Chapter 3
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"Ma? Ma, what's going on?" Henry asked as he came into the school office, his jacket on and his backpack snug on his back. "Ma?" Henry asked again as Emma ignored his question and simply touched his shoulder and started to lead him away from the main office. She waved to the secretary who frowned and waved back as she watched them leave.
When they were in the hallway Henry tried again to get his mom to talk to him. "Ma? Is everything okay?" He noticed the scratches and the bruising along Emma's neck and the way she was favoring her left leg over her right. "What happened?!"
He knew that sometimes her job could be dangerous but the worst he'd ever seen was her come back with a bruise on her cheek and a sprained wrist. He also knew that she wasn't even at work yet. She had been going to see Dr. Diggs.
"MA!" Henry yelled as soon as they were outside and she was trying to lead him into her yellow Volkswagen. She didn't even bother putting up an umbrella and he was struggling to keep up with her fast pace that he couldn't either.
Emma stopped walking to the car and looked around them, and up at the sky before meeting Henrys eyes.
"I will explain everything once we are in the car. The man in it is…he's a witness on something I'm working on. He, he helped me. Please, Henry." Emma touched both of Henry's shoulders and focused him as he looked around her at the man sitting in the front passenger seat. "Please get in the car." Emma tried to hold his eyes again but she couldn't help but look up at the sky around them. Weary of the noise the storm was making and how it could mask the sound of any creature that might be coming at them.
Henry tried to see what it was that his mom was looking for up in the sky but just saw the clouds. "Ohkay." He nodded his head once and got in the car when she opened the back door for him. She slammed it closed and ran over to get in the front.
As Henry settled into his seat he noticed that the back of the car was filled with bags of their stuff. Three of his mom's duffle bags were stacked on the floor and one of their luggage bags was on top of them. He even saw the metal of his mom's lock box on the floor underneath the bags.
His eyes tracked to his mom's hip and noticed the impression of her gun on her waist by her stomach. "Mom…who is this guy? And what happened to you? Who did that to your neck?"
"He's…" Emma chanced a look at the man next to her, "I don't really know Henry."
"Killian Jones, at your service, lad." Hook introduced himself.
Emma had made it clear she didn't want him saying anything to her as she packed hers and Henry's things. He had tried to insist that they didn't have the time that the good doctor knew where she lived, but she had taken the time to do so anyway. She'd also grabbed a bunch of papers off the wall in her office and put them in a folder that she'd put away in her lock box where she'd taken out a handgun and two clips. One of which she'd loaded her gun with and put the other in her jacket pocket.
It had taken her exactly twenty minutes and while she was packing she had called Henry's school and told them that she was coming to take him out of class and that he wouldn't be returning this quarter. That there was a family emergency that required they leave the state and she would contact them about where to send Henry's files at a later date.
Hook had been impressed with how quickly Emma had been able to get her things and Henry's things and shove two of the bags into his arms before they left the apartment. It seemed she was good at disappearing. A trait from her former life that re-immerged itself in actions alone if not thought.
It was only as they were driving to pick up Henry that Emma had allowed him to tell her everything he knew. Which wasn't as much as he would have liked to tell her since she didn't remember her real life. The memory potion that he had been given still sat in his lap untouched. She said she wasn't about to take anything from a stranger, especially something that glowed blue when she looked at it.
Emma was just getting used to the idea that her doctor was actually a flying monkey that wanted to kill her, or just stop her from getting to Regina. Either way what she did know was that he was there to help her. That he had been sent by friends of hers—because she didn't take well to the notion of having two parents—that would help protect her from the creatures she now knew existed. He tried to tell her that the elixir he had with him would make everything clear for her but after the day she'd had, he understood she wasn't willing to trust him. Not just yet.
"Like Captain Hook? That Killian Jones?"
Hook turned to look at Henry more fully, looking him over to see if the boy remembered more than his mother. When he was just staring at him and his hook like he was crazy he realized he was making fun of him. Settling back into his seat he sighed, "Yes."
Emma stared at Killian for a moment before focusing back on the road.
"Whatever," Henry mumbled the word freak under his breath before he focused back on his mom. "Why is all our stuff packed? Where are we going?"
"We're leaving town for a while. The uhm, destination at the moment. I'm not sure. I was planning to call a few friends of mine in Boston to get us a place to stay for the night. When we get there we can decide where it is we're going. But we can't stay here. Not anymore."
"What about school?" Henry asked.
"It can wait. I already told them that we were leaving because of a family emergency."
"But…" Henry whined, not understanding what was going on and not liking the idea of them just picking up and leaving. This was their home.
"Henry…I was attacked." Emma knew that giving him that information would stop whatever complaints he was about to issue.
Henry's eyes darkened at the idea of someone hurting his mom, "By who?"
"Dr. Diggs." Emma turned the car and got them onto the bridge. Careful to keep her eyes peeled on the sky for the 'man' she'd just mentioned.
"What?' But…why would he attack you? He's your doctor."
"No, lad I'm afraid he isn't a doctor. He was sent here to New York to keep an eye on your mother. Make sure she didn't leave."
"But…that doesn't. I don't understand." Henry sat back heavily in his seat.
"I don't either, Henry. I really don't. But he did attack me. And he…" Emma felt her throat close up a little as she recalled how his eyes had glowed and his teeth had gotten longer and sharper. How he turned into a flying monkey and came towards her in the middle of the air.
"And he…" Henry pushed, feeling slightly sick to his stomach at the implications that there was an 'and' to follow that statement.
"He's not exactly a nice man." Emma sighed with relief when they made it off the bridge. Focusing on the traffic ahead of her. "And he's known this whole time where your mom is. He's tried to keep us from finding her."
Henry's eyes widened and he got quiet. His mind racing at the notion that Dr. Diggs had known where his mom was and hadn't told Emma. Why would he do that? Why would he attack Emma to begin with? He'd seemed like a nice enough guy the few times Henry had gone to a session with Emma.
"Where is she?" Henry tried to keep his enthusiasm down but this was different. This wasn't hypothetical anymore. It wasn't Emma asking him questions about things that gave him a headache to think about. It was Emma telling him that someone knew exactly where his mom was. It was Emma telling him that his mom might be in danger because someone was trying to keep them from finding her.
He felt guilt swim through him. How could he have asked his mom to stop looking? She had known something was wrong. She had known that Regina would never leave them like she did. Not on her own. He just was so…angry at her for leaving. She hadn't even said goodbye. She had chosen to leave. Not only just leave Emma but leave him too. She'd left him.
"Maine, she's in Maine." Emma knew Regina had to be there. It was the only place she could be. Dr. Diggs had gone all monkey business on her after she'd mentioned going door to door in Maine.
"We have to get to her!" Henry insisted; his voice cracking as he pulled himself up with the backs of both front seats.
"You need to put on your seatbelt." Emma answered, though she understood Henry's insistence. She felt it gnawing at her too. They needed to get to Regina because whatever was going on with her had to be the key to what was happening to Emma's memory and why a flying monkey was impersonating her psychiatrist.
Henry groaned but he did as he was told and settled into his seat, just sitting up as much as his seatbelt would allow.
"We're going to get to her. That's the plan." Emma promised.
Hook sat in his seat with a thoughtful expression upon his face. Then it was like a light bulb went off above his head. He knew what they were talking about suddenly. He just didn't understand how they could possibly remember who they were talking about. Wasn't that supposed to be part of the spell that Regina cast on them?
It was meant to be a punishment/payment that the witch had to pay for the curse to reverse and take them all back to the Enchanted Forest, wasn't it? Not that he knew very much about magic and the prices one had to pay but perhaps Regina had been wrong. After all he was about to have his suspicions confirmed about their knowledge of the Evil Queen.
"You're talking about Regina."
Emma and Henry both shot their eyes to Hook, their gaze intent upon him. "What do you know about Regina?" Emma asked, her voice low and dangerous.
"Yeah, what do you know about my mom?" Henry asked, mimicking Emma's tone very well.
"Well, I suppose that depends on what you know about her." Hook stated, trying to play this off as best he could. It would have been so much easier if the woman beside him had just taken the darn potion.
"She's my wife." Emma knew that she would need to share information to get information, and it wasn't like telling him who Regina was to her could hurt. At least not right now.
"Wife?" Hook felt himself grow a little cold, the color draining from his face. But it seemed Emma hadn't heard his harsh whisper. Or if she did, she choose to ignore it.
"She went missing a year ago. I've been looking for her ever since. Those papers you saw me grab in my office?" Hook nodded, recalling what she was talking about, though for the most part he was still in shock. "Those are all the leads I've had on finding her. But everything's dried up."
"You've been looking for her all this time?" Henry asked, his voice weak from the back seat.
Emma cringed, realizing that she'd just let her secret out of the bag. She met Henry's eyes through the rearview mirror. "Yes, Henry I have been. I'm sorry. I couldn't stop looking Henry. I just, I knew that something was wrong and I needed to find her. I needed to know why she would leave on her own."
Henry looked down at the floor and Emma waited for him to deal with what she had just told him. She hadn't meant for him to find out like this.
"She might not have left on her own…right?" Henry's voice was soft and as small and boyish as Emma could ever recall hearing it.
"Yes. It's possible she didn't leave on her own."
Henry grit his teeth and ground them together as his hands fisted at his sides, his anger bubbling up. Someone may have taken his mother from him and he hadn't done anything to help her. He would change that. He would help Emma get his mom back for the both of them.
Hook may not understand in full detail what the spell had done to Emma but what he gathered from the latest conversation was that she 100% believed she was Regina's wife. As interesting a fact it was to him and what it could mean for him and Emma in the long run, he needed to focus on getting Emma where she was needed. Then he could help Emma remember her real memories and recognize that the love and devotion she felt for Regina was only part of the spell the Evil Queen had cast on her.
"I can say that, your mother would never leave you willingly lad. She is a very stubborn woman and very dedicated to the people she loves."
"How would you know?" The accusation was plain to hear in Henry's tone.
"Because, I knew your mother. Once upon a time." Emma looked at Hook through the corner of her eyes, doing her best to keep an eye on him while driving. "She will do just about anything for the people she loves. So you can be sure that she tried to get back to you. But sometimes these things aren't in our hands."
Henry nodded, knowing that he was right about his mom. She would have done everything she could to get back to them if she was taken away. That also meant that someone was stronger and smarter than she was if she hadn't made it back to them just yet. Which just made him feel sick to his stomach.
"We have to find her…" Henry whispered, feeling the sting of tears in the back of his eyes.
"We will!" Emma promised. "Henry, I promise you we will find her."
"And I know just where we can start looking." Hook supplied.
"Where?" Both mother and son asked simultaneously.
"Storybrooke, Maine."
End Chapter Three