A/N: yes, two chapters in two days. Aren't you lucky? I know I'm known for my cliff hangers but it seemed too cruel to leave you teetering on the edge of Henry's treatment. We're not out of the woods yet but we've found a well-trodden path …

The first few minutes of the transplant were in complete silence. Zelena was monitoring the machine Henry was hooked up to, Regina's eyes also flicking regularly to the data on the screen. Emma and Neal, however, were watching their son.

"How long do I have to wait?" Henry asked, looking up at the bag of allegedly not egg yolk solution which hung beside his bed.

"About an hour," Zelena said. "How are you feeling?"

Henry shrugged. He didn't really feel any better or worse than he had for the past week. His body was still tired and hot, the glandular fever having taken hold a little more firmly during the chemotherapy process. The additional antibiotics he had been prescribed had been intended to keep it at bay but the sooner the transplant was done and his body began to produce healthy blood cells again, the better.

"Do you want me to keep reading to you?" Emma asked, picking up the book from the bedside table and hoping to distract them all from the medical proceedings. Henry nodded and Emma began but she had barely read a page when a hacking cough sounded from the bed.

"Henry?" Emma said, jumping up from the chair and peering into her son's red face. "Are you ok?"

"My chest hurts," Henry said, his breathing a little harsh.

Emma's wide eyes snapped up to Zelena, who was leaning over the bed, and then to Regina who had moved to stand right beside her. Neal was standing at the end of the bed, concern etched on his face. Henry coughed again, harsh and ragged.

"What's happening?" Emma asked, panicked.

"This is a side-effect of the transfusion," Zelena said. "It should be nothing to worry about and we can't stop the process because of it. Henry, I'm sorry this is making your chest hurt but you're going to need to be really brave for me and wait it out. Listen to your mum reading and try to forget about it, ok?"

Henry nodded, bottom lip wobbling, and turned back to Emma who offered him a forced reassuring smile and sank back down into the chair. Her hands trembling slightly, she continued to read.

The rest of the hour dragged by. Emma's reading was occasionally interrupted by a cough from Henry but after checking he was still ok, she continued. By the time the bag was almost drained, Henry's eyes were half closed and he was barely focusing on the story. At the end of the chapter, Emma slid the bookmark into place and tossed it aside, standing up and moving to brush Henry's damp hair from his forehead.

"He's burning up," she remarked as her hand made contact with the hot skin.

"Another side effect," Zelena said. "His fever should come down in a while. We're going to give him some antibiotics after the stem cells so that should tamp down the glandular fever."

"I hate this," Emma murmured, Henry now asleep in the bed and oblivious to his mother's admittance. "I hate that he's going through this."

"It's nearly over though," Regina assured her. "Look, the stem cells are all infused now. All we need to wait for is them to engraft. After that, he'll be well on his way back to being a healthy little boy again."

Emma nodded, eyes glistening as she watched Zelena clamp off the tube sticking out of Henry's chest and set about dismantling the equipment. At the same time, however, Belle was getting the prophylactic antibiotics ready and within minutes a new IV bag full of fluid was hanging on the stand, once more passing medicine into Henry's body. Throughout the changeover, Henry slept on.

"What now?" Emma asked as Zelena packed away the equipment.

"We wait," she said. "Henry will need to be on the IV for an hour but for now his vitals look good. Some patients experience a drop in blood pressure but his looks good. The fact that he's sleeping now probably means his chest has relaxed a little and hopefully that cough will have gone too. I'm going to have to head out on my rounds but Belle can wait with you. And Regina can step in if necessary."

"Of course," the brunette said. "But that won't be necessary," she added to Emma.

"We just wait?" Neal said, speaking for the first time in almost an hour.

"That's all we can do," Zelena nodded. "Now it's up for Henry's body to do what it will with the new stem cells. All we can do is hope for the best."

With a final smile at the worried family and Regina, Zelena left. Belle busied herself tidying up the equipment as Emma and Regina sank into their chairs beside Henry's bed. Neal too, took his seat against the wall facing Henry.

"The worst is over," Regina said quietly.

"Only if it works," Emma remarked.

She wanted to be positive but it was hard. She looked at her son, lying asleep on the hospital bed. His thin chest rose and fell as he breathed steadily, the new tube catching the light as it moved and glistening slightly. She hated to think of him being pumped with so many chemicals. She hated how much he had already endured. She prayed he wouldn't need to go through it all again. She prayed the stem cells from Neal now circulating through their son's body would work. She prayed Henry would get better. She didn't believe in God but she prayed anyway.

It was well after lunch when Henry woke again. Sandwiches Zelena had brought back with her for Regina, Neal and Emma lay untouched on a tray when he opened his eyes and looked around. His gown was back in place but he could feel the strange tube contraption was still inside him. Belle had disappeared, as had the bag of egg yolk which had been going into his body. He could see Neal at the end of his bed, head leaning against the wall and his eyes closed. He turned to his left and saw his mum and Regina, the two of them sitting close to one another, foreheads touching.

"Mum?"

Emma pulled back from the comforting feel of her girlfriend and turned to smile at her son. "Hi kid. How are you feeling?"

"Dunno," Henry said.

"How's your chest?" Regina asked.

"Ok," Henry said, realising the tightness which he had felt when he went to sleep had left his body. He was relieved. Those coughs had hurt. "Is it all finished."

"Yes," Emma said, just as Neal woke up and realised his son was awake again. "Yes you have all of Neal's stem cells in you and Belle gave you some extra medicine to stop you feeling so hot. Do you feel hot?" she added.

"I always feel hot," Henry replied. "I have a fever."

"Good point," Regina said, smiling at the boy. "But do you feel hotter than you have the past few days?"

"No," Henry said after a pause. "So It's over? I don't need more medicine?"

Emma turned to Regina and nodded for the brunette to answer. "Well, you're going to need to get some of that medicine in a bag given to you once a day for a couple of weeks," Regina explained. "And Doctor Zelena will be doing tests every day to check how your blood is doing with Neal's stem cells. Hopefully in about three weeks, if you're showing improvements, you can go home."

"Three weeks? That's ages!" Henry groaned.

"Yeah, it is," Emma agreed. "But at least you get to be in this room with SpongeBob and me and Neal every day. We can bring you some more toys when you get stronger too."

"Can I get out of bed and go for walks around the hospital?"

"Not yet," Regina said. "Your body is still vulnerable to getting other illnesses because of that medicine you had this week."

That didn't make much sense to Henry. How could medicine make you more likely to get sick? Wasn't medicine given to people to make them feel better? He was sceptical of that but he knew his mum trusted Regina and that meant he did too. He nodded his understanding and turned his attention to Neal who had been watching the trio from the far side of the room.

"Your stem cells are inside me now," he stated.

"Yeah, they are," Neal nodded, standing up and walking over to the bed.

"What are stem cells?"

"They're new baby cells which can turn into lots of different types of cell," Regina explained. "Our bones make stem cells and then they become all sorts of cell in our body. So the stem cells Neal gave you are going to help teach your body how to make healthy blood."

"You gave me teacher cells?"

"I guess," Neal nodded. He really had flunked biology at school and what had happened to his son today was way beyond his comprehension. "Is that ok?"

"That's cool," Henry nodded. "That's what dads do, isn't it? Teach their sons fun stuff."

"Yeah, it is," Neal nodded.

"Can you teach me to play football better when I'm better?" Henry asked. "I want to play for Spurs when I'm older."

"Spurs?" Neal asked. "They're my team too."

"Really?" Henry said, eyes lighting up for the first time in days. "Who's your favourite player?"

"Um, before you guys get lost to the world of football," Emma interrupted. "Neal, are you ok to stay here with Henry for a bit? I'd like some fresh air?"

"Of course," Neal nodded. A lot had changed since he first met his son and the sheer terror he had felt at being asked to watch him the previous Sunday no longer came. Plus, there was a nurse in the corner of the room in case anything medical happened, he reasoned.

"Thanks," Emma said before reaching for Regina's hand and leading the way out of the room.

Once they had removed their sterile suits and stepped into the corridor, the two women stopped holding hands. Although it wasn't exactly unknown that Regina was closely involved with the treatment of a patient to whom she was not the assigned physician, they had decided it was best not to flaunt their new relationship in her workplace. They walked through the corridors quickly, heading to the front entrance which led onto the large car park. Although Regina had insisted Emma go for short walks every day, the blonde had not spent much time in fresh air over the past week and when she stepped outside, her lungs filled gratefully with it. Well, almost gratefully. They were still standing in the middle of London.

She let out a shuddering breath, glanced up at the light grey sky and set off around the building, Regina by her side. They walked in silence for a while but Emma was no longer able to resist reaching for her girlfriend's hand. A little while later they found a bench and sat down. The view wasn't much; a few cars and a line of trees, but it was something.

"How are you?" Regina asked finally.

"Scared shitless," Emma admitted, her pale face turned towards the woman beside her. "I know there's nothing more we can do no but it's torture. I just want to make him better, you know?"

"I do," Regina nodded. "And we are. I promise. Everything is going really well so far and Henry's responding exactly as we'd hoped. He has a few more weeks of tests and antibiotics and his body will recover and get stronger. Before you know it, you'll both be back in your flat."

"What about the side effects?" Emma asked. Zelena had told her about the possible problems which came from stem cell transplants. They had terrified her.

"We don't know Henry will develop any but if he does, we'll deal with them," Regina said.

Emma nodded. She knew it did no good to speculate but her mind continued to race through different possibilities. Regina's hand on her thigh distracted her temporarily and she looked once more into chocolate eyes.

"You've been amazing, Emma," she murmured. "I'm so proud of the way you've handled everything. A sick child is one of the worst things a parent can go through and you've been so strong for Henry. And dealing with Neal coming into your lives at the same time. I can't imagine how difficult this has been for you."

"I'm exhausted," Emma said, tears spilling from her eyes at last. "I'm so tired, Regina. I have barely slept all week and I can't stop worrying. I just …. I just want it all to be over."

"We all do," Regina said, pulling the blonde into her arms. Emma's head fell against her neck, hot tears prickling her skin as she held the sobbing woman. She couldn't begin to understand what Emma was going through but at least she could, in some way, support her through this time.

"We should get back," Emma said after a while.

"Neal can manage a little longer without you," Regina said, her arm not releasing the woman who had made no move out of the embrace. "In fact," Regina swallowed, "he's been great with Henry."

"He has," Emma nodded. "Better than I imagined."

"Let's hope he sticks around," Regina remarked.

"He's told me he wants to," Emma said. "And the fact that he hasn't even mentioned going back to Cardiff is a good thing."

"Is it?"

The words were out of Regina's mouth before she could stop them. She winced as Emma finally sat up and wiped her teary face.

"Um, yeah, it is," she said slowly. "For Henry, remember?"

"I know, I'm sorry," Regina said. "I shouldn't have said that."

"You're still jealous of him?" Emma asked. She didn't need a verbal answer to know what the brunette was thinking. "I'm gay, Regina. I have zero interest in Neal. He doesn't have any interest in me either."

"Of course he does. You're gorgeous and he's a red blooded man."

"But that doesn't mean he's going to try and get with me," Emma defended. "And then, once again, there's the fact that I like women. Jesus, Regina. Even if Neal did try something, which he hasn't and I don't think he will, I'd tell him to fuck off. Why can't you trust me to do that?"

"I do trust you," Regina said hurriedly. "I do, Emma."

"It doesn't feel like it," Emma remarked. "Please, I don't need this right now. Neal has done an amazing thing for Henry and I will always be grateful to him for saving our son's life. But that doesn't mean I want anything to happen between us. I'm with you, remember?"

"I know, I know, I'm sorry," Regina repeated. "Emma, please, I'm sorry."

The blonde sighed and leaned back against the bench, hands over her face. She rubbed furiously a few times before dropping them to see a nervous-looking Regina.

"I'm sorry too," Emma admitted. "I know this isn't exactly the best way to start a new relationship."

"None of this is your fault," Regina said at once.

"I know but it still means you're having to be patient with me and I can't exactly give you my full attention."

"I'd never ask for that. Even if Henry wasn't sick, I know your son comes first."

"He does," Emma said. "Always will. But I'm still sorry that you've had to deal with this and the whole Neal thing. I'm getting the sense that you're a jealous person?"

"What makes you think that?" Regina deadpanned.

Emma laughed. "I usually find jealousy sexy in partners. It makes me feel like they really want me."

"I do really want you," Regina said, placing a firm kiss to Emma's lips.

"And I want you too," Emma said, kissing the retreating lips herself before continuing. "I really want you, Regina. So there is no need to be jealous. And right now, to be honest, I can't deal with whatever mistrust you have of Neal. He's saved Henry's life. I can't ask him to go back to Cardiff just to make you feel better."

"No, of course not," Regina said. "I'd never ask you to do that."

"Good, because I owe Neal everything. I may not be remotely interested in being in a relationship with him but he will forever be in Henry's life now. And that means he'll also be in mine."

"And I'll have to learn to deal with that," Regina said. "I'm trying, Emma, really. Jealousy has always been a problem I've faced in relationships."

"Can I do anything to make you feel more secure?"

Regina couldn't help but smile at the sweet offer. "No, honey, it's fine. It's my issue. I just have to remind myself that you're with me, not him, for a reason."

"Yeah, you don't have a dick."

Regina burst out laughing at that and Emma smothered the giggles with another kiss. It became tenderer as their tongues joined, both women giving and receiving reassurance of their continued support and commitment to one another. When the kiss broke, Regina spoke before she had a chance to talk herself out of the idea.

"Stay at mine tonight," she said quietly. "Give yourself a break from the hospital. Neal will be fine here. Get a good night's sleep and come back rested and ready to help Henry as he begins his recovery."

"Leave him overnight?"

"He'll be fine," Regina assured her. "And we can have Neal or the hospital call the moment something happens. Which it won't. But you need this, Emma. You're exhausted. You said so yourself."

Emma knew Regina was right. Knew she needed to sleep and have some time away from the hospital. But so did Henry. He wanted to walk outside. He wanted to sleep a proper, restful sleep, not one brought on by illness. How was it fair that she could leave and her son couldn't?

"You'll be better able to support Henry if you're looking after yourself too," Regina said quietly. "And he won't be alone. His dad will be there too."

"Henry's never had a dad before," Emma mused. "It's strange."

"I can imagine many single parents find it a big change to their lives when suddenly there's a partner there to share responsibilities. Perhaps tonight is the night you can take that first step. Of course, you should talk to Henry about it and check he's ok with it first but if he is, I think a night to yourself might do you the world of good."

"You think they'd be ok? Neal would be able to take care of Henry?"

"Henry is asleep most of the time and in a hospital filled with excellent doctors and nurses," Regina reminded Emma. "I think the two of them will be just fine."

Emma thought for a moment and then looked at her girlfriend. Regina was waiting patiently enough for the answer but Emma could tell the brunette desperately wanted her to say yes. Despite Regina assuring her that she understood where Emma's priorities lay, she also knew it had been a rough way to start a relationship. Henry deserved all of Emma's energy, of course, and she had given that to him. But now there was someone, as Regina said, to share the load. Perhaps it was time Emma began to accept she was no longer a single parent in every sense of the word. Emma needed some time away from the hospital. Regina deserved some time with Emma for all of her help and support over the past month. And Neal had earned Emma's trust and perhaps he too deserved some one on one time with his son.

"Ok," she said at last. "I'll ask Henry if he's ok with me spending the night at yours."