Slipped Away

A/N: Major character death. Possible triggers for mentions of drugs. One shot.

"Mom? Mom!"

Regina's brow furrowed in her sleep as she slowly came to her senses. Was someone calling for her? As her eyes fluttered open and adjusted to the bright lights of the room, Regina looked around, confused of her surroundings. This wasn't her room; this wasn't her home. Where in the hell was she?

"Momma! I'm in here!"

Regina's eyes widened at the sound of her sons voice. She jumped to her feet and followed the sound of his voice. This place they were in was much too bright for her liking, and everything seemed blurry. Or was that just her eyes? She rubbed at her eyes to try to make the blurriness disappear but it was to no avail. Regina scoffed and continued to wander through the halls. She needed to find Henry. He sounded… she wasn't quite sure what he sounded like but just the sound of his voice worried her.

She stumbled over her own feet as she found him; her little prince. He looked different, she noticed. She couldn't quite figure out how he looked different. As her eyes roamed over her frame, she looked at him perplexed.

"What's wrong dear? Are you hurt?" Regina questioned him as she inched closer to him with her hand reaching out to him.

"No mom. I'm fine. But you're not. You need to come with me." Henry replied as he looked at her sternly.

Now Regina was really confused. "Henry, just what on earth are you talking about?"

Henry sighed and shook his head. "Of course not. But you need to wake up mom."

Regina blinked at him. Wake up? I am awake." "Henry, what-"

And that's when she heard a voice call out to her. "Regina! Can you hear me?"

She was certain that the voice belonged to one Emma Swan. But she sounded so far away. Regina reached out and grabbed Henry's arm in fear. "Henry what's going on?"

"You just need to wake up mom." Henry told her as he slowly backed away from her grasp.

Tears clouded her eyes as she tried to find her voice. "You're coming with me, Henry. Come on. Let's go home." Regina choked out.

Henry solemnly shook his head. "I can't mom. You know I can't."

"Regina! Wake up, please! I can't… Please just wake up! Come back to me!" Emma screamed from far away, her voice becoming clearer by the second.

"Henry-" Regina started but Henry held up a hand to stop her.

"It's okay mom. I love you too. Now just wake up."

Henry's form faded away into the distance and slowly Regina came back to reality. Her eyes slowly fluttered open and she took in her surroundings once more. She was back. She was in her home, looking up at her vaulted ceilings. But where was Henry? "Where are you?" Regina called out to him, receiving no answer.

It was then that she noticed the warmth coming from under her. She looked to her left and saw Emma cradling her in her strong arms. "Emma?"

"Oh my God, Regina you scared the shit out of me." Emma cried, tears still threatening to fall from her eyes.

Regina tried to will herself to sit up but it was to no avail. Henry was still nowhere in sight. She thought to ask Emma about their sons' whereabouts. "Where's Henry?"

Emma's brow furrowed and she swallowed thickly as she looked into Regina's dark eyes. "Regina… Henry's gone. He's not here anymore."

"What in the hell do you mean? I was just talking to him." Regina argued, looking at Emma like she had three heads.

Emma licked her lips and took in a deep breath, as she tried to ready herself for this conversation, again. "Gina… Henry…"

"Henry what, Miss Swan?!" Regina demanded as she pulled away from Emma. She was done playing games. She wanted to know just where in the hell her son was. And why was Emma acting so odd? What in the hell was going on?

Emma sighed and looked back up at Regina was sad eyes. "He's gone Regina. Remember? We… laid our son to rest a year ago."

With those words, thousands upon thousands of memories swept through her mind. The first time she held Henry in her arms. The first word he ever said; which of course was mama. The first time she took him to the park and he took his first steps. The first time he threw a temper tantrum, which was due to him not being able to get a toy that he wanted so desperately and thought he needed oh so much. The first time he became sick. His first day of school. His first fight at school. Their first fight about Regina not being his real mom. The first time he hugged her with love. The first time he truly accepted her as his mother. His first crush. Everything was flashing right before her eyes up until the very end a year ago. Henry had been hanging out with a new friend from school. He couldn't have known the type of people that his newfound friend associated themselves with.

He ended up on a couch in the hills, overdosed on a drug that Regina couldn't, didn't want to, remember. One of the bastards that Henry's friend was friends with injected her son with that damn drug and it killed him. Emma had been looking for the past year nonstop trying to find out who in the hell killed their son.

Once the flashback was over, Regina looked up into Emma's green eyes with tears. "Emma… He's…But I just saw him!"

"Honey, you were unconscious. I was just here talking to you about dinner arrangements with my parents tonight and you…. You just passed out. It scared me to death." Emma explained.

"I was with him Emma. I touched him. I talked to him!"

Emma pulled Regina's small form into her arms and held her tight as she cried. Emma didn't know what had happened inside Regina's mind when she passed out but she felt for her. She felt like she could still see Henry too, and talk to him. But… for Regina feeling like she was actually with him, that was something different. She made a vow to herself a year ago that she would find who murdered their son. And now she was making another one. She vowed to help Regina get through this once more. She'd be here for Regina until her dying day.