I had a great time writing this chapter for you all! May have even tugged at my own heart a little ;) enjoy!
"Th-they're alive! They're alive!" He shot up in his bed, excited and relieved.
Startled, James pushed himself up from the chair he was sleeping in and lifted his feet off from the chest they were resting on so he could make his way to sit next to Henry, "who? Who's alive?"
Regina woke up from the commotion and lifted her head from the pillow she had placed between her head and the wall. Slowly she sat up in her chair and leaned forward to listen to her son, she hadn't moved all night and her muscles screamed out in protest to her movement.
"My mom and Snow!" He grinned wildly in excitement. This had been the only time he had woken up from that place with something other than fear.
James grabbed Henry's arms and shook him, "I told you kid! I told you!" He was so happy he could shout and run through through the town calling out to everyone to tell them the news.
Regina, however, was less excited, "well was it that woman you saw? Did she tell you this?" She was happy for James and Henry but she was anxious about their return.
Henry nodded and continued, "her name is Aurora. She said they have a way home but there's someone in their way. Someone they need us to help them stop. Someone that only Rumplestiltskin knows how to defeat," he had hoped they wouldn't ask who. He knew they would, but he hoped they wouldn't.
"Who?" Regina leaned forward running through names in her head. She could think of no one that would have stood in their way let alone someone that only Rumplestiltskin could defeat.
There it was. Henry looked at his mother and then at James who he found wanted to know the answer as well. He looked back at Regina whose expression hadn't changed, "your mother," with that her face instantly morphed, not hiding the fear and disbelief.
James turned his head over to Regina. The fear was clearly growing in her, "Regina," he drew her name out slowly trying to calm her down. Her eyes started darting around the room and her chest started to heave in quick panicked breaths. He had never seen her so scared, it made her seem small and fragile, "Regina?" It startled both him and Henry when she shot up out of her chair.
"No," she whispered and ran her fingers through her dark hair, "no, no, no," she shook her head and all but ran out of the room. Her mother should not be there, there was no way she should be there. She could feel the panic flood her and she wished she could make it stop.
"Regina!" He called after her before he turned back to Henry, "stay here, I'll be right back," with a quick squeeze on the boy's leg he went after Regina. He found her pacing by the kitchen island with one hand on her hip and the other on her forehead, her eyes were shut and her jaw was clenched tight.
"This is not right," she didn't see him but she felt his presence in the room, "she shouldn't be there," her heart was racing in her chest and she was trying hard not to lose control over herself.
"Hey, we are going to be okay, everything is going to be fine," he kept his voice soft in an attempt to calm her down.
"Everything is not fine! James!" She shook her head and threw her hands to her sides as she yelled, "everything is so far from fine!" She had stopped pacing to yell but once her mouth stopped moving she started pacing again.
She was shaking, her hands were shaking enough for him to see from where he was standing. The news of her mother had rattled her right to her core and it made him nervous. She had told him what she had done to Daniel but that alone would not have caused such a reaction from her. His eyes followed her as she walked back and forth mumbling to herself and shaking her head and every once in awhile letting out a short dark and nervous laugh.
"Is there anything you want me to do?" Seeing her in such a state wrenched at his heart but he didn't know where to begin to try and fix it.
Regina shook her head, not paying any attention to him she continued to rant, "you don't know what she is capable of! This doesn't make any sense! She can't be there!" She tried to stop the shaking in her hands but only got angry when they wouldn't respond.
"What doesn't make any sense?" he watched as her eyes met his as she reached the end of her steps toward him. They were terrified. Her dark eyes that were almost always so strong and defiant were terrified. Just like that he lost sight of them when she turned her back to him, continuing to pace as she flexed her shaking fingers.
"She is dead," her voice was almost a whisper as she ran through her memories, "she was dead, I saw her body, she was dead! She can't be back, she was dead," it was so clearly imprinted in her mind. Cora's body laying there lifeless, how could she forget. It had been such a relief knowing she was gone and she didn't have to worry about waiting for her to turn up to hurt her again.
James lifted his hands, "wait she's dead?" her rambling had confused him and worried him greatly. He could really go for a thorough explanation but he could see that she was in no space to explain anything.
"I can't even go twenty four hours being happy before she has to come in and take it from me," she laughed darkly and then stopped pacing and went eerily silent. Her eyes widened and she spun suddenly to face James, "no," she whispered.
The way she was looking at him scared him, he wouldn't let her see it, she had enough on her plate but whatever she had just come to realize had unsettled him. Her body went stiff with fear and her eyes were empty except for the cold terror that looked right through him and her voice was shaky and panicked, the fact that it was a whisper only unsettled him further.
"James," she walked up to him looking directly at him, "I need you to promise me something."
"What?" she had stopped shaking and she had managed to pull some of her fire back in to her eyes but the fear was still there.
"I need you to promise me that if she does find her way here that you will take Henry and you both will stay as far away from me as you can!" She knew for a fact that her mother would go after Henry but if she didn't know about her relationship with James then she could easily spare him and in turn spare herself the stress of worrying about his safety.
"No," he knew what she was doing and he would have none of it.
"What do you mean no?"
"Regina, I'm not going to leave you to fend for yourself. Yes, I will promise to keep Henry safe but no I will not promise to leave you alone in the hands of your mother!"
Regina shook her head incredulously, "I will be fine! She's not going to kill me, that would be too quick, too easy. No, she's going to go after the people I love, make me suffer! I do not want you or Henry anywhere near me!"
"I don't want to be anywhere but at your side, keeping you strong, helping you fight!" both of their voices were raising in volume until they were nearly screaming at one another.
"This is not the time to be noble, James! I will not let you get caught in the crossfire of a fight that isn't yours!"
"It became my fight when I chose to be with you!"
"No."
"No?" He drew out the word in a question, it was not exactly a proper answer.
"No, you didn't know what you were getting in to, I will not have you throw yourself in danger because of me!"
"I would fight any battle to keep you safe! Even if it meant I wouldn't come out in the end!"
Regina opened her mouth to retaliate but his words registered in her mind before anything came out and she closed her mouth. Her posture backed off significantly and she searched his face to find nothing but sincerity. She swallowed hard and let the tear roll down her cheek as she slowly shook her head keeping her eyes focused on his, "I will not let you die for me. I cannot go through that. I cannot handle losing you at my mother's hand," the tears fell freely now and her voice shook as she tried to keep her cries silent, "I cannot go through that again. I will not make it out alive."
An image of Regina crumbling next to his body, defeated as the last of her tired heart was torn apart and the cries tore through her shot through his mind and it caused his heart to drop to his stomach. He felt sick. Quickly, he grabbed her arm and pulled her in to him, wrapping his arms around her tightly, afraid to let go. Her arms wrapped around his neck and she clung on as if he was going to disappear at any second, he let out a shaky breath, "I won't let that happen. I won't leave you like that," he felt her take fistfuls of his shirt and her strong arms tightened around him.
"You don't know that," she breathed into his shoulder, the tears still falling and dampening his shirt.
"Yes I do. I promise, I will not make you go through that again," he was struggling to keep his breathing steady, he didn't want to lose her or Henry to Cora. Regina had made it seem like they had no out for them if she made it to this world and he didn't know if that was true or not. Either way, the way that she had gotten so frightened shook him, she was almost always able to maintain some sort of steadiness in her composure no matter how much something had shaken her. If this news could crumble the strongest person he knew then there was definitely something to be feared.
"We can't let her get here," she could hear how desperate she sounded but she didn't care, she knew he wouldn't take advantage of her vulnerability.
"Then let's try and keep her away," he rubbed his hand over the tense muscles in her back in a hopeless attempt to get her to relax, "do you know how to stop her?"
Regina shook her head slowly, burying it deeper in to him, "no, I have no idea," that was what had scared her the most. She had basically no defense for herself or the people close to her, against Cora. She was powerful but she was not nearly as powerful as her mother and Cora already had the upper hand; Regina was scared of her and what she could now take away.
"I want you to stay away, I need you to be safe. There is no way that she knows about us and I want it to stay that way for as long as possible," reluctantly she let her arms slide from his neck as he took a step back so he could look at her.
"No."
"James, I-" her quiet plea was cut off by his hushing and he gently took her hands in his.
"I'm not going anywhere," he brought her hands up and kissed them affectionately, curious as to how her eyes fell to her fingers and her expression softened in to a heartbreaking sadness.
She couldn't help but draw a parallel between what James was doing then and what Daniel had done on the night he agreed to get married. The way he gently kissed her fingers. That night was the happiest she had ever been. Such a beautiful and simple ring. The wound had never healed, "please don't do that," her voice was quiet and broken, she didn't want such a precious memory to be tampered with.
Her eyes remained on her hands sad and full of pain yet there was still a quick flicker of happiness as she recalled a memory, "don't do what?"
"Kiss me," she paused and shook her head swallowing her tears, "like that. Please. Just don't."
"Okay," his brow creased in concern as she avoided eye contact, "hey, Regina," he let go of her hands and softly pushed her chin up so he could see her eyes. "I won't do it again," he searched her face, reading her silent thank you.
She slowly released her tense breath and nodded ever so slightly, for once she was grateful that she had let him get to know her so well so she didn't have to try and talk. He smiled sadly and leaned in and kissed her forehead, she didn't think he could have done anything more tender and loving.
"Now," he looked over her, holding her up in her frightened and vulnerable state, "lets make some breakfast and then we'll go and find Rumplestiltskin?"
"I'm not letting my mother know what you mean to me," she found her voice was still shaky.
James only shook his head, speaking ever so softly, "my darling Regina," he caressed her jawline with his thumbs, "you don't have a choice."