It was a jumbled mess and no one had a satisfactory answer. Henry had been in the hospital but he was awake now. Regina didn't remember the last few hours or how he got there. She was told that she fainted. Regina wasn't sure what sort of fainting wiped out memories. Her mother had forced her into many a tight corset, her fainting was not something that was unheard of.

And for some reason, they weren't letting her into the hospital room. Dr. Whale said they were worried her fainting might upset Henry. Now that didn't' make sense. She wasn't a serial fainter, something was wrong.

"Looks like someone is on the outside looking in," Regina turned to see Rumplestiltskin walking up to him, "Your majesty."

"What happened?" Regina demanded, "They said Henry took something when Emma was in the room with him. I want her removed-."

"Something you gave him."

Regina stopped, "What?"

"That turnover you made for Emma to take, Henry ate it," Rumplestiltskin barely hid his malice in his voice, "You really should do better about that, your majesty. These sleeping curses just don't work out for you."

"Henry took it?!" Regina demanded, her voice started getting high, "But he-."

"Luckily for you, magic is different here. It wasn't strong enough. He passed out but he's alright now."

"Did she kiss him?"

"No dearie, how would she do that? Our bonafide savior doesn't believe. If she kissed him as such, don't you think this curse would be broken?"

Regina stared at Emma through the mirror. Something wasn't adding up, but she didn't want to think about it. She wanted to go in and see her son. This was Emma's fault, why couldn't she just take the turnover like she was supposed to?

"You should have a moment to think, your majesty," Rumplestiltskin continued, "She was on her way out of town much to your son's disappointment. You would have won if you'd just been patient."

"Just stop it, I want to go see him."

"Oh, I wouldn't advise that."

"What are you talking about?"

"Because he ate what you gave him."

"You can't prove that."

"It shouldn't be too hard to doctor some evidence that says the turnover poisoned him," Rumplestiltskin smirked, "After all, if you and Sydney Glass can manufacture the results of the heart, I can certainly slip some information about the poison and the turnover. The respected sheriff can testify you gave it to her and there's been SUCH bad blood between the two of you since she arrived."

"You would never get away with it."

"I think you'll find that everyone involved is far more scared of me than they'll ever be of you. If I told the District Attorney to give Henry over to Emma….he'd probably oversee everything against you without any evidence. He does love his discount on rent after all. It would be a shame if that changed."

"Since when do you want to help Emma? I seem to remember being told that you weren't going to take her case."

"Well that was before you poisoned your own son."

Regina scoffed, "That was supposed to be Emma to take it! Henry got in the middle."

"Like Belle?"

Regina stopped. She paled and looked away, "Belle died."

"No she didn't. She was in the asylum the entire time. Your little hatter let her out. I'll have to send him a fruit basket to thank him."

"Perhaps he took her then. He was always a deviant and then framed me-"

"How long was she kept prisoner by you, your majesty? Four years trapped? Plus the 28 here? And then the year Emma was here. 33 years of her life wasted by you."

"Stop," Regina warned.

"Or what? You'll kill her?"

"I don't-."

"Stop. Please," he said knowing full well that she had to do once he demanded it, "Emma will have primary custody because of what you've done."

"She signed her rights away."

"I'm sure somewhere someplace there's a case where a birthmother got custody back because the adopted parents were more dangerous than she was. DOn't make this harder than what it has to be your majesty. Emma is going to get him no matter how much you stomp and scream."

"Because you're on her side."

"Precisely."

"I need to understand what I did to make you suddenly work against me now. This curse was for me."

"I think we've established that was never the case."

Regina paled, "Why would you do this?"

"I'm sure your son could ask you the same question," he snarled, "I'll see you out."

Regina took a firmer stance, "I'm not leaving him."

"Your majesty, the cause of his poisoning is currently under investigation. We both know how it was done. You will not be near him at any point before or after the results are released. He is not going home with you. I will not allow you to be here."

"Well, she's not going with him."

"On the contrary, he is going home with Emma for the time being."

"I'm not going to let that happen."

"It will. Because as I said, everyone's more scared of me than they are of you. And anyone taking your side of this conflict will immediately be against me. No one wants that. Not even you. You are very well aware of what I can do even without my magic."

Regina paled.

"I. Will. See. You. Out," he said again.

0000000000000000000000000000000

Mr. Gold- …Rumplestiltskin had requested Emma to have a meeting with him when he lobbed that whatever dust in Regina's face. Emma refused, he could come here. She wasn't leaving Henry's side, no matter what was going on around her.

Regina might take him or hurt him again.

Henry slept off and on. Emma refused to sleep. The adrenaline crashed and she struggled to keep her eyes open, but she dind't go to sleep. She couldn't risk it with Regina right outside the door

And her mind was reeling. Fairy tales were real; her parents were Snow White and Prince Charming. She just fought the same dragon her father once fought in order to save her son. And for what? Rumple had left them down an elevator shaft, he'd attacked Regina too. Now Regina might be a threat and he might be on Emma's side?

Her parents never abandoned her out of malice.

She grew up in a miserable childhood because of what the woman that adopted her own son did to her.

Henry would've found her laying dead on the floor if he hadn't taken the turnover first.

All those were reasons not to ever want Regina in the same world with Henry again.

All of those reasons were enough to send Emma into a mental bout of hyperventilations. Her mind was in tangles at the possibilities. She was a princess and people loved her.

She was a savior and they sent her through a tree at the age of a newborn because that took priority.

It always came back to that. She may have been abandoned for good reason but she was still abandoned.

Emma heard the door opened. Her hand closed on the gun she was hiding underneath the jacket. She looked up to see it was only Rumple.

Without a word, she slowly stood up, keeping her gun hidden. She kissed her sleeping son on the temple and went to stand outside his room, "Hey."

"Sheriff," Rumplestiltskin greeted, "How is he?"

"He's breathing," Emma was tense, she didn't trust Rumple and she wanted him to know it.

"I'm sure you saw Regina milling about."

"I saw her."

"I appreciate you not chasing her away, Emma."

"I didn't want to give away that I know what she is now," Emma put her hands on her hips and sighed, "So…magic doesn't work."

"Indeed it does not."

"So what does that mean?"

"It means you and I are limited. Fortunately for us, Regina is too."

"She's not going home with Henry."

"I'm working on it, sheriff."

"Make it happen. If he risks going home with her after what just happened, I'm putting him in the car and running off."

"Are you sure you want to leave everyone else here including your parents?"

"Henry comes first," Emma told him immediately, she couldn't think about the implications of the threat. Not if it meant Henry's life or health, "If that means leaving this all behind then I'm going to do what it takes to keep my son safe. If you don't want that for whatever agenda you have, then I suggest you make sure I have custody."

Rumplestiltskin grinned, "Well it appears that you and I have some work to do."

"I'm not doing anything for you. You left me in an elevator shaft for something that wouldn't even save my son. Why should I trust you now after what you pulled while my son was dying?"

"Because I'm the only one that will keep you alive."

"You're going to have to do better than that. I've kept myself alive for years."

"Because I'm the only one that can protect you from Regina. Do you think just because I can get you custody, that she'll stay away? Of course you don't think that. And you're going to need all the help you're going to get when it comes to her. This is we world that you can't possibly understand. I"ll bet you won't be able to wrap your mind around it yet, have you? I'm the only one Regina's scared of. I'm the only one that has power over her. I'll get you your son, I'll keep you safe from her as much as I can. But you have to do some things for me."

"Here we go."

"First of all, you have to stay still. Running won't get you what you truly want."

"And what are the other things?"

Rumplestiltskin hesitated, "Not yet."

"You're not going to leave me in the dark."

"Sheriff, I have a lot of work to do and I have a friend asleep in the car. I came here to chase Regina way and give you my assurances that as long as we work together, you will be the safest you can possibly be."

"As long as I do what you want is more like."

"That's what I said. As long as we work together," Rumpelstilskin said sarcastically, "I would suggest you get him home as soon as possible. He's far more safer at home than he is here. This hospital is cold, nothing good happened in a place like this"

Emma was about to ask what THAT was supposed to mean. That was an odd vague statement for him to make and coming from the king of odd vague statements in front of her. Before she could open her mouth to ask though, he was already starting to leave.

And she learned she achieved nothing, she didn't know anything more than she could already guess. He'd keep them safe from Regina. Why?

"Who was that woman you were with this morning?" Emma finally managed.

Rumplestiltskin stopped, "Another victim."

"Was she the same 'she' that you were screaming about when you were beating Moe French to a pulp?"

Rumplestiltskin looked at her. Emma saw something more in his eyes than what was usually there. She wasn't sure if it was grief or hope or a combination of both.

"You're not the only one with people to protect Sheriff Swan."

And he was gone.

Well that was vague and barely useful.

Emma turned to see Henry was awake. She hid the gun from him, pulled on her coat, and tucked the gun into the back of her pants. She walked in and smiled at him, "Hey kid, how are you feeling?"

"Starving."

"I'm gonna try to get you out of here and we'll get something," she promised. She kissed the top of his hair, "Mr. Gold is gonna go for custody for me. I'm going to take you home and I promise I'll do whatever it takes to keep you safe."

She replayed it in her mind over and over. The loud single tone of the flatline. She couldn't get the sight of her son strapped to all those machines out of her mind.

"What about my things?" Henry asked.

"I haven't worked out all the details with Mr. Gold yet, but we'll figure it out," she took his hands in hers and sat on the bed, "Henry. You were right. About everything. I am so so sorry I didn't believe you. Even when it was obvious and I was scared, I should have believed you."

If you'd believed him, he wouldn't be in the hospital now.

"Can you forgive me?" She asked.

He nodded, "We're in this together?"

"From here on out, I promise."

He leaned in for a hug. Emma wrapped her arms around him and pulled him in. She was ready for this. She was ready to be his mother.

"Emma?"

Emma looked up. She saw Mary Margaret standing there.

"Emma, thank god. I was looking everywhere for you-."

Mary Margaret was her mother. The mother that gave her up to keep her safe. A mother that didn't abandon her because she didn't love her but gave her up because she knew it'd keep Emma safe.

To be a savior.

Did her parents want a daughter? Or a savior to save them?

In that moment, she didn't care. She crossed the room and embraced her mother as tightly as she could.

The niggling thoughts still plagued her.

How was she going to keep all of them safe.