Author's note: I'm so sorry for the long wait. School and work have really kept me busy. This chapter hasn't really turned out the way I wanted it to, but I figured I've kept you all waiting long enough.

Chapter 21

One, two, three, four, five. Emma ran her fingers over the little purple colored pencil marks she'd secretly drawn on the part of the wall that was hidden by the thin, ugly bedspread. Five. She'd been here for five whole days already, and nothing. Stared at nothing but the plain wall and did nothing but play with her duck until she grew bored. Cowered on the bed in fear of the creaky closet in the corner.

Anna had promised that she'd be back for her on day two. That was...three whole days ago. She said she was going to Storybrooke and then she'd come back and Emma would either go back to Regina's or to a group home. But it seemed as though Anna had forgotten about her.

Well, they all did. They always did. They thought she was too young to remember her previous family of three years, but she remembered very well. She'd just been sitting in the living room with her old favorite stuffed animal, a white bunny (that she hadn't been allowed to take with her even though it had been her best friend), when her "parents" had come in with her suitcase, sat her down, and told her in what they clearly thought was a gentle tone that she had to leave the only home she'd known.

She didn't understand at first; she'd thought her parents loved her, that she would live with them forever. That was what everyone did, right?

Everyone except for her.

And then she'd thought that Storybrooke would be her new home, that she would finally have a forever family. But she'd been wrong as usual, because nobody wanted someone like her. They wanted a shiny, new baby, not a five year old who struggled to pronounce the big words in books and preferred to wear sneakers instead of pretty dresses.

Nobody wanted her and nobody ever would.

Well, fine. If Regina didn't want her then why she was sticking around? Emma reached for her jacket and slipped her arms through it, frowning at the zipper. Regina had always helped her with it, but now Emma had nobody to rely on except for herself.

Oh well. Who cared about zippers? She cast a look at all her stuff in the room, the stuff she'd come to think of as her worldly possessions. With the exception of her blanket, she left everything behind. It was just a reminder of everyone who lied.

Anna drove a little over the speed limit in her haste to reach Emma; now that all had been settled with CPS, she could finally take the little girl back to where she belonged. Yes, she was a little miffed that all of this had gone down (Mrs. Smith, the one who'd phoned in with the complaint about Regina, had turned out to retract her statement as well, saying nothing but good things about the mayor. Go figure), but now she was nothing but beyond excited to take Emma home.

She imagined to herself what would happen. She'd open the door and would tell Emma the good news, reveling in watching joy filter across the little girl's face. Emma's bags would still be unpacked, and they'd hurriedly load them into the car before driving back. Maybe they'd be back before dinner time in Storybrooke. That is, if there wasn't any traffic.

Anna placed the car into park before pounding urgently on the door. The stoic emergency foster parent (how the hell had he managed to convince CPS to allow him to be a foster parent) let her in and wordlessly pointed at the door to Emma's room before retreating to his TV.

She knocked on the door. "Emma? I have some good news."

There was no response. Maybe Emma was in the bathroom; but a quick peek at the bathroom revealed that it was empty. All right, so maybe she could be napping. So Anna just went ahead and let herself in.

Only to be greeted by an empty room. Or rather, a room full of Emma's things, with no Emma. And above the unmade bed was a window, one that resembled more of a square porthole than an actual window. But it may have been just big enough for a small child to wriggle through…

In Regina's life, there had only been three events that had truly knocked the wind out of her.

The day Daniel died.

The day she'd found out that she might have a chance to revive him, only to learn that she'd been played.

The day she'd successfully enacted the curse.

And now, make that four. Because right now, at this very moment, the prospect of Emma being alone in the cold, scared and hungry, made the list of things that truly shook her to the core.

The only thing Regina was grateful for was her ability to leave Storybrooke. Anna the social worker had clearly proven her ineptness at keeping Emma safe, and so it was up to Regina now. The second she found Emma she'd scoop her up and take her home, where she belonged.

Although Boston was a town full of rich history (her mayor memories had given her a thorough education), Regina privately thought that her design of Storybrooke was far superior. Why? For one simple reason: when someone was lost there, it was much easier to locate them. Even without the use of a locator spell, which now she would give up her left arm for. Emma couldn't have gone far, but the problem was that it would be so easy for her to hop on a bus and just disappear.

But she wouldn't...would she? She had to have known that she was going back to Regina. But then why would she run away?

As Regina made her way through the streets, the all encompassing thought overpowering everything was that she'd let go of her vendetta against Snow if she could find Emma.

Once she got the chance (and she would), she would find the dirty bastards who were Emma's birth parents, channel her Evil Queen-ness, and punish them to the extent that they deserved. Because when it all came down to it, it was all their fault. Emma was out in the cold now, and it was all because of them. If they hadn't so carelessly abandoned her. Who abandoned their child, anyway? It was one thing to give them up for adoption, but from what Regina heard Emma had been found. What the hell was so wrong with those parents? Emma was amazing.

But never mind that now. Regina took a deep breath and pushed those thoughts out of her mind. She needed to focus on finding Emma now; she could start her revenge later.

She and Anna had decided against calling the police, at least for a little while. That would only complicate things; they'd gone in opposite directions to search within a five mile radius.

"Have you seen this girl?" She'd flashed the photo of her and Emma that Graham had taken on Halloween. Merely seeing Emma's wide, easy grin and the rarely open smile on her own face sent a stab of ice into her heart. Would she ever get that chance again? Would either of them ever be that simply happy again?

With every "sorry, no" she got, Regina could feel herself sinking deeper and deeper into the deep depression that had overtaken her after Daniel's death. But no. She wouldn't give in. She couldn't.

Regina circled back towards the house-maybe Emma had gone back. She was just cutting through an alley when a random sound hit her ears. It sounded a lot like...sniffling?

Could it be Emma? But even if it wasn't, she couldn't just let another small child cry alone. Regina followed the sound and found herself in an alley outside of a pizza place. "Hello?" But there was nothing except for flies buzzing around too full trash cans. Regina wrinkled her nose on impulse-messes were something she could never stand.

"Is anyone there?" She asked, annoyed. "I can hear you."

"Regina?"

Relief washed over her, so strong and so salient that she nearly fell over; she had to reach out and touch the brick wall for support. "Emma."

Emma sat with her knees tucked up to her chest, arms circling herself protectively as her blanket sat in her lap. Regina rushed over, fully intending on scooping her up into her arms, but something about the look in Emma's eyes stopped her.

"Hey." She said softly, crouching down until she was at Emma's level. "What're you doing here?"

Emma sniffled in response. Her cheeks were tear streaked, her eyes red.

Regina reached out and touched Emma's knee; it, just like the rest of her, was shaking. Probably from the cold. "You've had a lot of people worried about you."

"No."

"Yes." Regina sat down on the concrete next to Emma, trying not to squirm at all the germs surely crawling all over the ground. "Are you ok?" She wriggled out of her coat and draped it over Emma. It was so big it nearly swallowed her whole. "What are you doing out here?" She repeated.

"Ran away."

"Yes, dear I can see that. But why?"

"Cuz."

Oh, nobody could beat Regina when it came to patience. "Because why?"

Emma looked up; green eyes met dark brown. "No one wants me."

"Oh no, sweetheart that's not-"

"Yes it is." Emma insisted. "No one wants me. An' I don't wanna go back to the group home Regina please don't make me! I wanna go to Mrs. Smith's class and eat at Granny's and feed the ducks and...and..." And then she started sobbing all over again, her tiny frame shaking violently.

Regina reached out and lifted up Emma so that she was sitting on her lap. She'd never dealt with a hysterically crying child before, but somehow she knew what to do as she sat and hugged Emma, letting her get it all out as she smoothed down her hair in what she hoped was a soothing action. Cora had never done this for her before, saying coldly that royals did not show weakness. But crying when it was all warranted was not weak.

Eventually, Emma's tears subsided and she sat with her face buried in Regina's neck. Around them, cars and people streamed by, the sounds of life camouflaging them as Regina held the little girl close and, for the first time since she'd found out that Emma had disappeared, just let herself feel how much she'd missed her.

"Regina?"

She shook herself out of her thoughts. "Yes?"

"Do I have to go back?"

Regina laughed lightly. "Do you know why I'm here instead of Anna?"

"To find me and send me back."

"No. Anna called me because," and here Regina paused for dramatic effect. "because you're coming back with me. To Storybrooke."

But instead of the glee that Regina had envisioned would fill Emma's eyes and illuminate her features.

"What's wrong?"

"Am I really goin' back?"

"Yes, of course you are. Have I ever lied to you?"

"Yeah."

"Really?"

"Yeah one time you said you'd give me orange juice but you gave me apple."

"That wasn't really a lie though, was it?"

"No. Guess not."

"Emma, listen to me." Regina tilted the little girl's chin so that their eyes met again. "I have never lied to you. And I will never do so. You're coming with me. Back to Storybrooke, where you belong. And furthermore, no one will ever take you away again. Like I told you on your first day with me, I'm not everybody else. I'm different and nothing will ever happen to you again. Not with me."

"You promise?"

"Yes, I promise." Regina stood up and smoothed down her skirt, extending a hand to Emma. "Now come on. Let's go home."

Author's note: Yessssss!