Emma called several times after Henry's birth and her mother never took her call. Eventually, she gave up. Ten years later, Emma was made aware of her destiny. She wasn't aware that by breaking the curse, she would kill her adoptive mother. After the curse was broken, David and Snow had decided to visit Regina. Gold gave Snow a potion she could use to leave town. They went to Regina's room and were stunned. The once stoic, strong, and confident queen was curled up on her side, shaking. "Regina," Snow said softly. She walked over and knelt by the bed. Snow softly stroked the woman's cheek.
"We can't take her home," David said, "she's not in any shape to go anywhere."
Snow had tears running down her face, "I know, but maybe she would get better if she left."
"Snow, we both know that won't happen."
The doctor walked into the room to talk to the couple. "Miss Mills can't make her own medical decisions anymore. She signed a form giving power of attorney to someone, but there's no phone number."
"Who is it? Maybe we can help?" Snow asked.
"You," a trembling voice said. They all turned towards Regina.
"Me?" Snow asked before turning back towards the doctor. "If it says Mary Margaret Blanchard or Mary Margaret Nolan, then it's me." Snow showed the doctor her ID.
"Well, it's my opinion that Miss Mills needs to be here. I don't believe that she will get better."
"If I decided to take her home, you can't stop me?"
"No, I can't. I could go through the courts, but they'd ultimately side with you. She would probably want to be at home when it was time. May I ask a question?"
"Sure," Snow said.
"I know that it's none of my business, but she hasn't had any visitors except that time her daughter showed up over twenty years ago."
"Emma's our daughter," David said, "we had her when we were quite young and Regina adopted her. As Regina's health got worse, she asked us if we would be able to take Emma."
"I guess we've been so busy with our family and jobs that we neglected Regina. She doesn't have any friends or any other family around. Her father died shortly before Emma was born and I have no idea where her mother is. She'd just make this worse."
"Is it alright if we take a few days to get our home ready for Regina?" David asked.
"Sure," the doctor said, "we'll need time to process her discharge papers."
It took three days for Regina to be discharged. In that short amount of time, Cora had shown up in Storybrooke. She hadn't believed Snow and David when they told her about Regina, so they decided to show her. They had a few conditions and Cora couldn't go unless she met them. Snow and David led Cora into the nursing home. It was the saddest place she had ever been to. She couldn't believe her daughter was here. Before entering Regina's room, Snow and David stopped. "Are you ready?" Snow asked.
"Based on what you've told me, I don't think I'll ever be ready."
David opened the door and held it for the two women. "Regina," Snow said softly. She sat on the edge of the bed and took her hand, "we're here to take you home and we brought someone with us." Cora was frozen in her spot. David had placed a supportive hand on Cora's back, but the woman just leaned into it. "I'm gonna help you sit up." Snow helped her stepmother sit on the edge of the bed. When Regina saw Cora, she began to panic. "It's okay," Snow said in an attempt to calm the frightened woman down. "She can't hurt you here."
Cora turned and rushed out of the room. David followed and had her sit in the front seat to wait for them. When he returned to Regina's room, she was in a wheelchair and had calmed down. David sat down in another chair facing her. "Your mother doesn't have magic out here. She also put her heart back in and won't hurt you. We told her that we wouldn't take her to you unless she did and we saw. I had her sit upfront with me. Snow's gonna sit in the back with you. It's gonna be okay."
He didn't know if Regina understood him, but hoped she had. She must have because there wasn't another incident. Snow held Regina's hand the entire way home.
The last time Emma had seen Regina, she was five years old. She hadn't been able to speak to the woman since that time she showed up at the nursing home. Regina refused to take her calls and had no knowledge of Henry. Emma was not prepared for the condition Regina was in. Henry was hanging out at Granny's so Emma could talk to her mother first. When David carried the woman through the door, Emma was in shock. Snow had decided to stay at the loft while David and Cora went to Granny's. Snow was to text David when it was safe to come home. Emma walked up to the bed her mother was in and sat on the edge, and took her hand. "Hi, mommy," she said. Regina turned and looked at her daughter. "I've missed you so much. I wish you had taken my calls, but I guess you couldn't. If you had then I would have been able to tell you about my son." Regina's eyes widened and Emma knew her mother was listening. "He's ten and his name is Henry Daniel Mills. He's at Granny's with my dad and Cora. I was able to get the Blue Fairy to agree to come over and try to help you. Well, my parents and Henry helped convince her as well."
There was a knock at the door and Snow answered it. She took Blue over to Emma and Regina, "Emma, I don't know if this will work," Blue said, "but I promised you all that I would try."
"Thank you," Emma said, "I know she wouldn't want Henry to see her like this. I know she hates that we've seen her like this. Plus, I can't let her die."
"I understand," Blue held up her wand. Once it was glowing, she placed it over Regina's head and moved the wand in circles. She then moved it up and down the woman's body twice.
Regina felt her head begin to clear, "thank you," she said in a voice that was a bit raspy.
"You're welcome," Blue said, "I would have Whale do a scan to make sure everything's alright. The dark matter that was killing your brain should be all gone, but I don't know if there's any permanent damage."
"Thank you," Emma said before hugging the woman. Snow sent David a message to come home before thanking the fairy and escorting her out of the loft. When Henry, Cora, and David returned, Emma waved her son over to the bed. "Henry, this is my adoptive mother. She raised me for the first five years of my life. You're named after her father and late fiance. Mom, this is Henry."
Henry took the woman's hand and gently shook it, "it's nice to meet you," he said.
Regina smiled, "it's nice to meet you too."
"Kid, you don't have to be so formal."
"It's alright, Emma," Regina said. "He's read the book and probably isn't too sure about me. I understand that."
Snow walked over to the bed, "Regina, I have an appointment for you at the hospital tomorrow. You're going to get a brain and full-body scan. Emma and David will go with you to make sure Whale doesn't act like, well, Whale."
"Thank you," Regina said.
Emma turned towards Snow, "ma, I'm gonna sleep down here with mom tonight. She needs someone to stay with her. I know Cora probably wants to, but I need to."
"I understand," Cora said and walked into view.
"Sorry, I didn't realize you were right there," Emma said.
"That's alright," Cora responded, "you stay here with your mom and I'll sleep on the couch."
"You could conjure up a bed," Regina suggested.
"I was trying to not use magic. I know how much you always hated when I did."
Regina smiled, "you can make a bed for yourself. Just aim for good instead of evil."
That night, Regina felt tense in Emma's presence, "are you going to tell me how angry you've been at me?" she asked her daughter.
"I was at first, but ma and dad told me that you were really sick. That you couldn't take care of me and that it hurt too much to see or talk to me. After that, I was just sad."
"I'm so sorry, dear. I never wanted to be away from you. I had no idea about the curse having been altered before I cast it."
"That's what Gold said."
"There was a day when you called me about ten years ago. Was it to tell me about Henry?"
"Yes," Emma answered, "I tried a few more times, but they said you weren't taking calls."
"When the nurse told me that day that you were on the phone, I started sobbing and panicking. They had to give me a tranquilizer. I couldn't hear your name without losing it."
"Just so you know, ma and dad have never said a bad word about you to me."
"They didn't have to. The book did that for them."
"Mom, you weren't always that person and I never knew her. I have only ever known the kind and loving mother I had for the first five years of my life. Now, you need to get some rest." Emma kissed her mother's cheek, "good night, mom. I love you."
"I love you too."