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Chapter 19: Aftermath

When Henry opened his eyes, Snow was gone, and his mother lay crumpled at his feet. "Mom!" he yelled. "Ma, come quick! Maaa!"

Emma stormed out into the front yard as fast as she could. "Regina!" She fell on her knees beside the prone woman and stared at the crossbow bolt sticking out of her abdomen and the blood slowly staining her shirt. "No, no, nonononono!" She turned uncomprehending eyes at Henry. "What the hell happened here?"

"Help her, Emma!" Henry shouted, his whole body shaking. "You have to heal her."

"I can't, Henry," Emma yelled. "I don't have enough control over my magic. I don't know what to do!"

Ruby and Tink both shrieked when they came outside and saw what was going on. "Oh no," Ruby muttered.

"What happened?" Tink asked nobody in particular.

"I don't know," Emma shouted, " but we have to take her to the hospital."

"You can heal her, Ma," Henry insisted. "It would be much faster."

Tink nodded. "I don't think she has enough time. You need to heal that wound now."

Emma pulled Regina's upper body to her, resting her on her legs and wrapping her arms around her shoulders. Her magic remained dormant, however. Not even a twitch, even with its counterpart so close. That's what had Emma worried the most right now because without their magic she felt helpless. "Regina," she whispered. "You gotta wake up and tell me what to do."

Suddenly a heavy hand landed on her shoulder. "Emma, you said your magic does whatever's needed to keep you two together," David said calmly. "Trust in that. I know you can heal her."

"I can't feel our magic, Dad," Emma rasped brokenly. "Our connection isn't there … It's as if Regina's …" She couldn't finish the sentence.

"No!" Henry shouted. "She's going to be fine," he insisted. "She's breathing, look."

It was true, even though the movement of Regina's chest was shallow at best. "Who did this to you?" Emma muttered, running one hand over Regina's body. She saw Tink picking something up from the floor but was too focused on Regina to see what it was.

"Ruby, can you take Henry inside?" Emma ordered more than asked. "I need to take out that bolt and try to heal Regina."

"I want to stay!" Henry protested loudly. "Please, Ma?"

Ruby shook her head. "You can't pull it out, Emma," she said, showing Emma the crossbow bolt in Tink's hand. "The tips have wicked barbs in them … you'll pull out half her intes—" She broke off with a wince when she saw the look of horror on Henry's face. "You'll do more harm that way."

"What do I do?" Emma asked forlornly. "She can't die … she can't. She needs a doctor!"

"She needs you," Henry replied. "Just magic it out, Ma."

"Is that possible?" Emma swallowed hard as she looked up to the only other magic person. "Tink, can you tell me what to do?"

"You know what to do, Emma," Tink said with a nod. "Will it to happen."

Emma focused her eyes on the bolt, just wanting it gone, willing it to be gone. She reached out with a hand and imagined pulling out the bolt with her magic and with no further harm to Regina. With a small poof it vanished, only to reappear with a dull sound on the ground next to them the next instant.

Regina didn't even flinch. She just remained lying there in Emma's arms.

"Perfect," Tink breathed soothingly, resting one hand on Emma's arm and one close to the wound on Regina's abdomen. "Now close the wound." Emma looked up at her but before she could say anything, Tink continued. "Imagine the way it closes from the inside out. Imagine Regina whole and healthy and awake. Imagine her smiling at you and Henry."

While Tink murmured close to her, Emma held her hand an inch above Regina's abdomen and let her mind follow Tink's words. She imagined Regina the way she was that morning, happy and healthy, smiling at her over their breakfast in the cabin. She imagined Regina's flawless skin and perfect body and the way it glistened in the shower, glowing from the heat and from the love they …

"Whoa."

Henry's awed exclamation interrupted Emma's focus. She opened her eyes and saw the way her hand and Regina's body were glowing with a white-gold light, although it was fading fast now that Emma's focus was gone.

"You were both glowing like crazy," Henry told her, still sounding awed. "There was this bright light."

"Well done, Emma," Tink complimented her, as she pulled up Regina's shirt a little way to reveal once again flawless skin.

"Good job, Emma," David chimed in as well, clapping her shoulder twice.

Emma numbly shook her head. "Why isn't she waking up?" she wondered aloud. "She should wake up now, shouldn't she?"

Ruby bent down to pick up the second crossbow bolt that lay a couple of feet away where it must have dropped when Regina fell unconscious after being hit. She looked at it closely and noticed the discoloration of the tip. Her throat made a harsh sound, more wolf than human when she realized that the bolts had been poisoned.

Emma looked up at the inhuman sound. "What?"

"The bolts … they were poisoned," Ruby explained, gentling her voice a little. She sniffed the tip, careful not to come in contact with the inky substance. "But it's no poison I recognize. And Granny never uses poison … thinks it's cowardly."

David held out his hand for the bolt to see for himself. He studied it for a moment, then shook his head. "I don't know it either."

Tink picked up the bolt she had discarded earlier and ran a hand over it before giving it a close look. "It's not poison," she said after a long moment. "It's a curse."

"A curse?" Emma asked. "Blue," she growled.

"It would seem so," Tink agreed. "Because this is pretty dark magic."

"Do you know what it is?"

Tink nodded. "It feels like a sleeping curse," she replied. "Whoever did this put Regina into an eternal sleep." To her surprise everyone relaxed and smiled. "You don't understand," she said. "Regina won't wake up from this unless her true—"

"Her true love kisses her awake," Henry interrupted her with a wide grin. "It's good then that my mom has one right here, isn't it?"

Tink looked confused for only a second before her face cleared as she remembered an earlier conversation with Emma. "So you're sure now you're her true love?" she asked. "Absolutely sure?"

"Absolutely," Emma replied with a grin.

"Good," Tink muttered, sounding relieved and satisfied. "I wasn't completely sure, but if you are … why don't you go ahead and wake your sleeping beauty?"

"Yeah, Ma," Henry agreed, going so far as to nudge her. "The place where she is right now really is not a good place to be."

"I will, but I want to keep this quiet," Emma said slowly. "I want to let them think they were successful."

"Them?" David asked.

"Blue," Tink offered.

"And Snow," Ruby growled. "She was the one who stole Granny's crossbow … it must have been her."

Emma turned to her son. "Did Snow do this, Henry?"

Henry nodded, but looked a little ashamed. "She was just standing there when I came out," he mumbled. "And I forgot for a moment that she's bad now and just said hello."

David audibly ground his teeth together. "Did she say anything?"

Henry shook his head. "She just … shot," Henry whispered. "Emma, Grandma tried to kill me." He began to cry as he sank to his knees next to Emma and his mother. "Mom jumped in front of me to save me."

Tink bit her lower lip. "Did you see Hook, Henry?"

Everyone suddenly looked around, remembering that he had been relegated to the porch by Regina.

"I saw him running away down the street just before Snow shot at me," Henry replied.

"That weasel," Ruby growled. "He knew what Snow was going to do and he didn't stop her!"

Emma and David shared a hard look. "I'm going after them," David said with a slightly shaky nod before walking away.

"Wait, I'm coming with you." Tink quickly followed David. "I'm going to kill the bastard."

When they were gone, Ruby turned to Emma. "What are you waiting for?"

"I'm going to get her to her safe place, then I'm going to wake her up," Emma whispered. "Henry, I know we promised you to show you Regina's cabin, and we will … but right now I need you to go with Ruby."

"But why, Ma?" Henry whined.

"Because Emma needs to take care of your mom," Ruby answered for Emma.

"Kid, I need to make sure your mom is okay once she wakes up," Emma added. And I don't want you to be there in case something goes wrong, and Blue did something else with those arrows. "I need you to go with Ruby. You both need to stay away from Snow and Hook, though."

"I want to help you with mom!" Henry tried again, although he could tell that Emma was serious.

Emma closed her eyes. It wasn't that she wanted to keep Henry from Regina, but she knew that right now she only had the capacity to take care of one of them. And she didn't even want to imagine what would happen if their son were there to witness her failure if they had been wrong about their love being true. "How about this, kid," she finally offered. "You go with Ruby now while I take your mom to the cabin and make sure she's all right, and then I come get you in a bit?"

Henry thought about this for a moment, but finally nodded. It wasn't what he wanted but even he could see that it was what his mother needed. He didn't hold back the long, drawn-out sigh, though, and Ruby ruffled his hair in response.

"What are we going to tell people?" Ruby asked.

"Tell everyone that Regina has been cursed but avoid saying who it was," Emma said. "Call David and let him know the plan. We need to let Snow believe that her plan worked. If all goes …" She shook her head. "Regina and I will show up at the town meeting tomorrow, so we can all see Snow's and Blue's faces when Regina is alive and well."

"But Grandpa is going after Grandma …"

Emma smiled sadly. "Nothing against David but Snow has a lot of experience in hiding," she explained. "He won't find her …"

"But I thought he can always find her," Henry mused.

Emma gave him a half-shrug. "I think that only works if she wants to be found, kid."

"Your grandma was a bandit for a long time," Ruby chimed in. "If she doesn't want to be found …" She turned to Emma. "Okay, you go take care of Regina … don't worry about us. I'll keep Henry safe."

"I know, Rubes." Emma remembered something. "You can tell Belle and Granny what's going on, okay? Just … nobody else. I don't trust anybody else."

Ruby and Henry nodded before starting off towards the diner. Emma waited until they were out of sight, then closed her eyes and focused her thoughts and magic on the cabin, Regina firmly in her arms. She felt herself relax as she imagined the bedroom, the bed, the beautiful sheets, the way they felt against her skin, the way the two of them felt when they were lying together …

When the tingles in her body subsided and she opened her eyes, Emma wasn't surprised to feel satin sheets under her and Regina still in her arms. Without further delay, she leaned down and pressed her lips to Regina's with all the love in her heart.

o o o

Granny was pacing back and forth behind her counter alternating between cursing herself for allowing Snow to dupe her, cursing Snow for stealing her crossbow, and wondering aloud why Ruby wasn't answering her calls. Belle was trying to calm her down, ignoring Granny's barks of "I am calm, Belle!", which were usually followed by a muttered "I'm good in a crisis", to which Belle nodded and smiled soothingly while dealing with her own worry about Ruby and even Regina.

Belle had kicked everyone out of the diner and put the CLOSED sign on the door fifteen minutes ago because despite her assurances Granny was in no shape to cook for anyone, so when the bell above the door clanged loudly in the silent diner, both women looked up, their faces showing a mix of expectation and dread.

"Ruby!" Belle shouted first as she jumped from her stool and ran over to hug the other woman, almost bowling Henry over in the process.

Ruby relaxed into an almost boneless state at the feel of Belle in her arms, warm and solid and holding her so tightly that every breath she took brought the scent of Belle's fruity shampoo. "Belle," she breathed, tightening her hold.

"'Bout time you showed up," Granny barked gruffly, but her eyes were shining suspiciously. "Lost your phone, did you?"

Ruby heard the underlying worry and care in the harsh tone and quickly disentangled herself from Belle. She took Henry by the shoulder and walked over to her grandmother, a blush darkening her cheeks. "I'm so, so sorry, Granny," she sighed as she folded herself into her grandmother's arms. "You can't even imagine how much. I should have … if I had just … maybe …"

Granny gently pushed Ruby away until she could look into her eyes, but Ruby tried to avert hers. "What happened?" Granny asked now showing her concern more openly.

"Snow tried to kill me," Henry muttered sadly, still in a bit of a shock. "But … but mom saved my life."

Granny looked from Ruby's bleak eyes to Henry's devastated face and back. "Regina? Is she …?" She closed her eyes for a moment when she could read the answer to her question on Ruby's face. "Why would Snow do something like this?"

Ruby swallowed and Belle instinctively moved closer to her to stand by her side. "Regina and Emma think that Snow is under Blue's influence and that Blue uses something called the Dark Wand."

Belle gasped. "The Black Fairy's wand? It really exists? I thought it was just a legend. I read about it once …"

"Looks like it." Ruby explained everything she had heard about Blue and the Dark Wand and how she might be using it to darken Snow's heart.

"But why would she go after Henry?" Granny asked.

Ruby shot a look at Henry who was sitting at the counter, despondently playing with a salt shaker. "Hey, Henry," she said softly. "You want to go back in the parlor and watch TV or something? Might make the time go faster till Emma gets here …"

Henry shook his head.

"How about something to eat?" Granny added, picking up on the fact that Ruby didn't want to reveal more in front of the child. "I could fix you a nice grilled cheese."

"I'm not hungry," Henry muttered.

"How about—"

"No!" Henry interrupted Ruby with a huff and an eye roll that was all Regina. "Stop trying to protect me from whatever it is you think I shouldn't hear," he complained crankily. "If I'm old enough to be shot at, I should be old enough to hear why."

Belle gave him a sympathetic look. "He does have a point …"

Henry beamed at her but Ruby sighed. "Kid, sometimes it's not about keeping things from you," she tried to explain." It's more about trying not to make you feel any worse than you already do. You're a good kid who should have more of a childhood."

Belle turned to Henry. "She has a point as well," she said, adding a shrug when she saw Henry's face fell.

"Do you really think there are things that could make me feel worse than my grandma shooting at me and hitting my mother?" Henry asked quietly but with absolute conviction.

Belle gasped. "Regina actually got hit?"

"Oh, Henry," Granny said. "I'm so sorry."

Henry turned to Ruby. "You promised Emma to keep an eye on me, so you can't just send me to another room." He crossed his arms in front of his chest and settled in for the long haul.

Ruby clenched her hand into a tight fist and counted to ten but it didn't help much. "Okay, Henry," she finally said with a light growl in her voice. "Stay if you think you're all grown-up, but don't complain to your mothers later."

She turned to Granny and Belle. "Snow shot at Henry, but I don't think he was the target." She sent a sideways look to the boy in question who was listening intently while trying not to look too interested. "Snow was after Regina from the beginning, but she knew the fastest way to get her was …"

"Through Henry," Granny finished.

"So Snow just used me as a target to get to my mom?" Henry asked. "She never wanted to hit me?"

Ruby nodded. "She knew that Regina loves you so much that she would do anything in her power to save you, and by shooting at you she made sure that Regina disregarded her own safety for the sake of yours."

Henry flinched, but nodded bravely, even though Ruby could see there were tears in his eyes. "Do you think my mom is really going to be okay?"

Ruby nodded. "She's going to be fine, kid." She turned to Belle and Granny. "Regina managed to catch two of the bolts, but the third hit her." She patted her own stomach to indicate where.

Granny nodded knowingly. "So that's why Snow took my crossbow," she muttered. "With three bolts one is pretty much guaranteed to hit, even against someone like Regina."

"How bad was it?" Belle asked.

"It looked pretty bad, but Emma magicked out the bolt and healed the wound but ..."

"But what?" Granny asked impatiently.

"Snow put a curse on the bolts," Henry replied quietly when Ruby hesitated. "She put her under a sleeping curse."

To Granny's surprise Belle smiled, looking completely unconcerned by that piece of information. "Did Emma wake her up?"

"As we speak probably," Ruby replied.

Granny looked from Ruby to Belle to Henry and back feeling like her head was swimming. "Why would Emma ...?" She paused and shook her head. "I think there's a lot you need to tell me. Right now. Sit down and start at the beginning."

o o o

Regina opened her eyes with a gasp, her hand going to her abdomen and pressing against it in pure reflex. Her eyes looked around searchingly but Emma wasn't sure she realized where she was yet. Regina's next utterance confirmed her suspicion. "Henry?"

"Henry is fine, Regina," Emma said soothingly, softly running a hand through dark hair. "And so are you." The relief in her voice was palpable. "I couldn't … I would have been devastated if this hadn't worked."

Regina's eyes found hers, soft and open. "It did work," she whispered. "I'm here." The her eyes went cold as she remembered everything that happened in the last hour. "I'm going to kill Snow," she growled.