I want to thank EvilRegality93 for being there and adding her brilliant touch to this story. If it weren't for her, I probably would never have even considered publishing it. So, thank you, dearest. I am looking forward to any response I get from this and if you feel like reviewing I would be more than appreciative. Beyond that, I don't have much else to say. Read on!
Regina ran an idle hand over her once typical attire. The leather pants, she vaguely noticed, didn't breathe well and had begun to chafe her most delicate crevices. The thick brocade outer coat was beautiful and grotesquely over ornate and stiflingly hot. Her hair was another matter altogether. Spending the last three decades with it barely brushing past her shoulders left her grossly unprepared for the sudden up-do that felt as if it weighed ten pounds. A headache had already set in for the day.
"My my dearie, all dressed up and no one to pester."
"Shut your mouth you exhausting little imp."
"Testy testy. Such a shame. You are finally back where you belong and you don't seem to be enjoying a moment of it."
The former queen flung wisps of smoke towards Rumplestiltskin, not actually anticipating a hit, more as a warning of her waning patience. Henry's face flashed through her mind as the magic welled up. He wouldn't like her simply throwing it around because she was annoyed. He many not remember her but she keenly remembered him. He was that little speck of blinding light she held in her heart. He was what kept her from losing every part of her humanity.
"Leave me, you putrid creature."
Rumple, deciding to be uncharacteristically kind, left the grieving queen to herself with no more biting quips. He had his family and she did not, his shriveled heart went out to her.
"Sydney," Regina blandly called to the nearest looking glass as soon as the crusty gold man was out of sight. A watery blue face appeared in the reflection, ready to receive any command, "Find them for me."
"Your Majesty, you know that finding them in the other world is nearly impossible. I can make no guarantees of my success."
"I'll take my chances genie. You...you just do as you are told."
Sydney used every ounce of magic he had to stretch to the world without. He was relying on Emma's inborn abilities to draw him in to the right place.
Regina caught a blurred glimpse of a hand fading in and out of view stirring eggs. Though the view was smoky, she knew that the arm that was connected to the hand was wearing plaid flannel pajamas and not too far out of sight, blond hair was cascading wildly down the woman's back. Sound was too muffled to be sure, but she thought she could hear Emma's ridiculous classic rock playing in the background. She placed her trembling fingertips to the cold glass and on top of the hand holding the egg covered spatula. A ghost of a smile played on her lips as she recalled giving Henry's other mother memories of cooking healthy foods so their son wouldn't be fed junk all of the time. It started out as a bit of a joke, but now felt more like a thin and desperate connection between the two worlds.
...
"Hurry up, Kid!" Emma was running behind as usual. She hurriedly scrambled eggs and hoped that she had time to fry a few strips of bacon before they had to leave. She stole a glimpse at Henry to see what he was doing. He hadn't been the same recently and, if she were to be honest, neither had she. Over the last several days it felt like she had been forgetting something very important. It was nagging and it made her crazy. She had an insane urge to stop every woman in a power suit with black hair. She had nearly gotten herself in trouble one day by grabbing a woman's arm and insisting that she tell her who she was. Eventually, she had given up and apologized, but the feeling remained.
"Mom? Do I have to go to school today?"
Emma stopped stirring the eggs, "What's wrong? You sick?"
Henry scrunched up his nose trying to put words to the way he felt, "Not really, I don't know. I just don't feel right."
Emma felt for the kid, she knew the feeling exactly. She hadn't been feeling very well either. Women in power suits were awfully abundant in New York. She turned back to her cooking and was startled out of her musings by a strange shine in the chrome lining the hood of the stove. She had to laugh to herself a little; it looked like a pair of eyes was looking back at her. Not her eyes reflecting, but a pair of warm smoky brown ones. Beautiful, but impossible and the thought was dismissed as soon as her heart slowed to normal once again.
Emma looked over her shoulder at her sluggish son. He really hadn't been acting the same, not like he was wanting attention or that he needed a doctor, but there was something not right. It was like they were both missing something but neither knew just what.
...
Regina felt her stomach rise to the top of her throat for the split second Emma's eyes locked on hers. She couldn't decide between fear and elation at having a moment, however brief, with the woman she had trusted with her son. Her insides pulsed with adrenaline and for the first time since the curse had taken them back to the Enchanted Forest, she felt she could breathe. There was hope. If they could be found with her mirror the possibilities were suddenly less bleak.
"Your Majesty, do you require my services at this time? Or, would you prefer to be left alone?"
"Leave me genie, I have things to do and I can't have you hovering."
...
"Snow, honey, you need to get up. There is no use wasting away in bed when we have so much that needs to be done."
"How can you say that? Our daughter and grandson are God knows where in an entirely different world! I want my family..." Snow allowed hot tears to leak down her pale cheeks with no reservations. Her eyes had become clouded over the last months with despair for their displaced family. It was so much worse knowing what you were missing than not remembering it at all. This was supposed to be Regina's price to pay, but somehow, she had cosigned the deal without realizing.
"I know how you were when Cora died, Emma was right. You. Need. To. Get. Up. I'm not saying we should forget about them, but we need to find a way to move forward until we figure out something better. I love you and I refuse to let you rot in bed. Neither Emma nor Henry would have it either."
Snow smiled at David's inspirational speech. He was good at those. She almost gave in too, but the thought of having nothing epic to do kept her firmly planted in her place. Rumple was busy with Belle and Balefire, Regina was nearly keening in anguish the last time they had seen one another and everyone else was busy just trying to get their lives back in order. It was quite the shock at how used to modern conveniences they had all become. Plumbing, or the lack there of, was the biggest complaint.
Regina... Snow couldn't help but dwell on her face as they landed in the forest with a dull thud. She had seen the woman's transformation after Daniel had been murdered; she went from warm and kind to cold and deadly almost instantly. Her face after leaving Emma and Henry behind was that of a more broken creature than had ever existed before and her cries were barely human. Snow knew loss, but Regina was built of loss and regret.
...
Emma walked Henry to the steps of his school, P.S. 118. He smiled like the sweet boy he was and kissed her cheek goodbye. She smiled back at him and squeezed his hand to assure him that things would be alright. Everyone went through hard times, right? It was strange, though, to feel like something was missing when nothing had changed. It was simply a hole right in the middle of her chest and she suspected that Henry's mysterious affliction was much the same.
After Henry was old enough to worry about his mother, she had quit the bail bonds person gig and took up a tamer cashier position at the market just down from his school. She had come home with a long cut on her head from an enraged woman in a grave yard one night and he cried for a whole day that someone was going to kill her. So, instead of forcing the stress on a little boy, she made ends meet by scanning groceries and helping old women use debit cards.
"Hey, Em's!"
Emma looked up to see a woman she worked with trotting towards her with a stupid grin plastered on her greasy, over painted, face.
"What's up Abby?"
"Did you hear?"
"Hear what?" Emma didn't honestly care about any work gossip, but she always played nice with the other women just in case she ever needed a baby sitter for Henry. They may have been brainless women, but they were always kind to the Kid.
"Adam is getting the boot today." Abby nearly drooled out that little tid bit of information like it was a piece of gooey candy.
"Why?" Emma feigned interest.
"He was caught letting some people walk out without paying. He says that he didn't see them, but it was pretty obvious when he waved goodbye on the security tape." Abby's eyes were glistening with pride at being the first to tell the blond about the hubbub.
Emma was actually impressed. She couldn't believe 'innocent' little Adam could do such a bold thing. It was rare that someone surprised her.
"Well, that was dumb, but did anyone ask him why he would do that?"
"Yes, but he won't say a word. I'm sure he has his reasons but letting someone steal won't be ignored. He's definitely getting fired." Abby sashayed away like she had just given Emma the keys to the city.
Emma rolled her eyes and tied the orange canvas apron over her jeans and shirt. She didn't care what Adam did, really. As long as she had her job and Henry, that was what was important.
...
Regina looked at her reflection in the ever present mirror by her side. It had only been months, but she had aged drastically. On closer inspection, she even found timid grey hairs sneaking their way through her raven locks by her temples.
Enough, she thought. Mourning the living was idiotic. She was done. There had to be a way to either get back to them or get them to the Enchanted Forest. She would have her family if it killed her. A fleeting moment of amusement hit her when she vaguely heard the echoes of the Charming's mantra of "I will always find you" in her own declaration, they had started rubbing off apparently.
Comparing herself to the Charmings didn't disgust her as much as it once would have. In a less dire situation, it would have been funny. She wondered what they were doing to find a way to see their daughter again. Perhaps, she mused, they could even collaborate on a plan. Would they trust her enough to include her with the "goodies"? Where did she even stand on the good and evil scale anymore? After Never Land, there wasn't any time to find her new nitch with the people.
Beyond the confused musings of a former evil queen, because she no longer considered herself evil, she wanted, no, needed, to find a way to get to Emma and Henry.
Emma?
Well, she did seem to be a byproduct of the boy, Regina would take her too, they seemed to be a package deal.
"Sydney..."
"My Queen?"
"Can you see them now?"
The Genie strained to gain any vision of Henry or Emma. Once again, he could only find a reflective surface with a hand here and a foot there to show the waiting queen. He knew she would become tired of such insubstantial glimpses after time; but, for now, they must do.
Regina steeled herself for whatever she would see in the glass. Throughout the months, she had seen many blurry visions of mundane tasks or, once, simply a sock clad foot. But even that foot made her want nothing more than to collapse weeping for the rest of eternity, to look but never touch was torture.
The view was finally focused enough for Regina to see that Sydney had zeroed in on Emma again. She wondered if that was because of the Savior's innate magical powers. She was interacting with a line of people in what looked like a grocery store. Her face showed signs of abject boredom at her job and a hint of distraction. Her reactions were just the slightest bit off kilter and Regina wondered if there was something going wrong in their lives. If only she could get a strong enough connection from the other world to be able to hear what was going on.
Regina watched with absolute attention to the other woman's eyes. Any hint of what was wrong could help. She resisted touching the glass to trace Emma's face again. It was cold, flat and hard and she vowed that the next time she reached for either of them it would be for real flesh.
Regina's heart thudded again. She wanted to touch Emma's face. She wanted to hold her thin but soft fingers in her hand again and caress them. She wanted to hold Henry until he couldn't stand it anymore and then for just a moment more. She wanted to run her hand through his hair that always smelled of the sun. Tears threatened again, but she swallowed hard and pushed through the lead weight in her chest.