Hello there everyone! I apologize for the delay. The holidays, work, and a myriad of other things got in the way this past few months. I hope you all enjoy the new chapter, and as always, I appreciate your kind words and feedback. Enjoy :)
"Ryan! Ryan, where are you?" Emma screamed, frantically scanning the treetops through the thick layer of billowing gray smoke.
She'd made the harrowing decision to remain in the forest despite the danger, understanding that, if it were Henry trapped, she'd rather die of smoke inhalation and third degree burns than risk leaving him behind. She jogged through the forest with tears streaming down her cheeks as they tried to wash the smoke from her panicked green eyes, and she coughed periodically to clear the fumes from her exhausted lungs. Oscar sneezed beside her, and Emma looked down at him, grimacing at what she had inadvertently dragged him into. "We'll get her out, buddy. We'll get her out and go home. I promise."
She was unsure if the reassurance was more for Oscar or herself, but it seemed to help steel her nerves a little. Emma continued to run through the trees, and she rounded a bend, coming face to face with the wall of smoke that was rapidly consuming the entirety of the forest. She called out for Ryan again, choking on the thick gray clouds as they filled her throat, and scrambled up a ridge to an outcropping of glittery pink and black granite that overlooked a small valley in the forest. Emma looked out and tried to find any sign of the little girl. She took a moment atop the massive boulder to gain a better vantage but gasped when she felt a hot gust of air rush across her back and thighs. Whipping around, Emma's eyes grew wide as she came face to face with the one thing she'd hoped to avoid; the fire had finally caught up to her, and it was bearing down on them, only 100 yards or so behind where she and Oscar stood.
Emma leapt from the boulder, falling ungracefully to the forest floor and scraping her knees on the bed of dead pine needles. She began to run in the opposite direction of the impending blaze with Oscar yipping at her side, both panting from the smoke and exhaustion. They covered nearly 200 yards of forest, putting a moderate distance between them and the relentless flames, when all of a sudden, Oscar bolted to her left and sprinted parallel to the fire at a full run. Emma's eyes grew wide and her heart dropped into her stomach as she watched him run away. She instinctively took off and lost sight of him after a few seconds, and so she prayed that he was safe despite his impulsive behavior. As she followed, the skin on the left side of her body flared with heat from the fire that bore relentlessly down on her, and she stumbled as she ran, smoke obscuring the forest floor and causing her to trip on exposed tree roots and stones.
Emma's blonde hair streamed wildly behind her as she followed Oscar's periodic barks, and after a time, she finally caught up to him. His gray and black body was rapidly circling the base of a seemingly random tree, jumping and wiggling around the massive trunk and barking furiously at Emma as she approached. She gazed up into the branches through the haze of smoke, and Emma found a small girl perched about 40 feet up in a tree branch peering down at her. Her dark brown eyes were filled with tears, and her shoulders were trembling uncontrollably. "Ryan?" Emma called up, flinching violently as she heard trees begin splintering from the heat behind her.
The little girl seemed in too much shock to speak and nodded instead, and Emma felt a small weight fall from her shoulders. 'Ryan," Emma began gently, "your dads sent me to come and find you. Did you get stuck up there?"
She nodded again, tears streaming down her flushed cheeks. "Well kiddo," Emma smiled, "what do you say I come up and get you so that we can get you back to your dads?"
The little girl whimpered as the fire drew closer and caused trees to crash to the forest floor. Each time one of the massive pines fell, it made a sickening crack. The sound was the kind of noise that cut straight into Emma's bones and caused her skin to crawl uncomfortably. Realizing how close the fire truly was, Emma quickly leapt up towards Ryan, lithely pulling herself into the first layer of branches. She scrambled agilely through the tree, thankful for all the hours she'd spent climbing throughout the summer with Henry.
The ascent was fairly easy, and she was over 30 feet into the tree in just a few quick motions before coming face to face with a very scared little girl. Her deep ebony skin was covered in sweat from the waves of heat rolling from the fire, and her eyes were as wide as saucers. Emma bit her lip as she processed for a moment and tried to figure out the best way to get Ryan down. Deciding to have her hold on to her back, Emma maneuvered herself in the tree so that the little girl could climb on. Thankfully, she did as Emma asked without any protest, and soon she and Emma were scaling down the tree towards the ground. That should have been a great relief, but as they drew nearer to the base of the tree, Emma realized how close the fire truly was. Oscar was barking madly down below, and he began to run in the opposite direction of the wall of fire that was at that point only 20 or so yards away. "Ryan, hold on!" Emma yelled over the roar of the fire, beginning to run with everything she had away from the crashing trees and cracking pine sap.
She stumbled repeatedly, and it took every ounce of strength in her body to run fast enough to outpace the fire while also clinging to the small child on her back. Emma followed Oscar who was running just ahead of her, trusting that he was leading her away from the fire and towards somewhere not totally consumed by flame. She was exhausted in ways she could not begin to articulate, but she pressed on. As she ran, Regina's beautiful eyes and Henry's crooked little smile filled her mind, and Emma felt her adrenaline kick back in.
I haven't told Regina I love her. I need to tell her how much she means to me, and I will not let myself die without telling her. C'mon, Swan, you're tougher than this. You've been in worse pinches than this before and made it out no problem. I have to get to her. I have to get home.
Emma turned her head slightly and called back to Ryan. "Hang in there, kid. I've got you! We're going to be just fine. Just hold on a bit longer!"
She felt small hands grip tighter around her neck, and she began to think of all the reasons she loved Regina and Henry. Her soulful eyes and soft hands. His untamed hair and raucous laugh. Dancing with them. Hiking with them. Just being with them. Those thoughts helped Emma press on through the Hellish blaze towards safety, and she turned one final time to reassure the child.
"Ryan! Ryan, hold on. I've got you, kid. We're going to be…"
It had been several hours since she and Henry had arrived at the relief camp in the mountain, and Regina was back in town at the only local hospital with a burn clinic. She sat in a plastic chair beside Emma in the hospital, running her hands through long blonde hair and shushing gently to try and soothe the feverish woman. Emma had been in and out of consciousness since the surgeon's finished their first treatment of her burns, and she had repeatedly been calling for someone called Ryan. Regina was doing everything she could to calm Emma after another bout of murmured crying, but she was inconsolable despite Regina's best efforts. She had never seen Emma so helpless, and it broke her heart each time Emma would stir and begin to mumble and cry.
After the doctors at the relief camp stabilized her enough for transport, Emma was taken to the burn center a few hours from the foothills of the mountain for more extensive and invasive treatment. Regina and Henry had followed close behind the ambulance, and the pair hadn't left Emma's side since they arrived. The blonde's burns were severe, and they had to lightly sedate her while they worked to remove the topmost layers of dead tissue and debris.
Regina knew Emma was tough but sitting beside the blonde as the plastic surgeon delicately peeled layer upon layer of burned tissue away, exposing every nerve, proved just how tough Emma really was. The nurses told Regina that, even though Emma was sedated, she would still feel a great deal of pain as they worked, and Regina's eyes filled with tears as she watched Emma grimace and cry out in pain despite the medication that worked hard to keep her from becoming fully conscious.
The hospital had allowed Oscar to be with Emma until Mary Margaret and David could arrive, and he sat curled on the floor outside of her room with Henry while Regina held Emma's hand. The dog flinched every time he heard Emma whimper or cry out, and Henry sat rubbing between his ears and under his chin to soothe him despite the stress that hearing Emma in pain was clearly causing.
They were at the hospital for nearly three hours by the time the doctor's finished Emma's initial debridement, and the blonde lay spent in her hospital bed, exhausted from the excruciating experience of having her burns cared for. Regina allowed Henry and Oscar back into the room, and they all waited quietly for David and Mary Margaret to arrive. As they sat, Emma began to mumble again, calling out the same name. "Ry... Where's Ryan," she said from beneath her oxygen mask, eyes fighting to open.
Regina furrowed her brow, still unsure of what Emma was talking about. "Emma," she began gently, "I don't understand who you're asking for. Is Ryan a person from your campground?"
Regina studied the blonde's pale face as her green eyes opened a crack as she nodded. "Little girl I went back for."
Regina nodded slowly, beginning to piece together what must have happened on the mountain. "You went back for a little girl in the fire?" she asked tentatively.
Emma nodded slowly. "Find her for me?" she mumbled. "Little girl. Ryan Thompson. Big brown eyes. Prob'ly seven years old."
Henry looked between Emma and his mother before he dashed out the door. "I'll find her, Emma!" he called over his shoulder as he jogged to the nurse's station. He felt completely helpless sitting in that hospital room watching Emma hurt so badly, and so he decided to take action. Henry heard his mother call out to him, walking into the hallway outside of Emma's room, but he waved her off and continued towards the nurse's station.
Walking through the hospital, Henry realized quite suddenly that there was a chance Ryan wasn't even at the hospital at all. It seemed highly unlikely given how badly Emma was burned that the girl had escaped completely unscathed, and so Henry crossed his fingers that she was, in fact, at the hospital where he could find information about her. It was a fairly large hospital, but it only took a few directions from some very kind nurses to bring him to the central nurse's station. Only a little over four feet tall, Henry stood up on his tip toes to see over the counter to where a man sat. He was in his mid 30's wearing deep navy nurse's scrubs and spectacles that sat on the edge of his nose, aiding him in reading the computer screen before him. Henry smiled tentatively, unsure of exactly how he was going to figure out where Ryan was. The man behind the desk removed his glasses and peered down at Henry. "Can I help you, young man?"
Henry nodded slowly and thought for a moment. "I… I'm looking for my friend. Her name is Ryan Thompson. I think she was in the fire on the mountain, and I came up to visit her."
The nurse raised an eyebrow speculatively before popping his glasses back on and typing what Henry assumed to be Ryan's name into the computer. After a moment, he stared back down at Henry who anxiously shifted from one foot to the other, before raising the phone to his ear and entering a four digit number. Henry heard it ring twice before a deep voice filled the other end. "Mr. Thompson, this is Andrew at the nurse's station. I have a young man here who would like to come up and visit Ryan."
Andrew covered the receiver before asking Henry, "What did you say your name was?"
Henry, realizing Ryan wouldn't know him, said, "Henry Mills and Emma Swan. Emma Swan also wants to see her."
He uncovered the receiver once again and relayed the names to the man Henry could only assume was Ryan's dad before jotting down a series of numbers on a sticky note. "Here's her room number kid. Mr. Thompson said you and Miss Swan can come around for a visit any time this evening."
Henry nodded appreciatively to Andrew before dashing back down the series of hallways towards Emma's room. When he returned, he found two people whom he'd never met before talking quite intensely with his mother outside of Emma's room. The woman was about his mother's height with short black hair, and the man was blonde and a bit taller than the two women. He came to stand beside his mother, and Regina instinctively wrapped an arm around Henry's shoulders as she spoke. "Mary Margaret, I understand what you are saying, but I cannot imagine Emma has any desire to move back in with you and David. From what she's told me, she lived with you after a very traumatic break up, and I just don't see her willingly returning to that place, even under different circumstances."
The other woman who Henry understood to be Mary Margaret pinched the bridge of her nose took a deep breath. "Well then, Miss Mills, what do you propose we do with her? David and I are her emergency contacts for a reason; she trusts us to make tough decisions for her. She's badly injured and can't reasonably live on her own for a time, and I see no other alternative than her staying with us."
At that point Regina launched into a tirade about Emma's mental health and all of the negative associations she likely had from living with them, and Henry decided to shrug away from his mother and into Emma's room. The blonde lay sleeping in her bed, her breathing steady and her color returning to a somewhat normal hue. Henry plopped down on the chair beside her bed and rested his chin on his hands. "I found Ryan, Emma. She's here at the hospital somewhere. This really nice nurse gave me her room number and everything. He talked to her dad, and Mr. Thompson said we could visit any time this evening. I don't think this room number is in the burn unit because it doesn't have a B before the number like your room. You must have gotten her out okay," Henry finished with a sigh.
He laid the sticky note beside Emma's hand before he continued. "We were really scared for you, Emma. Mom never speeds, but she drove way fast to come up to find you. She tried not to cry, but I saw her eyes get kinda watery while we were headed up the mountain. I'm just glad you're okay, Emma. We love you so much, and I… Well, I don't know what we'd do without you."
Settling back into the chair, Henry crossed his legs and sighed. He was exhausted from his full day of worry, and he took a moment to sit quietly. Regina's voice filtered into the room from the hallway, intermingled with Mary Margaret and David's. He hoped finding Ryan would provide Emma with some peace, but it seemed that the trio in the hallway would make peace a bit more difficult. As Henry sat, Oscar came and laid his head on the armrest of chair, and the boy rubbed under his furry chin. They sat together for a few moments in peaceful stillness, and Henry's heart leapt when he saw Emma stir in her bed. She swallowed thickly and opened her eyes, red and swollen from smoke and flame. "Hey, kid," she said from beneath the oxygen mask.
Henry's eyes lit up, and he grinned. "Hey, Emma. Guess what?
She shrugged weakly, and Henry relayed the news. "I found Ryan," he said warmly.
Emma smiled weakly and nodded. "Where is she?"
Henry grabbed the sticky note which lay crumpled beside Emma's hand and showed her. "She's not in the burn unit so I'm not exactly sure, and I haven't gone to see her. I wanted to see you first."
"Thanks for doing that for me, Henry," Emma said, reaching for Henry's hand.
"It was nothing. You've done so much for me this summer, and I just wanted to help you."
Emma smiled again and turned her head to the hallway, listening to the raised voices filtering through the doorway. "David and Mary Margaret are here, I see."
Henry nodded and shifted in his chair. "They're fighting over where you are going to stay when you get released from the hospital. From what I can tell, Mary Margaret wants you to come stay with her, but mom thinks that it's a bad idea. She doesn't have a better one, and so they've been arguing about it for the last 10 minutes."
Emma grumbled unintelligibly, and Henry nodded in agreement. They sat together for a few minutes, listening as the argument raged on outside the room, when Henry came up with an idea. Henry was constantly coming up with fantastical schemes and ideas; Regina always imagined that her son's mind was like a super computer: constantly purring with information and ideas. Every day, she had to decide whether or not to allow Henry to climb something or build something or leap from something. The boy's mind was always coming up with new and different way to terrify his mother, and as he grew older, the plans became more elaborate in nature. Regina and Henry's negotiations over duct tape and plywood and reading material were legendary in their household, and Regina prided herself on being mostly reasonable when presented with an idea. Henry was a logical, respectful, and bright child, and so it seemed only fair to hear him out and consider whatever brilliant plan he'd devised.
So, sitting in the hospital that day, it was unsurprising that Henry concocted another of his infamous plans. Of course, the boy could not have known that the idea he hatched that day in the hospital would prove to be the most life changing of any of his schemes, and so it was with little pomp and no circumstance that Henry shifted in his chair and spoke to Emma, presenting his latest and greatest idea to the weary blonde. "Emma," he began tentatively.
The blonde rolled over and raised an eyebrow. 'Hmmm?"
"What if… Okay just hear me out here, but what if you came and stayed with mom and I for awhile?"
Emma opened her mouth in protest, but Henry raised his hand to quiet her. "Please Emma, just hear me out. I'm not in school right now, and mom can work from home. We have an extra bedroom you could keep your stuff in, and the back yard is fenced for Oscar. Mom and I love you both so much, and I could help with Oscar and keep you company while you get better."
Emma sighed and was about to give Henry the laundry list of reasons why it was not a good idea when Regina, Mary Margaret, and David burst into the hospital room. All three of them looked exasperated, but before any of them could open their mouths, Henry sprang from his chair and stood before his mother, hands on his small hips in confident defiance. "Mom, I have a proposition for you."
Regina raised an eyebrow and sighed, sweeping her hand before her in a motion that told Henry to proceed. The boy shifted from one foot to the other, took a deep breath, and launched into his pitch using his most businesslike tone. "As you all know, Emma is hurt pretty bad."
The blonde grimaced at the reminder, and Regina shot her a sympathetic smile before returning her gaze to Henry. "I know I'm not supposed to eavesdrop, but you guys were arguing very loudly out in the hall, and I understand that you can't agree where Emma should go."
Mary Margaret and David listened intently to the little boy, however, it was with bemused tolerance. Regina took these negotiations far more seriously than the couple realized, and they did not fully understand the gravity of the exchange. "I think I've come up with a good solution to our problem, and I'd like to suggest Emma come to stay with mom and I for awhile."
In almost perfect synchronization, Mary Margaret and Emma opened their mouths in protest. Henry anticipated their concern and raised his small index finger to silence them as his mother did the same. David watched it all with earnest eyes, chuckling at mother and son. "Hear me out," Henry continued.
David nodded the boy on, and Henry took a deep breath. "I'm home from school, and mom can work from home. She does it all the time when I'm sick! Oscar is going to need someone to play with, and since I'm not at school, I can help make sure he doesn't get bored while Emma gets better. Plus, we have a real nice guest room that no one ever stays in."
Henry turned to Regina who was processing the information and scanned her face. They'd done this dance a thousand times before, and he could tell by the furrow in her brow that she was seriously considering the proposition. In a rare moment of quiet, Mary Margaret also allowed Regina time to think, understanding the unspoken family ritual that was being conducted before her eyes.
After a moment, Regina stepped around Henry to Emma who lay in her bed listening. The blonde's green eyes were alight for the first time since Regina knelt by her side on the mountain, and butterflies filled her stomach as they watched her approach. Regina settled at the edge of Emma's bed and took the blonde's hand in her own, rubbing soft circles across the back of her scraped knuckles. Gazing into Emma's tired eyes, she sighed. "Would you be okay with this? Coming to stay with Henry and I for awhile? I know we've only known each other a few months, but you've given Henry and I so much, and I... well we… we would be honored to help you through this."
"Regina, I can't ask you to do something like that for me," Emma replied, pulling the oxygen mask from her mouth before continuing.
"You're not asking, Emma. I'm offering. Please let someone take care of you. I know you're not good at that, but trust me. Please? I love you so much, and I want to do this. Frankly, I can't believe I didn't think of it myself," Regina said as she turned to grin at Henry.
The boy smiled back, but Regina returned her eyes to Emma as the blonde spoke. "Regina, are you sure? This seems like it could be a little rough on us," Emma said, gesturing between them.
Regina smiled and shook her head dismissively. "If we can get through this, we can get through anything."
Emma held her gaze for a moment, mulling over all the ways it could go wrong. However, deep brown eyes shone reassuringly before her, and Emma found that any challenge she feared weren't so scary with Regina by her side. Before she knew it, Emma was nodding in agreement, nervously biting her lip. Regina beamed and leaned in, pressing a soft kiss to Emma's cheek, and they both hummed softly at the contact. Regina tilted her head up, brushing her lips across Emma's forehead before pulling away and turning to face her son.
Henry stepped up beside his mother and matched her grin with one of his own. He extended his hand, signaling the end of the negotiation, and Regina took it in her own and shook it firmly. Once Regina let go, Henry turned to Emma and extended his hand again. The blonde smiled wearily at the boy and shook his hand as well. Henry beamed and turned to face Mary Margaret and David. "Well," he said crisply, "I'm glad we got that all sorted out. Emma, we need to get you better because you're coming home!"
She smiled from beneath her oxygen mask and nodded slowly. Watching Regina and Henry chatter rapidly back and forth about preparations for her arrival, Emma realized that she would go to Hell and back if it meant being with those two. Sitting in the hospital bed covered in burns and tubes, Emma finally realized that her home was no longer the apartment building filled with IKEA furniture and shelves full of books but rather the company of a charming little boy and his exceptionally beautiful mother who animatedly planned for the future, their future, at the foot of her hospital bed.