AN: Soooo I meant to have this up last night but, Sara and Ava would not let me, AvaLance has me so distracted. Anyway, this picks up right after chapter one.
Summary: Emma meets Henry.
Chapter 2
"Swan, you and Lucas are going to transport that one, It'll give you a break. All that's left is recovery." Lt Booth told them.
Emma nodded, recovery meant all the live victims had been rescued, the rest had passed. Ruby met her with the gurney and Emma lowered Regina onto it. Regina started fighting the moment Ruby attempted to strap her down. Emma took off her helmet and face piece and got at eye level with Regina.
"Hey Regina you need to stay still, you're hurt, Ruby is just trying to make sure you don't fall off of the gurney on our way to the hospital." Emma explained, they were used to people fighting them, mostly because they were afraid and some because they had drugs or alcohol in their system.
"No I'm fine. I'll go on my own, I need to get my son." Emma looked into the woman's chocolate colored eyes, there was so much fear and anxiety in them. "Please, I have no one that can get him. I need to get him." She pled her eyes filling with tears.
"Alright Regina, I'll make you a deal, you let Ruby and I get you to the hospital and I'll make sure your son gets to you." Emma shocked herself. 'Since when do you make deals that involve your time off Swan?' She berated herself. The brunette stopped struggling.
"How," Regina asked, hopeful.
"You let me worry about that, do we have a deal." She watched as the brunette weighed her options noting the fear and distrust in her eyes.
"Okay." She finally agreed. She knew she was in no condition to drive, not that she'd be able to get to get to her car with all the fire trucks that surrounded the clinic. With it being a bombing, she was sure everything was evidence.
"Great. Now will you please lay back down and let us take care of you." She smiled when Regina nodded, laying back down. Something about the firefighter's smile eased her fears.
"You saved my life." Regina said, it had just occurred to her. She could've died and left her son without a mother. The thought of her son being alone scared her more than anything. She and his aunt Kathryn were all Henry knew. The only two people he fully trusted and loved.
Emma smiled, it had taken some time getting used to people thanking her, some firefighters replied with the company line of, it was all part of the job but she always made sure to sound genuine in her responses. Saving people was the part of her job she loved the most, she made a difference in people's lives and it made all the hard work and pain worth it.
Regina nodded her thanks and laid down to allow for Emma and Ruby to strap her down and put her in the back of the ambulance. Ruby established an IV while Emma doffed her self-contained breathing apparatus (SCBA), and coat. Once she was done Ruby took up the driver seat while Emma assessed their patient. Emma wordlessly started taking Regina's vitals, noting the lower than what would be considered normal oxygen levels, she put her on oxygen. "Regina what's your last name."
Regina held the oxygen mask to her face. "Mills."
Emma nodded filling in her report. "Besides your arm, do you hurt anywhere else." Emma was amazed that the woman seemed unfazed by the broken arm. She chucked it off to adrenaline and shock.
"I believe it would be quicker if I simply told you what didn't hurt dear." Regina closed her eyes taking in a deep breath, an action she learned very quickly, was a mistake.
Emma smiled, this woman was sassy, she liked that. "So your ribs then," Emma asked making a note in her report.
"My arm is the worst. Everything else I think is just bruising." Unfortunately, Regina had not been a stranger to the pains she was experiencing at the moment. Besides the smoke inhalation, she'd survived through numerous bruises, breaks and fractures.
"It's probably broken, they'll need to x-ray it to be sure." With the amount of patients being taken in Emma gave her patient care report to the hospital as early on as she could so they'd be able to prepare a bed. "So how old is your son," She asked once she'd gotten everything she needed for her report.
Just thinking about her son brought a smile to her face. He was the one thing that kept her going, that had pushed her to start over, to leave her old life behind. She never wanted to experience the hate and violence she'd had to endure as a child and in marriage. "He turned five a few weeks ago, his name is Henry."
Emma noticed the smile that spread across the woman's face as she spoke of her son, her eyes lighting up. Good, she could use that, Henry was exactly what she needed to put the woman at ease while they rode to the hospital.
"That's a fun age." Emma commented.
"You have children," Regina asked, Emma seemed like the type of person children would love. She had this light and happy energy to her that was sure to attract people to her. Her smile alone had caught Regina's attention. She was sure in another time, she'd have been drawn in by her smile alone.
Emma shook her head. While she didn't have kids, both David and Neal did. She'd spent a lot of time with them during cookouts and family gatherings. The kids loved their Aunt Emma. Her lieutenant, August, always reminded her it was because she herself was a kid at heart. "I don't have any but several of the guys on my shift do. I'm the honorary fun aunt. Tell me about Henry."
"He has a wild imagination and a sense of humor to match. He's too smart for his own good." Regina smiled fondly thinking of her little prince.
Though Emma didn't know the woman at all she had an idea where the boy got his personality. Emma continued asking questions about the five year old that was clearly the center of her patient's world. She looked through her phone for the school Regina mentioned he went to. "I don't get off until six maybe even later with the bombing, but I'll make sure Henry gets to you."
Regina nodded her eyes filling up once again. She didn't know what she'd do if this firefighter hadn't offered to get her son to her. The only other person she had close by was her mother and she would only call her if she absolutely had no other choice. She'd rather choose this stranger she'd just met over her mother any day. "Thank you."
Emma smiled dialing the number to the school handing the phone to Regina. 'What are you getting yourself into Swan?' She wondered not for the first time. She was pulled from her thoughts by Regina asking for her name.
"Emma Swan." She told her.
Regina smiled, finally having a name for her savior. She continued talking to the administrator at the school for another minute before disconnecting and handing the phone back to Emma. "Before I forget, the password is mongoose, Henry won't go with you otherwise."
"Mongoose. Got it." Emma repeated the password and made a note of it in her phone.
Regina felt the impact of the day on her body, her biggest concern having been taken care of, she closed her eyes letting the darkness claim her.
Emma watched the woman in front of her. 'What is it with this woman, you have rules in place for a reason Swan! Never get attached to a victim.' She had learned firsthand that getting involved with a victim was a big mistake. Yet here she was unable to take her eyes off the brunette.
They pulled into the hospital's loading bay shortly after. Ruby opened the doors to the back of the ambulance, an eyebrow raised. "So Emma." Ruby started.
"Not now Ruby." Emma knew where Ruby was going with the sentence and she wasn't ready to be teased. It wasn't unusual for her to go out of her way for people, as a matter of fact she did it often, mostly for her team, but being that this woman was definitely the type of woman Emma would go out with gave Ruby ammunition. The two wheeled the gurney inside and transferred Regina to one of the hospital beds allowing the hospital nurses and doctor to take over.
They returned to the scene of the bombing and assisted other crews with salvage and overhaul. The fire investigator confirmed what they already knew. A small bomb was set off on the second floor near the offices. Emma's mind wondered to the office she'd found Regina in. Her office was directly above where the bomb had been set off. She shook her head ridding herself of the image of the woman she'd rescued.
The bomb squad worked on retrieving as many pieces of the bomb as they could in hopes of finding out who made it or at the very least where the supplies were purchased. It was just after 6 when command released her crew and she could not be happier, other crews would be there a few more hours. They returned to the station exhausted, each going to their lockers for spare uniforms. The shower helped rid her of the suet and some of the smoke smell though she'd need a couple more showers to rid herself of it completely.
"Get out of here Swan." Her lieutenant told her.
"Are you sure," she asked, she didn't like leaving her shift at a time like this.
"Yes, go, it's your birthday. Try and enjoy it, or what's left of it." Being one person short was something they could work with, he'd move one person from the engine to the ambulance, Emma never took time off and he wanted her to enjoy her birthday with some time to herself.
She agreed, she'd planned on working the rest of her shift due to the bombing, she was going to pick up Henry, take him to his mother and return to work, but her Lieutenant was determined to send her off. She wished she could go home and curl up on the couch with a plotless movie. At her level of exhaustion, she didn't care if she watched infomercials. She sat in her truck, head leaning back, eyes closed. With a deep sigh she sat up, grabbed her phone and punched in the address for the school. Fifteen minutes later she pulled into the school parking lot and found the lot empty except for two cars. Cars she assumed, belonged to the employees waiting for her.
"You must be Emma Swan." The woman at the front desk perked up.
Any other day Emma would have been all over her, today however, she was far too tired. "That would be me." She forced a smile. She didn't want to encourage the woman by being too nice and having her mistake it for flirting. "Do you happen to have a booster seat I can use," she asked.
"Of course. Just bring it back whenever you can, I know you're pretty busy what with being a firefighter and all." She winked at Emma sticking out her chest.
"Thank you." Emma smiled politely. She needed to get out of there and soon. She knew these types of women, they did not give up once they had their eyes set on someone. While she was flattered, she was just not interested. At that moment all she wanted to do was get the boy, take him to his mother and go home to her dog.
"I just need your number." At Emma's confused look she clarified. "So I can sign a car seat out to you."
Emma nodded giving her the information requested. Emma took the booster seat to her truck before returning for the boy.
"Follow me and I'll take you to Henry. Marian already told him that you'd be picking him up, just to warn you though he can be a bit shy when it comes to new people."
"Marian Locksley," Emma asked.
Tina smiled. "That would be the one, you must know her husband."
Emma nodded, she'd known Marian worked at a school, she hadn't known which one. She and the Locksley knew each other but they weren't extremely close. The fire and police world didn't interact too much outside of work functions. Their son Roland had taken an immediate liking to Emma which had been why she'd befriended the couple. She followed the woman wondering what she'd gotten herself into not for the first time that day. Her good deeds were done for the year she told herself. After this, she would go back to being her usual carefree self that worried about no one.
"Hello Emma," Marian greeted the blonde with a smile. She'd been surprised when she'd received a note that Emma would be picking Henry up, Regina wasn't one to trust anyone with him. It was clear Regina had come from a bad situation and so she'd shared with Regina that her husband worked for the local police department and had offered a meeting with her him. After their meeting Regina had been more at ease with enrolling her son at the school. "Henry, this is Emma, she's going to take you to your mom." She patted the child's hair encouraging him to come out of his hiding spot.
The little boy poked his head from around his teacher's legs, his eyes scanning the woman from head to toe, then back.
"Hi Emma!" Roland ran up wrapping his arms around her legs.
"Hello Roland." Emma returned the hug. "Hi Henry, I'm Emma, your mom sent me to pick you up."
He didn't say anything for a while, he stayed hidden behind Marian. "Where is your fire stuff." He looked confused.
Emma couldn't help but smile at the little brunet boy, he looked so much like his mother. She took a knee to get at his level. "Well Henry I had to take it off, I don't wear it unless I'm on a call."
"When you're on the phone." He scrunched up his face. That didn't make any sense.
"No, I mean when I'm out helping people." She clarified. She was used to simplifying fire terms so that kids would understand. October was after all, fire prevention month and her shift had gone to multiple day cares and elementary schools to talk about fire safety.
"Oh." He said it as if it suddenly all made sense to him, clearly happy with her answer.
"You ready to go see your mom, I'm sure she's missing you." At the mention of seeing his mother the boy perked up letting out a 'yeah' as he ran to the door and stopped abruptly. "What's the password." His mom always warned him about going with someone he didn't know and even if he knew them, if they didn't have the password he was not to go with them.
She motioned for him to come closer, when he did she leaned in and whispered in his ear. "Mongoose."
Pleased with her answer he ran back to the door. "Let's go see mom. Bye Roland, Bye Ms. Tina, Mrs. Marian."
"Thank you for staying late Marian." Emma thanked the teacher.
"It's no problem, I have a feeling it's going to be a long work day for Robin." Her husband had recently been promoted to Captain and more likely than not, he was on scene of the bombing still. On incidents like today command staff put in as many hours on scene and behind the scene as the patrol officers.
"It's a mess." Emma commented. She thanked both women again and followed the boy out. After strapping Henry in his seat Emma pulled away from the school, making her way to the hospital.
"Do you have a fire truck Emma," Henry asked, he was full of questions. He was so excited to meet an actual firefighter. Sure he'd seen them at his old daycare before but he'd never had one all to himself.
"I have one at work." Emma couldn't help but like the boy, he had eyes dark like his mothers, shaggy brown hair that covered his forehead and an adorable smile. He spoke extremely well for his age.
"Can we go see it. Pleeeeaaase." He begged.
"Not today buddy, we have to get you to your mom so she doesn't worry about where you are."
"Oh."
That seemed to be his response to most of her answers. He wasn't happy about being told no, she could tell by the pout, she was surprised and thankful that's all she received. She'd seen so many kids throw fits when not getting their way. Henry however, seemed to accept her answer and move on very quickly.
"You wanna be my friend." He leaned towards the front of the truck as far as his seat belt would allow, anxiously waiting for Emma's response.
Emma was conflicted, wondering the best way to answer his question. To say yes would be a lie as she would probably never see him again, but to say no would break his little heart and she was not ready to see this little boy cry.
"Yes Henry, I'd love to be your friend." She'd deal with the consequence of her answer later.
"Cool." The smile on his face was worth it. Henry couldn't wait to tell his mom about the new friend he'd made. He knew his mom would be okay with his new friend, after all she'd given her the password, which reminded him, "we need a new password," he said suddenly, he didn't like that there were others in the room that had heard his password.
"Maybe you and your mom can come up with one when we get to the hospital." Emma had not grown up in traditional homes, they'd never had a meeting point, a fire plan and definitely no talks of passwords to protect her from strangers, the people she lived with were often complete strangers. This little boy was very lucky to have a mom that was so determined to keep him safe.
"No, you help me." He wanted to get this done before he forgot.
"Alright." She paused. "How about…" She put her index finger to her chin as she thought about a word. "Oh, I know, how about cobra."
He contemplated the new password option for only a second before happily agreeing to it.
Emma parked the truck in a visitor's space and turned to face the boy. "Remember Henry, your mom is hurt her arm so you have to be extra careful okay." Henry nodded. The two walked into the hospital hand in hand. With a quick stop at the nurse's station to get the room number the two found Regina's room.
AN: Our ladies will have more interaction soon! Hope you enjoyed some Henry and Emma time.