Prompt :) Season 1 Regal Believer angsty fluff. Henry has a flu and he has to stay at home. He wakes up with a fever, but doesn't want to admit it. Regina figures it out and stays at home with him. Henry wants Emma at first, but as he's burning up, the only one he needs is his Mom, the one who soothed every pain of his since he was a baby.
Big thanks to Anastasia (spiral-nebula) for checking this for me (and for sending me the prompt anonymously in the first place)!
Season 1 Regal Believer feels ahead.
Regina peeks into Henry's room. Last night he came home sniffing and with a rough voice, thick from a cold. He was picky at dinner, didn't eat much and claimed he wanted to do his homework, so Regina let him go upstairs. She knows better than try to push herself back into his life right now. Ever since he ran away to find his "real mom" (the words still pain her), he put a distance between them.
The room is a huge mess, everything scattered on the floor, school books, pencils, clothes, comic books. This isn't like Henry, he's usually very neat and tidy for a ten-year-old (she surprisingly doesn't mind the mess though). The desk lamp is still switched on but she finds her little boy curled up on the bed, fast asleep. He hasn't bothered to change into his pajamas or draw up the blanket around him. How poorly did he feel?
She tries to pull out his blanket from under his body without disturbing his much needed sleep. He only stirs a little but stays asleep. She draws the blanket up to his shoulders and presses a light kiss to his brow. "Sleep tight, my little prince." Regina switches off the light, leaves the door of his room a bit ajar and heads to her own bedroom. Maybe it's just a 24-hour-cold, he'll probably feel better in the morning, after a good night's sleep.
He doesn't.
She checks on him right after she awakes. Sits down on the bed next to him and lays a hand on his forehead. It's warm, a bit too warm for her liking.
"What are you doing?"
She takes the hand off his head and cups his cheek. "Sweetie, you're sick, I think you've got a fever."
He turns his head to the other side to get away from her touch. "No, I don't."
"You feel pretty warm to me, Henry. Please let me check?"
"No," he says and pulls the blankets (he must have gotten more during the night) over his head.
"I'll get the thermometer." she stands up again. "If you have a fever, I'll stay home with you, okay?"
There comes a faint "No." from under the blankets. He feels miserable and she knows it.
She closes her eyes briefly. "Henry, please. Let me help you."
"I don't need you to help me."
She sighs. This isn't working. She can't let him be sick here at home without doing something. So she pulls at the last straw, and she doesn't like it one bit.
"Do you want me to get ... Emma?" she asks the bulk of blankets. Her voice is soft and tired; she knows the answer to that question before she even asked it.
"Yes," he responds immediately.
It crushes her heart. Her little Prince doesn't need her, doesn't want her, he wants his real mother, a woman he met only a few weeks ago, a woman who doesn't know how Henry is when he's sick. That he's all clingy, doesn't want to let go. Likes to be propped up in front of the TV, watching cartoons, claims that he never falls asleep during them (he barely makes it through the opening theme). Likes his tea with a lot of honey, to sooth his sore throat. Always complains about the cold wet cloth on his forehead when he has a fever, but sighs every time she changes them, in relief.
That woman doesn't know the heartache Regina's been through with every fever and ache. That woman knows nothing.
And yet, Regina stands with a heavy sigh, one hand padding on the many blankets, and says lowly "Okay." Because who's she to deny her son?
She's in the hall, dialing the blonde woman's number, everything in her revolts to the idea of calling her. But if it helps Henry, she has no choice.
She hears something behind her, she jumps a little and turns around.
Henry is standing at the doorway to his room, looking at her tiredly, his pajamas (he must have changed into them during the night as well; he missed a button) are soaked through with sweat.
"Oh honey, go back to bed. I'll call her, I promise, she'll be here soon." She tries to push him softly back into his room but he resists.
"No. Can you not call her?" he utters.
"But you just…-"
She gets interrupted by his arms encircling her waist, his head lays heavy against her chest.
Regina lets her phone slip back into her pocket and holds him to her tightly. She doesn't ask what changed his mind all of a sudden. She just holds on to him.
Until a cough fit rumbles through him.
"Okay, I think that was enough standing up for now. Let's get you back to bed," she says while stirring him into his room. "I'll make you some tea, and get you some cough drops, okay?"
Henry nods, slipping back under his blankets.
On her way downstairs she thinks that maybe he needs her after all.