The look of pure panic on the faces of Snow and her idiot Prince would have filled her with glee once upon a time. Now though, she was a mother and that meant she only had eyes for one person in the overcrowded room.
"Henry," she called out to him before the purple mist of her magic had even disappeared. Her quick pace hadn't faltered as she'd magiced herself from her own bedroom straight to Snow's cramped apartment. She hadn't even bothered to get dressed. She couldn't care less if her supposed enemies saw her in her pyjamas, not when her son needed her.
Henry's head turned towards her voice even in sleep. He'd had a few nightmares since their return from Neverland but nothing like this. Regina spared a quick glance at Emma who looked to be only a few seconds away from tearing all of her hair out. Regina knew the other woman hated feeling powerless almost as much as she herself did. Not being able to help Henry when he needed it was both their ideas of hell. It was one of the few things they had always been able to agree on.
Henry's screams filled the small room once more as Emma tried desperately to hold his flailing arms and legs still.
"Emma, you need to let him go," Regina instructed as she approached the pair on the bed.
"I can't! He'll hurt himself if I let go!" Emma practically screamed at her, tears welling in her eyes.
"Emma, trust me."
After a moment's hesitation, Emma released her hold on their son and jumped backwards to avoid being punched by the still frantic limbs.
Regina hurriedly closed the remaining distance between her and the bed, only narrowly avoiding a particularly hard kick. She lifted the corner of the covers before sliding in next to her little Prince and snuggling in as close to him as she could, completely ignoring the fists that were landing blows all over her upper body.
"Henry, baby, listen to my voice," she instructed in a calm whisper. She placed a kiss to his forehead and began running her fingers through his hair. "You're safe Henry, just wake up for me."
The Charmings watched in amazement as Henry's struggling lessened. He remained deeply asleep and was clearly still in the midst of his nightmare but the panic and fear were slowly draining out of him and his arms and legs calmed until they were merely twitching slightly
"Follow my voice mijo." Regina took hold of one of Henry's hands and gently ran her thumb across his knuckles.
"Mom." Henry whimpered in his sleep. They could all see his eyes darting around under his eyelids as if he was searching for her.
"Mommy's right here, baby. Open your eyes and you'll see me."
With an enormous gasp, Henry's eyes shot open and he bolted upright in his bed. His gaze still frantically skittered around the room until it settled on the familiar brown eyes of his mother. He collapsed into her arms, practically laying on top of her. His fists clung to her pyjama top so tightly his knuckles turned white and streams of tears soaked the silky material.
No one else in the room dared move. They'd been trying for nearly half an hour to wake Henry from his nightmare before finally relenting and calling Regina. All it had taken was a few sentences from the so-called villain to bring Henry back to them.
Henry lifted his head from Regina's chest just enough to whisper something into her ear.
His mother instantly nodded her confirmation of the unheard request. "Of course I'll stay, sweetie. As long as it's okay with your grandparents." Regina looked directly at Snow as she spoke, seeking permission to stay with her son. The guilt for ever trying to keep mother and son apart hit Snow like a physical thing. All she'd done was hurt her grandson.
"Of course you can stay," Charming replied before she got the chance, "we'll leave you to it. He's obviously in capable hands."
Snow gave her former step-mother a sad smile before following her husband from the room, leaving Emma hovering nervously beside the bed.
"Sit down, Emma," Regina ordered, her voice still soft and calm. Henry was tucked into her side with his head now pressed into her stomach. He was already beginning to slip back into a slumber, safe in the knowledge that his mother would be there to wake him the second he needed her.
"He's had these nightmares before hasn't he?" Emma asked in an equally soft voice, not wanting to disturb their exhausted son.
"You already know this is his third since we arrived home." Regina watched as Emma lowered herself smoothly onto the bed and stretched out behind Henry, sandwiching the sleeping boy safely between them both.
"No, I mean when he was younger," Emma corrected, "it was so instinctive what you just did, almost like you've been doing it for years."
"It's common for children with active imaginations to have night terrors. And we both know how powerful Henry's imagination is." Regina smiled to herself as she spoke despite the situation. She could remember every make-believe game they'd played when he was a toddler, every story he'd made up at bedtime, every fantastical creature he'd drawn for her during art class at school. His imagination truly was unlimited. It was so beautiful to behold normally, if only it didn't plague him during these moments.
Emma, oblivious to Regina's reminiscing, continued her questioning. "I don't understand how you got him to wake up. I tried shouting his name, I tried shaking him, hell I even pinched him a couple of times. Nothing worked."
"Emma, if he's going to be living with you then you need to listen very carefully to what I'm about to tell you." Regina paused to make sure she had the full attention of the other woman. "Never, under any circumstance, force him awake. As I said, he has a very active imagination. Any act that can be perceived as even the slightest bit violent or aggressive, be it a raised voice or a sudden movement, will only make it worse. His brain will translate it into another threat within the dream and pull him in even deeper." Regina quickly glanced down at Henry to ensure he was still sleeping peacefully. "He needs to hear and feel love. Even his imagination can't turn that into a threat. It calms him enough that he can wake himself. He just needs something positive to show him the way."
Emma had never seen this side of Regina before. Sure, she'd seen the fiercely protective mother bear in Neverland but that had been fuelled by desperation and anger. This was something else. This was pure love, the maternal bond that ran so deep Henry could be comforted by it even in his sleep. "I'm so sorry, Regina."
Regina shook her head. "Don't be silly, you didn't know. Although if you ever pinch our son again, you'll have me to answer to." There was the mother bear Emma knew so well.
"I'm not apologising for tonight. I'm apologising for the last two years." Emma looked straight into Regina's eyes as she spoke, no matter how much her shame made her want to look away. "I'm sorry I ever doubted you loved him. I'm sorry I took him away from you."
Regina was speechless for a few long minutes. She'd never expected an apology like that to come from Emma, despite how well they'd been working together recently. When they'd arrived back from Neverland she'd honestly expected to have Henry snatched away from her again, to not be allowed to see him now he was safely back with his real family. What use did any of them have for her now the danger has passed? Yet even though he was still living with Emma and her parents, Regina had been granted practically unlimited access. It was far from perfect but it was still more than she'd let herself hope for. And now to get an apology as well? Honestly she was tempted to ask Emma to pinch her, maybe she was the one dreaming.
"I'm not going to tell you it was okay," she finally managed to organise her thoughts enough to respond, "because it definitely wasn't. I know I've done terrible things but I love him more than anything and you took him away from me. He is legally my son and you took him anyway." She unconsciously tightened her grip on Henry and he hummed contentedly in his sleep. "So no, I won't say it was okay but I will say that I understand. I'm sure from everyone else's point of view you were saving him from the clutches of evil. I can hardly condemn you for wanting to save him, I would do the same thing in a heartbeat."
"I know you would." Emma confirmed honestly. "He really is the best thing either of us have ever done isn't he?"
"Absolutely." Regina reached across Henrys chest to take hold of Emma's hand. "Thank you for giving him to me. I know it was unintentional but thank you."
Emma gave the soft hand in her own a gentle squeeze. "Thank you for giving him everything I never could have. Thank you for loving him."
Regina gifted her that particular smile that was normally only reserved for Henry and Emma grinned straight back. "I want to do this parenting thing together, Regina. If you're willing. I want him to be our son."
"Our son," the brunette agreed with a nod. Silence descended over the room and before long the small family of three were all peacefully asleep on the same bed.