Chapter Two.
Emma was in the castle grounds, sitting on the grass with her back against the apple tree, reading a book.
"Stop the press," Red said, "Emma Swan is reading a book."
"Getting some practice in so I can teach your boyfriend how to read," Emma said, "might make him stop looking at the picture books."
"Never said he was intelligent," Red said, "but he sure is hot."
They both burst out laughing.
"How's he healing?" Emma said, "after not letting me heal him."
"He's doing good," Red said, "he only said no to you healing him cause he got all the attention for his injuries and stories when we went to the Inn."
"Hook rescues Henry from Gold single handedly… excuse the pun…" Emma said, "Nope must have missed that headline."
"He's used to being the bad guy," Red said, "let him enjoying acting the hero for a while."
"Okay," Emma said, "but that better not mean that he's going to go all big time glory seeker on us does it, I don't want to have to rescue him."
"Moving on," Red said with a laugh, "what are you reading anyway?"
"A book I found in the library about multi-layered curses…" Emma said, "I'm trying to find something in here that makes me think I'm not going crazy…"
"Anything?" Red asked.
"Nothing…" Emma replied, "but it's a big book…"
"Maybe you are insane," Red said, "maybe everything is in your head…"
"I know it's all connected…" Emma said.
"No, I mean everything. Henry, Regina, Storybrooke, here… This conversation…" Red said, "this could be one of those 'your life is so tragic, you end up insane, and create this world in your head where you get to be a hero' things. Maybe that's the end-game you're looking for."
Emma looked at her in complete shock.
"What?" Emma asked.
"Nothing…" Red said, finally failing to hold in the laughter that had been threatening to come out since she had the idea, "sorry, couldn't help it. You know how things just pop into my head."
"You're one sick puppy Red…" Emma said.
"That's not news Princess." Red replied, "I'll leave you to your book, Henry is going to show me his new tree house."
"They finally finished it?" Emma asked.
"Don't you keep up with things that go on in your own castle," Red said, "or are you too busy caught up with a certain very attractive brunette?"
"Why does everyone think all me and Regina do is have sex?" Emma shouted at the back of an exiting Red.
"It's not all we do…" Regina said to Red as she passed her.
Emma could hear Red laugh, she had no idea what Regina had said to her, but she was pretty sure she'd regret it.
"It's Regina and I, darling…" Regina said.
Emma looked confused.
"Why does everyone think all Regina and I do is have sex." Regina said, with a wink.
"Is that not what I said?" Emma asked.
"No dear." Regina said, looking at the book she was reading.
"Oh well," Emma said, "I'm tired…"
"Tiredness is no excuse for bad language skills Princess." Regina said.
"Again with the Princess shit…" Emma said.
"You really are tired aren't you." Regina said.
"You think?" Emma said, "I've had about three hours sleep in the last three days. Saviour or no saviour there isn't enough caffeine in this entire Kingdom to even start to make that amount of sleep bearable."
"Why did you not tell me you weren't sleeping?" Regina asked her face now full of concern.
"So you wouldn't do this…" Emma said.
"Do what?" Regina asked.
"Worry." Emma said.
"Have you seen the doctor?" Regina asked.
"Honey, it's an attack of insomnia, it'll pass," Emma said, "it always does."
"Are you sure?" Regina asked.
"It's happened on and off for as long as I can remember." Emma said.
"What do you normally do when it happens?" Regina asked.
"Not sleep." Emma said.
"Don't even…" Regina said.
"Sorry," Emma replied, "usually when it would hit, I would move on. Move from one place to another… plus it's probably down to the crazy-ass vivid dreams I've been having lately."
"Dreams?" Regina asked, "what kind of dreams?"
"Really odd dreams," Emma said, "in them I never came to Storybrooke… but you're still in my dreams…"
"That's odd…" Regina said, "I had a very similar dream myself last night… Henry wasn't there, but you were… so was Jefferson…"
"In a white lab coat?" Emma asked.
"Yes," Regina said, "and a terrible hat…"
"He wasn't wearing the hat in mine…" Emma said.
"So we had a similar kind of dream, but it couldn't have been a shared dream," Regina said, "because we didn't have shared experiences…"
"Which means what?" Emma asked.
"Emma, you're in the Enchanted Forest," Regina said, "it's probably best not to try and analyse the things that we dream here… some mean something, others mean nothing."
"You knew Jefferson as the Mad Hatter right?" Emma asked.
"Yes," Regina replied.
"I didn't," Emma said, "to me he was the crazy guy who lived in the big house and made hats. So maybe that accounts for the hat you saw…"
"Maybe," Regina said, "but like I said, it probably means nothing."
"I guess…" Emma said, "plus you only had the dream last night, and I've had it for four days. Maybe my magic found a way to creep into your dreams again…"
"Again?" Regina asked.
"Yeah, forget I said that…" Emma said.
Regina gave her 'the look'. The look that terrified her in Storybrooke.
"It was an accident," Emma said, "one minute I'm dreaming about driving my bug through these forests, and the next I'm getting flashes of dreams that aren't mine…"
"Which dream?" Regina asked.
"It involved you and me, no clothes, in the loft of the stables…" Emma said, "and a lot of er… perspiration…"
"That was a good one…" Regina said with a smile, "but still, magically entering someone's mind, without their prior permission, in magical circles is seen up there with…"
"Don't finish that sentence Regina," Emma said, "it was an accident…"
"I know," Regina said, as she started to walk away.
Emma sighed; it was going to be a long night.
"For the record Princess," Regina said, turning to face her again, "I give you my permission to magically enter my dreams again any time you want…"
Another look, though this was the one that made Emma melt on the spot.
x-x-x-x
Emma decided to stop by and see Henry's new tree house, and asked him a question about Regina.
As she approached the tree house she heard Henry.
"I will kill you werewolf," he shouted, "before you kill all my chickens."
Emma laughed; chickens would be snacks to a wolf like Red.
"A wolf like…" she looked through the clearing, "Red!"
The wolf that was scratching the tree under the massive tree house turned to face her. She changed forms.
"What the hell do you think you're doing?" Emma asked.
"It's called make-believe Emma." Red said.
"It's called wolfing out in front of my son." Emma said.
"Mom," Henry said, "I was safe, it's Red."
"Not the point Henry," Emma said, "so not the point…"
"I'll see you later kid," Red said to Henry, before walking over to Emma, "he was perfectly safe."
With that Red left.
"You always spoil everything." Henry shouted at her, disappearing off into the tree house.
Emma climbed up the ladder and opened the hatch. She was amazed at what she saw; the place was decorated like the inside of her bug.
"Wow," she said, "Henry this is amazing…"
"My mom did it," Henry said, "because she remembered that your bug was where we spent a lot of time when you first came to Storybrooke, planning Operation Cobra, she said it was kinda like our place… and she figured we could spend time in here together… Like we did then…"
"Henry," Emma said, "I know I haven't been around a lot in the last week just to have fun with…"
"I know, you have all these new powers to learn, and Princess training and… other stuff." Henry said.
"That's no excuse…" Emma said, "It's just this whole thing, pirate ship through a portal, Neverland, here… it's a lot for me to take in… For you its different, this is every 10 year olds dream, to be somewhere like this… I'm trying to be the person that everyone expects me to be… The person you expect me to be… And in doing so, I'm doing the one thing I promised myself I'd never do… make you miss out."
"I'm not missing out mom…" Henry said, giving her a hug.
"But you are," Emma said, "and all that is going to change, I promise…"
"I love you mom." Henry said.
"Love you too kid." Emma replied, kissing his head, "so, what adventures do you want to plan?"
x-x-x-x
It was getting late, and both Emma and Henry were nowhere to be seen.
"What do you think could have happened to them?" Snow asked.
"I'm sure they are fine," Charming said, "maybe they've gone out for a ride on the horses."
"At night," Snow said, "Emma wouldn't be that stupid."
"I found them." Regina said, walking into the room, "they are fast asleep in Henry's tree house, it looks like they've been planning a big adventure."
"What kind of adventure?" Snow asked.
"Now that would be telling," Regina said, "and it's not our adventure, it's theirs."
x-x-x-x
Emma thought she was on a bad trip when she opened her eyes, and then she remembered where she was. The last thing she remembered was that it had been dark outside, now the daylight was spilling in through the windows.
"Morning kid…" she said, kissing Henry on the head.
"Morning…" he replied, stretching his legs.
"Did you sleep okay?" Emma asked, sitting up, "I'm not sure this place was built to sleep in."
"I slept great," Henry said, "did you sleep okay?"
"Actually, yeah," Emma said, "for the first time in days."
There was a knock on the hatch, Emma opened it.
"I come bearing gifts." Regina said, "breakfast."
"Will you eat with us?" Emma asked.
"I've already eaten," she replied, "I'll see you inside."
With a smile she was gone.
"What was that all about?" Emma asked, "think she pissed… sorry, upset that we fell asleep in here?"
"No," Henry said, "like I said, this is our place, she and I have a place too…"
"Where?" Emma asked.
"I'm not telling you because then you'll try and be there," he said, forming quotation marks with his fingers, "accidentally."
Emma had to laugh.
She heard someone shouting on the ground below.
"Emma," Hook shouted, "come down here."
"What the hell does the mad pirate want…?" Emma said.
She opened the hatch and went down the ladder.
"What?" she asked, "I'm trying to eat breakfast with my kid…"
"Sorry Henry," Hook said, "but you understand."
"That I do…" Henry said, "Go ahead."
"Go ahead?" Emma asked.
"I challenge you to a sword fight." Hook said.
"Really." Emma said.
"You upset his fair maiden Mom," Henry shouted down, "it's for her honour. Pirate law."
"Okay…" Emma said.
She raised her hands, sending Hook flying backwards.
"Go back and tell her you kicked my ass." Emma said, climbing back up the ladder.
"That was cheating Mom." Henry said.
"It was stupid anyway Henry." Emma said, eating some of the food that Regina has brought down, "and anyway, I think I get away with that for the amount of times he's upset my fair maiden."
They both burst out laughing.
