Chapter 4

It was now after 6 am, and Regina had showered. The nurse told her she must remain in the less than flatering hospital gown. Changing into her own silk pajamas that Emma had brought for her was out of the question. Of course, she had argued with the nurse, but Emma had given her a look. That look made her drop the topic. Who would have ever thought that Sheriff Swan could give Mayor Mills a look that would pacify her. Maybe she had grown even weaker as the hours past, or maybe she felt sympathy for the blonde. Emma was under a lot of stress and didn't seem to be handling it well.

She lay in the bed, Emma sat reclined back in the chair next to her, as they both stared blankly at the television. Neither of them said a word, but they weren't really watching what was on the screen.

After a few minutes, Emma had fallen asleep. She looked so peaceful with her face relaxed and the soft breathing that made her chest rise and fall. Regina had noticed how the blonde was going out of her way, for this case, but it was more than just that. The blonde had literally held her hand during the rape kit, and the way she had stood up for her with the reporters. She wondered how much more in the past she hadn't noticed that the sheriff had done for her. She smiled to herself, as she stared down at the sleeping blonde. She had thought that everyone was against her, including the Charmings. She hadn't even realized that the blonde had done nothing more, than be a friend. Guilt washed over her as she thought of how she had treated Emma.

A light tap on the door snapped the Queen from her thoughts. When she looked up she saw Robin standing there.

He smiled, and then whispered, "Hey".

Regina smiled back, "Hey".

He walked over and leaned down to wrap her in his arms and kiss her lightly on the lips.

No one had noticed that Emma had awakened. Clearing her throat she stood up. "I'm going to go and get a shower, and then go check on things at the station." She look first at Robin, for longer than she probably should have, then to Regina, "If you need anything, you'll call me".

The mayor wasn't sure if that was a question or a statement, but she smiled and nodded her head. Emma smiled back, but the brunette could see the odd way the green eyes dropped from her brown ones. She wanted to say something but the blonde turned and left the room before anything could come out. A feeling of disappointment crept up on her, but she shook it off. Robin was here now, and that is all that she needed, at least that's what she told herself.

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At the diner, Emma sat at the counter. She desperately needed some coffee. It was already 9 am and she hadn't slept much. She had taken a quick shower at the station, and changed into a suit of clothes she had in her car. If nothing else they were cleaner than what she had been wearing. She didn't want to go home and have to deal with Mary Margret right now.

Why did she get a sudden feeling of jealousy, when she saw Robin kiss Regina? Well, she guessed that was a stupid question. She knew why, but she refused to say the words even to herself. Robin is the mayor's true love, not the Sheriff's. Suddenly she felt herself getting angry. Where the hell had he been? Why hadn't he protected the woman he loves? Oh that's right, because he would rather be with the one he doesn't love in the woods somewhere. Everybody said that Robin stayed with Marian because he was an honorable man. She calls bullshit. The world is not just black and white. There are many shades between. If he was Regina's true love than he would not be with Marian, but if he loved Marian he would not be in love with Regina. She was being ridiculous, this wasn't even her business, at least that is what the mayor would have told her. She pinched the bridge of her nose and shook her head.

"Hey Em, what can I get you", Ruby asked, yanking the blonde from her thoughts.

Emma kept a neutral expression on her face, "Just coffee to go, thanks."

"Coming right up", the waitress smiled as she went to retrieve a cup.

Emma pulled out a few bucks from her front pocket and laid them on the bar. Ruby sat the to go cup down in front of her, when the blonde over heard a conversation a few stools down from her.

Leroy, Sidney, and a couple of other residents were talking loudly. "I heard someone tried to kill the mayor last night", one of the men said.

"I heard someone assaulted her", Leroy said.

Sidney had a smirk on his face, "Is it true Sheriff? We as the residents have a right to know if there is a violent rapist out there."

Emma's blood started to heat up. The look and tone of Sidney seemed to be of a mocking nature.

"I'm not at liberty to say or discuss", she gave a small smile and began to leave.

Sidney had turned to the men and said, "She deserves whatever she got."

Before Emma even knew what she was doing, she slammed her cup back down on the counter. She stormed over to Sidney and shoved him hard enough that he stumble a few feet backwards.

"What the fuck did you say?" she glared, "No one deserves that. If I thought it was anyone else's business then I would have informed you all, but it's not. Don't you ever say another word about the Mayor." She leaned closer to him, "Or you will meet Emma Swan, instead of Sheriff Swan!"

You could have heard a pin drop as Emma walked back over to the counter and picked up her coffee. When she spun to leave, she let her eyes glide over the faces inside the diner. They were all staring at her with wide eyes and opened mouths. As she got closer to the door she noticed Henry siting in a booth by himself, his look was more of pride. She knew the right thing to do was to be the parent, and go and talk to her son, but she couldn't. Her eyes fell from him as she went to open the door, bumping into Mary Margret.

"Hey Emma", she smiled, but the blonde pushed past her as she exited, leaving her mother with a worried look.

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Emma had called the lab many times, but never got an answer. The sheriff was losing her patience very quickly as she paced the floor in front of her desk.

"Emma, he said he would call you when he finished", David said from his desk across the room.

The blonde looked over at him, "He should have been done by now".

David tilted his head at her, "He has only been working on this for a few hours Em. He didn't even get the stuff until about three or so. Why don't you go check on Regina at the hospital?"

"I can't", she said, but then she realized how that came out, and tried to cover it by stating; "Robin is there with her."

Luckily she was able to change the subject when she remembered something. "Regina said her magic is gone."

David looked up, "I wondered about that, few people have bested the Evil Queen. What did she say about it?"

"She said that when she was attacked she tried to use it, but it was gone. She didn't have it at the hospital," Emma said as a thought suddenly dawned on her.

David stood up at the same time, "You thinking what I'm thinking?"

"Mr. Gold," the blonde replied as they made their way to the door.

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David wasn't sure what to expect from his daughter. According to his wife, Emma had been assaulting and threatening people all over town. If the situation weren't so serious, he may have laughed to himself at how much the blonde took after his wife. Well, maybe like his wife when she had taken the potion to forget about love.

He held the door to Gold's shop open for the sheriff to enter, she walked passed him.

Mr. Gold looked up from whatever it was he was doing behind the counter and gave his same snide question. "Sheriff Swan, to what do I owe the pleasure?"

Belle had been in the back room and poked her head out of the doorway when she heard Emma's name. She smiled at her friend, but then faltered when the other woman didn't return the gesture. Instead, she marched up to the counter and punched Gold square in the mouth.

The smaller man's head flew back from the force, "What the hell was that for?"

"You son of a bitch, you are the only person in this town with the ability to take someone's magic away", Emma hissed.

Gold looked at David, and then back to Emma, "What are you talking about?"

The anger flashed in Emma's eyes as she took a step closer. David put his hand up to stop her. He turned to explain, "Regina was attacked last night, and had no ability to fight back. Her magic has been taken."

Gold turned and looked at Belle, then back at the other two, "There is only one person who has asked about a spell like that."

Emma huffed, "Who, Gold?"

"Henry", was the almost inaudible reply.

Now it seemed the roles were reversed, because Emma was asking, "What the hell are you talking about?"

Belle walked closer to them. "He was asking if there was a spell that would block someone's magic about a month ago." When no one said anything, she continued. "He said something about needing to make a place magic free, but he didn't say what for."

Emma looked at the couple with worry, "So you told him the spell?"

Gold glared at the blonde, but Belle spoke again, "Of course not."

David watched his daughter rub the back of her neck. He would be lying if he said he wasn't worried about her. It was'n just her violent outbursts, but she also had dark circles under her eyes. That just confirmed that she hadn't been sleeping, and he had yet to see her eat anything. To top it off she was stressed beyond belief. He just knew it was a matter of time before she snapped.

"I have to talk to Henry", the blonde said out of nowhere.

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The loft seemed to have an odd feel to Emma as she entered. It had only been a little over 24 hours since she had been here. It just seemed, small and almost claustrophobic all the sudden. Henry sat at the table with his fairy tale book open.

The boy glanced up at his birth mother, and an instant tear ran down his cheek as their eyes met. She knew that he knew why she was there. All she could do was swallowed, her own tears were not far away, but she didn't want them spilling now.

David followed her to the small table and they both sat down. Not knowing what to say, she said the first thing that came to her head, "Hey kid?"

It sounded like someone else to her ears when she heard her own voice.

Henry didn't look up, but now more tears were falling and he started to sob as he spoke, "I didn't know she would get hurt, I swear. He told me he needed to put a no magic spell on the town hall because everyone was still scared of her. I told him mom wouldn't hurt anyone. He said if I did it the town's people would start to warm up to her. Since you stopped coming around, Mom's been so lonely, I thought that if she had friends, she would be happier."

Emma listened to her son ramble wide-eyed. She didn't notice the tear slipped from her eye, as others threatened to follow, "Who did you give the spell to, Henry?"

"Hook," He replied.

Killian Hook hadn't even entered her mind in weeks. She should have known he would do something like this. He was mad at her for breaking up with him a month ago. She was only kidding herself by being with him, she didn't love him, hell half the time she didn't even like him. If she gets her hands on him, he will be lucky if he has a hand left.

Henry was crying harder now, "I'm so sorry for what I said to you, I was mad because this is my fault, and that you never told her. I am so stupid!"

Emma was a bit dazed, but then his one comment made her look up, "I never told her what?"

Before he could answer, the blonde's phone went off. She quickly answered it, "Yeah."

Belles voice said, "The spell Henry got wasn't a spell blocker, it was a spell collector."

She looked up at her son, who was still crying, but then looked away again, "What does that mean? Can she get it back?"

"Rumple is looking into it now, I'll call you back when we have something", the Aussie said before hanging up.

David waited for Emma to tell him what the call was about, "Who was that?"

Emma didn't want Henry to feel any worse, but it would be worse if she hid it from him. "The spell Henry gave hook was to collect someone's magic, not block it."

"Oh my God this is all my fault. She will never forgive me", Henry's tears continued.

Emma grabbed the teen by his arms, "Look at me." When his eyes met hers, she continued, "I'm not trying to be mean, but you need to get a grip. If you want to help your mom, then we both need clear heads. Your mother has done a lot of terrible things, but one thing I know for sure is that she loves you more than anything. I know she will forgive you. Now, I need you to tell me everything, starting at the beginning."