," Regina said, falling apart. Emma tried to sooth her, but she knew now words would do, startling she heard Daniel's voice say, "Regina, sweetheart…?"

Thank you so much for reading, feedback is always most welcome :o) Happy New Year to you all :o)