Present:
Regina re-traced her steps. There were marks on the wall where the shadows destructive spell had struck. The place where Rumplestiltskin had broken his promise and used magic to put himself between his son and the spell he had created. It was supposed to erase Henry from existence, to stop him from causing the Rumplestiltskin's vision to come true. It was strong enough to destroy the Dark One.
The shadow had flown back to Peter when the spell touched Rumplestiltskin. Henry had been thrown back against the wall, his grandfathers body between him and everyone else. Regina had rolled Rumplestiltskin away from him and taken him into her arms.
Flashback:
"He's alive." She whispered.
She didn't look to see if Neal was all right, or Emma. She brushed Henry's hair away from his face, healing his cuts and bruises and rocked him gently in her arms, waiting for him to wake up.
"Regina." Emma spoke her name, suddenly kneeling beside her and reaching for Henry.
Regina looked up and saw Neal checking his father. Snow and Charming were standing behind Emma and she knew what she had to do. As gently as she could, she transferred Henry to Emma's arms.
"I've healed him, but he'll need to rest." She said.
Emma smiled at her. "Thank you."
Regina stood up and walked away, trying not to cry. She didn't care about Neal or Rumplestiltskin so she went over to Hook, to see what he was doing.
Peter was still tied up and Hook was talking to him in a low tone. She couldn't hear the words, but he had his hook and sword towards the boy. The Lost Boys were standing away from Peter, listening to Hook.
I healed Henry, she told herself. Emma couldn't have done it. When he woke she wanted to tell him that, to let him know that her magic could be used for good.
"What should we do with them?" She asked, interrupting Hook.
"Nothing." Hook surprised her with his words.
"That boy tried to kill my son." She reminded him.
"Because of a deal he made with the Dark One. You of all people should know what that is like."
Present:
Regina took one final look back as she left. She had come back after waking from a nightmare where Henry was still trapped in the cave. It had frightened her so much that she knew she had to see it for herself, to reassure herself that Henry was gone and was safe.
She still dreamt of her reign as the Evil Queen. She remembered all of the bad things she had done, was haunted by the faces of those she had hurt. Those things had never affected her the way this nightmare had. Feeling better, she pressed her hand to the cave entrance causing loose rocks to tumble down and block the access.
She didn't think she would be coming back.
