Part Three: The One With the Memory Lost

Emma blinked a couple of times before adjusting her eyes to the light. She was looking up and even though the trees were blocking most of the sunlight, Emma still felt the usual blindness due to sunbeams. She turned her head to one side and then the other. There were trees everywhere. What the fuck was she doing on the ground in the middle of the woods? Emma sat down and felt how her whole body was stiff. God, how long had she been there? She felt a burn on the left side of her face, near her scalp, and lifted her hand to touch it but regret it immediately. There was a cut there and the damn thing hurt. Emma waved her hand on the wound but nothing happened. Weird. She shook her head and tried again. Nothing! Why wasn't her magic working? The events of the day before…was it the day before? Rushed through her mind. Fucking Neal! Emma looked around again and smile when she realized she was still in Storybrooke. At least that! Shit, Regina must be worried sick about me, Emma thought. She quickly stood up but had to hold on to a tree in order to get her balance. Her head was dizzy. And she was thirsty!

When Emma felt a little more in control of her body, she started to walk. She was near the troll bridge and Emma cursed under her breath at the walk she had ahead of her. Fucking Neal! It took her over half an hour to enter the town, but the sight of the good old untouched by time Storybrooke brought a smile to her face. People walked past by her, but most of them didn't pay a second glance at her. Emma thought that was a little odd, she was the savior after all, and Regina's wife and she had gone missing for…How long had she gone missing for? Maybe they didn't even know she was missing just yet. Maybe she had only been there on the ground for a few hours.

She walked past Granny's and for a moment she was very tempted to go inside and get herself a bottle of water. She was really, really thirsty, but Emma decided against that decision. She needed to find Regina first. She kept on walking and soon she stopped in front of the white mansion. God, how happy she was to be back home. Emma hurried to the front door and took her keys out of her jacket pocket before opening the door. She entered the house and even though everything looked exactly the same, it also didn't. When did Regina take their wedding pictures off the wall?

"Regina?" Emma shouted "Henry? You guys home?"

No answer. They were probably out there looking for her. Emma walked straight to the kitchen and opened the fridge. She took a bottle of water and drank the whole thing all at once. When she finished, she walked up to their bedroom and went straight into the suite. The cut on her forehead was dirty and she had dry brown blood all around. Emma opened the faucet and washed her face and cleaned the wound. She knew she should cover it with gauze but decided to let that for Regina. She liked when she cared for her and also, she always glued her hair together.

Emma walked into the bedroom and that uneasy feeling crept in again. It was her room, their room, but something was different. There were no pictures of them together on the bedside table or the walls. Regina loved those. She was the one who actually started the whole photo decoration around the house. Emma looked at her side of the bed and noticed that her bedside table was empty. Where the hell were the pictures of them together? Their wedding photos? Their children's photos? And the little mess she often left there?

Emma walked out of the room and then out of the house. She needed to find Regina, now more than ever. She closed the door behind her not bothering locking and went outside. She stopped on the sidewalk and looked to both her sides. That uneasy feeling crept in again. It all looked exactly the same, but at the same time, it didn't. Emma closed her eyes and breathed in deeply before letting all the air out of her lungs. It was just the head injury, that was all. It was just her mind playing tricks on her. She started to walk again and smiled when she saw a very familiar face walking his dog.

"Archie!" Emma said happily "Hey,"

"Hello," Archie said with a polite smile.

"Hey, Pongo," Emma said when she bent down to pat the dog.

"Oh, how do you know Pongo?" Archie asked.

"Funny," Emma laughed "Have you seen Regina? She wasn't in the house!"

"The Mayor?"

"Yes, Archie, the Mayor" Emma laughed again "Have you seen her? She's probably looking for me right now. I don't know if you heard about the incident with Neal"

"Who's Neal?" Archie asked confused.

"Okay, what is up with you?" Emma asked, "Why are you acting strange?"

"I'm sorry miss…Do we know each other?"

"Archie, this isn't funny!" Emma said seriously now.

"You know, I'm a psychologist. My office is right over there if you want to talk"

"Archie, it's me!" Emma said hitting her chest with both hands "Emma!"

"I don't know any Emma"

"Prince Charming and Snow White's daughter?" Emma said "Ringing any bells?"

"Several," Archie said, "Why don't you come with me to my office, Emma…"

"God, I don't have time for this" Emma said and scratched her head, stopping the moment her nails touched the wound "Have you seen Regina or not?"

"Well, I believe the Mayor is probably in City Hall"

"City Hall?" Emma asked.

"Well, it's where she works," Archie said.

"Right. Thanks, Archie"

Emma turned around and started to walk again. What the fuck was that? If that was some sort of a joke she wasn't amused! But then again, why would he joke about not knowing her? Why would he pretend? Something was wrong, she was sure of it now. Emma stopped walking and thought about Regina's office. The image came clear into her mind and Emma waved her hands in the air. She opened her eyes slowly and realize she was still rooted to the spot on the sidewalk. Nothing happened!

"Damn it!" Emma cursed.

She closed her eyes one more time and thought about Regina's office, again. She tried to picture it with more details, imagining her desk with the pictures of them together and their kids, the chairs in front of her desk where Emma often sat when they were having lunch together. She imagined Regina sitting across from her, smiling at her, like she was the most important thing in the world. Emma let that feeling wash over her and lifted her arms up again waving her hands in the air.

"Seriously?" Emma sighed when she opened her eyes and noticed that she was still there on the sidewalk.

"Hey, sister,"

"Leroy," Emma said, "Do you know who I am?"

"Of course, I do"

"Oh, thank God!" Emma let out a breath of relief "Oh, God Leroy! I'm so glad you know who I am"

"How could I forget you?" Leroy said, "We had a pretty good time last night, didn't we?"

"Excuse me?"

"You know, I'm off now, sister," Leroy said biting his lower lip while checking her out "Why don't we…repeat the dose?"

"Oh my god, ew," Emma said making a face.

"Hey, at least I'm not the one waving my hands in the middle of the street like a lunatic"

"Do you know my name?" Emma asked desperately.

"Sure…Holly?"

"You don't even know who I am, do you?"

"Not, but, if you follow me, I would love to," Leroy said "I promise you, I'm one of the good guys"

"Thanks, but no thanks," Emma said "Have you seen Regina?"

"Who?"

"Regina," Emma repeated "My wife!"

"You are not talking about the Mayor, are you?"

"Yes, I am,"

"Regina Mills?" He asked incredulously.

"Yes, Leroy," Emma said annoyed now "Have you seen her?"

"Sister, you are crazy," Leroy said "But the Mayor is in her office. I just left there"

"Are you sure she is in there?"

"Yes! She has that little beast of a son with her"

"Hey, watch your mouth" Emma warned him.

"Sorry, coconut job," Leroy said waving his hands in the air.

Emma rolled her eyes and turned around to leave. How dare he talk that way about Sammy? Emma made a mental note to kick Leroy's ass later. At least, not all was lost. Regina was in her office with Sam. Olie and Henry were probably with her parents. But why was Regina alone only with Sam? Did something happen to their little boy? Oh, no! Emma quickened her peace ignoring how badly her foot hurt. She had been walking for hours now, or so it felt. She wasn't sure of that either. She wasn't sure about anything anymore.

She entered the City Hall and walked up the stairs to where Regina's office was. She put her hand on the handle but something made her take a step back. The walls were different. They were creamed colored but Regina had painted everything in white after the fire Gold started to make sure Emma would win the election. Little did he know that the bickering between them was just to show…most of the time. When did Regina change the colors? Emma shook her hand and opened the door. Her heart skipped a beat when she saw the woman sitting behind the desk.

"Oh, thank God I found you," Emma said and walked fast to where Regina was, kissing her lips "Something really weird is happening, babe"

"Who the hell are you?" Regina shouted angrily.

"Oh, no! Not you too" Emma said feeling her heart racing inside her chest as she crashed onto the nearest chair "Please, tell me this is a joke, Regina?"

"The only joke here is the sorry excuse of an employee who let you escape the asylum," Regina said looking furious at Emma.

"No, no, no!" Emma said and rose from the chair walking from one side to the other inside the office "Please, tell me you remember me"

"I have no idea who you are, dear,"

"Regina, babe, this isn't funny," Emma said feeling her throat close "Please, don't do this to me" She whispered.

"I'm calling the hospital"

Regina reached for the phone and started to dial when suddenly the whole room was possessed by the loud sound of a baby crying. Regina put the phone down and looked angrily at Emma again. She could see every bit of rage running through Regina's eyes.

"Do you see what you've done?"

Regina shouted and rose from her chair. She walked two or three steps to a small baby crib that Emma had completely ignored when she walked in. Regina bent down and pick up a crying baby, rocking the little thing in her arms.

"Regina, who is this baby?" Emma asked but Regina ignored her "Regina, whose child is this?"

"This is my son," Regina said and smiled when she held the baby in front of her face "Henry"

Emma felt everything around her spin. She closed and opened her eyes before falling down onto the chair again. No! That couldn't be right. That baby, it couldn't be Henry. It couldn't be their Henry. Emma tried to breathe, in and out, in and out again, but every breath she took felt like a struggle. She looked at Regina and watched her rocking Henry back and forth and that slowly made her heart go back to a reasonable pace. The baby, however, didn't seem to find Regina's rocking all that soothing. His cries got louder and louder and Emma saw how desperate Regina was trying to calm him down.

"Please, Henry, please," Regina said rocking the baby "Please, I'll do anything you want. Please,"

Emma rose from the chair and walked behind Regina.

"Can I hold him?" Emma whispered.

"You get away from me and my son," Regina said angrily.

"Please, Regina," Emma said feeling a tear fall down her face "Please, let me hold him,"

Regina looked at her with an incredulous expression on her face. Emma gave her a watery smile and stepped closer to her, slowly taking the child from Regina's arms. She hesitated, at first, but Henry's crying became so loud that Regina simply gave up. Emma held the baby in her arms, smiling and crying at the same time as she looked at him. It was him. It was their Henry.

"Hi, baby boy," Emma said in a small voice "Hi!"

Emma cried freely now and kissed the top of his head. He had that wonderful baby smell that all babies seem to have and she breathed in as much as she could of it. She rocked Henry in her arms, holding him closer to her body. It didn't take long before he stopped crying.

"How the hell did you do that?" Regina asked.

"Did what?" Emma asked.

"Made him stop crying,"

"Oh, I don't know," Emma said "I just patted his back. It always worked with Sam and Olie"

"With whom?" Regina asked.

"Our chil…Never mind"

"Well, miss…"

"Emma. Emma Swan"

"Well, Miss Swan, I think it's time for you to go"

Regina walked to where Emma was standing and carefully took Henry from her arms. Emma didn't want to let go of him but she let Regina take him anyway. She couldn't afford to be any more on her bad side. She watched as Regina put Henry back inside the crib and then walked to the door. She held it open for her and Emma knew that was her cue to leave. Emma reluctantly put one foot in front of the other and walked out of the office.

Outside, Emma felt her legs shaking and her knees gave up on her as she fell on the floor. Henry! That was Henry. That was the baby she gave up for adoption fourteen years ago. Emma's eyes filled with tears as she tried to get her breath under control. This was a dream. It had to be. She just needed to wake up from it. Or maybe go to sleep. She couldn't tell! Emma rose from the floor and started to walk towards Granny's B&B. She was going to get a room and rest. Maybe she had a concussion. The wound on her forehead was probably deeper than what she had originally anticipated. She just needed to rest. She just needed to go to sleep again and tomorrow everything would be back in order.

Storybrooke – Present Day

Regina woke up with a fright. The room was dark, only the rays coming from the moon peeking through the open window. The night was cold and the curtains were flying inside the bedroom when Regina walked to the window to close it. She looked at her sleeping children, the three of them all jammed together in her bed. They couldn't sleep on their bed tonight and Regina couldn't blame them. They were worried about their mother. She was too. She had no idea where Emma was. Not even a clue. She looked at the wedding ring on her finger and started to roll it. God, how much she missed her wife. How much she hoped she was okay. She felt tears falling down her face, but she quickly brushed them. She didn't want to risk one of her children seeing her crying.

Regina silently walked out of the bedroom. Perhaps some tea would help. Or coffee. She couldn't decide if she wanted to go back to sleep or stay awake the rest of the night. Not that she thought she would be able to go back to sleep anyway. Her brain was racing with thoughts of where Emma was and how was she going to find her. She walked down the stairs and entered the kitchen, jumping when she saw a figure in front of the stove.

"Snow," Regina said "You are still here?

"Hi," Snow said "I couldn't go back home. I'm sorry I didn't tell you, but you were all sleeping upstairs"

"It's okay," Regina said and sat down by the island.

"Tea?" Snow offered.

"Yes, please,"

"My grandchildren?" Snow asked putting the cup of tea in front of Regina.

"All sleeping, safe and sound"

"We'll find her, Regina," Snow said and took Regina's hand between hers after she sat down next to her "She'll fight like hell to come back to you"

"I know," Regina let out a sad smile "I just had the weirdest dream"

"What was it?" Snow asked and sipped her tea.

"I was with Henry in my office when he was still a baby" Regina smiled "Emma walked in and kissed me. I was furious at her"

"Why?" Snow asked.

"I had no idea who she was" Regina laughed "She kept on calling me babe and begging me to remember her"

"That's odd," Snow said making a face.

"Yeah, that was weird," Regina said and opened her mouth to say something else but then decided against it.

"What?" Snow asked, "What is it?"

"It's just…I don't know" Regina shook her head "It felt more like a memory than a dream"

"You are right, that is weird" Snow laughed.

"I know," Regina said "Don't you want to get some rest? It's quite late"

"I don't think I can," Snow said "Wanna play checkers?"

"Sure! Why not?"

Regina waved her fingers in the air and a set of checkers appeared in front of them. She played mechanically, her brain couldn't shake thoughts of Emma out of her mind. She wanted to be in the vault now. She wanted to be going through every book she owned to find the right spell to find Emma. But she couldn't leave her children alone. They already lost one parent, and Regina couldn't bear them waking up in the middle of the night and not find her home. She made another move on the board and ate two white pieces. In the morning! As soon as her kids were fed and Henry went off to school while David watched Sam and Olie, she would lock herself inside her vault and find a way to bring her wife back home.