Going home.

Regina could barely believe it. She had been imagining to go home to her son so many times during her long stay in the hospital, and now it was finally happening. Tonight, she truly would reunite with Henry. And she would never leave him again. Not voluntarily nor involuntarily.

She had practically been glued to her phone all day. She and Henry had been texting non-stop since this morning, and Regina could sense how much her son missed her. It was radiating from every text he sent. He had so many plans for them. She had so many movie nights to catch up on with him. So many popcorns to eat. He even mentioned that he needed her to help him with his homework, and the way he texted her made Regina feel relieved. She was still mom in his mind. That had not changed even if her voice was absent. He had handled it so much better than she had. When he was told that she could no longer speak because of the 'car accident', all he'd done was to shrug and say: "but mom, you're alive!"

Yes.

Yes, she was alive.

And thank god for that.

She was still here to curl up in the couch and watch a movie with her son.

She was still around to drive him to school and help him with his homework.

She was still here to be his mom.

That was the only thing that mattered.

Regina would never forgive herself for considering to end everything. And deep down, she knew that she would not.

Even if Zelena had not come back into the hospital room when she did, Regina would never have made that final jump.

Because she was a mother, for Christ sake.

And Zelena was right. She did not survive that horrible night only to kill herself weeks later.

Regina was not... She was not a quitter.

Cora Mills had once upon a tome made sure of that.

As unmaternal and tough as a nail as she had been, Cora Mills had taught Regina many a valuable lesson.

And the most important one had been to never ever give up no matter what you were faced with.

Chin up, and solider on, girl.

When life gives you lemon, you swallow those lemons whole and pretend it's candy. Or something like that.

Regina could no longer remember the exact wording Cora had used, but she did remember what her beloved father used to say. 'Como un barco en el agua, tú también encontrarás tu puerto.'

Like a ship on the water, you too will find your harbor.

Henry.

Henry was her harbor. He always had been, and he always would.

Yes.

With the help from her precious, clever boy, Regina would find her way back.

And she would... She would have a good life.

She had to believe that was still possible.

Even for someone as broken and destroyed as she was.

She could still rebuild her life and perhaps find a fraction of the person she had been. And if she did... she would cling onto that tiny little fraction.

Perhaps she could make it grow like a tree. If she tried really hard. If she soldiered on once again.

Kept her chin up in a way that would have made her mother proud.

Regina looked up from Great Expectations when her cellphone vibrated scratchily against the table once more. She quickly grabbed the device and checked the message. Smiled. It was from Henry again. He and Zelena had already arrived at Vancouver station to pick her up. Regina checked the time. They were early, very early. But she did not actually mind that. The idea of waiting on the station amongst the many, many people was not one she fancied very much. She had developed somewhat of an irrational fear about large crowds after waking up at the hospital. A completely irrational fear seeing that she never before had a problem with crowds. But a part of her PTSD, her psychiatrist, Doctor Harper had told her. People had different reactions, and there was nothing wrong with developing a fear for large crowds even though you had never had that problem before.

No fear was ever wrong.

That was the first lesson Regina had learned from Doctor Harper.

After having texted Henry back that she could not wait to see him again, Regina discreetly glanced at Emma. Perhaps she could politely have asked miss Swan to keep her company at the station if Zelena and Henry had not been early.

Emma Swan had been so forthcoming, Regina had a feeling that she would not minded waiting with her had it been necessary.

Regina glanced at Emma again. Frowned softly. She looked a little concerned. A little on edge. Perhaps she was worried about the past. Perhaps she was worried about the future. Either way, Regina wanted to do something to make the frown lines on her young face disappear. She grabbed a post-it note and scribbled the first thing coming to mind. 'Almost at journey's end now.' Then she pushed the post-it note towards Emma.

It did not take Emma long to pick up on it. She bowed her head slightly, looked down at the words. Then she lifted her head and smiled a little. "Yeah," she nodded. "Been a long ride. Are you looking forward to getting off the train?"

God, yes. Regina could not even describe how much she was looking forward to getting off the train and holding her son again. It felt like ages since she last had seen Henry even though it had only been three days. Reuniting with her son. That was her main priority right now. Anything else came secondly. Including the things she was worried about. Living her life, for example. Adjusting to this new, wordless reality that was her life. She grabbed a new post-it and write quickly: 'I must admit that I am, but this journey turned out to be less boring that I had feared. Thank you for that.'

Regina looked down at the words for a moment. Yes, it was all curtsey to Emma that Regina's train ride had been pleasant.

Regina had been so scared when she boarded this train. She had been afraid to interact with anyone.

Afraid of not being able to do this anyway.

But Emma's presence had actually helped. She had talked to her like Regina was a normal person. The fact that Regina could not speak hadn't even affected Emma, and Regina thought to herself that sometimes the kindness of a stranger really meant the world. She pushed the note across the table so Emma could read it.

And Emma was quick to do so. She looked up and smiled again. "I say the same. I hadn't really expected to get in contact with anyone during this trip, but... I suppose I had a change of heart."

Regina returned the smile. So they had both encountered a kind stranger on this trip. That was nice. Then her phone vibrated again, and Regina of course had to see what it was. It turned out to be a selfie from Henry. A not very refined picture of himself and Zelena who were making faces at the camera and looking all goofy.

Regina felt a smile blossoming on her lips. Those two. Henry and Zelena had always been a great combination. Zelena was the best aunt anyone could ever ask for.

Regina wasn't sure what she would have done if Zelena had not stepped in and become Henry's safe harbor during her hospitalization.

After having sent a half-sarcastic text telling her family how 'pretty' they looked, Regina put the phone back on the table and looked up once more. Discovered that Emma was looking at her. She seemed a bit flustered at the accidental eye contact, but Regina was quick to offer her a smile. Right now Emma strangely reminded her of a younger version of Malena. She hadn't been too big on eye contact either. Regina grabbed the pencil and post-it note again and began scribbling once more. She did not want Emma to feel awkward, and she ended up writing the first thing coming to mind. 'Are you looking forward to arriving?' surely, that would take Emma's mind off the accidental eye contact. Regina pushed the note across the table.

Emma picked up the note and read it. Then she pursed her lips slightly. "Yeah, I suppose I am."

Regina raised an eyebrow. Perhaps Emma had seconds thoughts about it all. Instead of wasting more paper, Regina settled for scribbling 'suppose?' underneath the other question.

"Maybe I'm a little nervous," Emma clarified and looked as though she was confessing to committing a crime. "I've lived in Toronto all my life. Moving away is a pretty big step for me."

Regina nodded and hastily scribbled a new note. 'For me too. You have no idea how daunting this trip has been.' she almost scoffed as she pushed the note towards Emma. Aint that the truth.

"Have you been in Toronto for a long time?" Emma asked, and there was that curiosity again.

Regina settled for a nod. Yes, her hospitalization was a long one.

"But you're originally from Montreal?"

Regina nodded in affirmative.

"I've never been to Montreal," Emma revealed and leaned back in the seat, clearly struggling with where to put her ridiculously long legs. "Is it a nice place?"

Regina nodded before her shoulders could get the chance to crawl up towards her ears. Yes, Montreal HAD been a nice place to live. She'd had a good house there with a pretty garden where she grew roses.

It was not the house's fault that someone had walked into her life and made the house her prison.

"Maybe I should go there sometimes," Emma continued and then laughed a little. "But I think I would be screwed when I got there. I don't know any French."

Regina quickly decided to be amused. She refused to think about the fact that she would never be able to speak French again. To distract herself, she grabbed a new post-it note and scribbled something, so she wasn't just nodding along to everything Emma said. Perhaps she couldn't speak any longer, but she was still able to participate in a conversation. 'It's actually not that hard,' she ended up writing and before she could convince herself that it came across as belittling, she handed the note to Emma.

Emma chuckled after having read the note. "You're probably right about that, but I'm such a dummy when it comes to that. I'm afraid I would end up saying something rude when I actually try to find out where the bathroom is."

Regina shook her head. Now she was genuinely amused.

Emma suddenly looked a bit thoughtful. "Can I ask you something?"

At once, Regina nodded.

"That place I'm going to live at..." Emma said slowly and Regina saw how she wetted her lips nervously. "Do you think they need any waitresses? I'm sort of panicking because I don't have a job."

Regina had to stop herself from raising an eyebrow. Waitressing? Oh, no, no, no, that wouldn't do. Of course there was nothing wrong with waitressing (Regina's first ever job had been as a waitress), but she could sense that life had something else in store for Emma Swan. That she belonged on a much different shelf. And if she could, Regina would help her find that shelf. She felt strangely eager as she tore off another post-it note and scribbled on it as fast as she could. 'Eugenia often looks for new waitresses, but if she doesn't happen to be looking at the moment, she'll be more than happy to point you in the direction of another diner that does. Otherwise try and talk to Mal. Maybe she can find you a job at Dragon Publishing.'

Mal was always looking for new test readers, but more importantly, she was constantly searching for that 'diamond in the rough', and Regina had a feeling that Emma Swan was just that. A diamond in the rough. If she was nudged towards the correct career path, she could shine.

She pushed the note towards Emma.

Emma took a bit longer to read this note, but when she was done, she looked up with her mouth slightly open and wide eyes. "Seriously?" she asked.

Regina nodded and did not even waste time on finding another post-it note. She simply scribbled underneath the other words: 'Of course. Malena is always looking for people who are passionate about books. And from what I've gathered, you are. I think you and her will hit it off quite well. You should try and call her when you get to Steveston. Maybe you and her could schedule a meeting.' She noted that Emma was reading along while she was writing, and so it did not take long before Emma blurted: "Are you sure you're not a fairy godmother?"

Regina smiled as she shook her head. She was not. But oh, how Henry would enjoy that comparison when she told him about it later. She could not wait to see the look upon his face when she revealed that she had been sharing a train cabin with a woman who wrote fairytales. His little face would light up like a christmas tree the way it always did whenever they were talking about fairytales. Regina was relieved he had that interest. She could not even begin to imagine how often the fairytale had to have helped him during this park period in his young life.

"Do you come to Steveston often?" Emma suddenly asked her.

Regina nodded as she was pulled out of her musings. That nod could probably have been enough, but she found herself wanting to elaborate further. So she grabbed a note and wrote a more sufficient answer. 'Yes, Eugenia makes the best burgers you can imagine. I've never found a burger better than hers, and that has made me unable to enjoy a burger elsewhere.' Burgers, Regina thought to herself as she slid the note towards Emma. Oh, how she has missed eating burgers. Perhaps that would be one of the first meals she would cook for her son. Or... or lasagna. Eugenia made a good lasagna too, and why not share that information with Emma Swan? With all due respect, she looked like she could benefit from putting a little extra meat on her bones.

Regina hastily wrote a new note: 'And her lasagna is very good too. Although not as good as mine.' Surely, she was allowed to boast a little, was she not? She pushed the new note towards Emma.

Emma chuckled. "I love lasagna."

Regina smiled and then her phone vibrated again. Another text from Henry. He was accusing her of being 'mean' because she had written he and Zelena looked 'pretty'. Obviously, the clever boy had looked right through her sarcasm, and now he was not pleased with her. But Regina was pretty pleased with herself. She could almost see the affronted look on her son's face. Then she put her phone away and glanced at Emma. She looked a bit far away again. Looking at Regina but not really. More like... looking through her. Her forehead was wrinkled, and Regina wondered what it was the blonde was thinking so deeply about.

Before she could stop herself she had written another note. 'Is everything okay?' and pushed it across the table.

After having read the note, Emma's head snapped up. "Yeah," she said a bit sheepishly. "Sorry, I was just... zoning out for a moment."

Ah. Regina knew all about zoning out. She had done that many, many times in her life recently. She nodded slightly and flashed Emma a reassuring smile. It was okay to zone out.

Regina went back to reading her book. Submerging herself into the story about Pip and Estella was always easy, but today she was being distracted. Her phone kept buzzing and buzzing, and Regina felt as though it was not the train that was bringing her closer to Vancouver. It was the sheer longing to hold her son again. She and Henry. Together they could do anything. Conquer anything. Regina texted her son back and told him how much she missed him, and then she put her phone back down on the table and turn her attention back to the book.

But she did not get the chance to read for long. Suddenly the door to their cabin was pushed open, and a tiny little boy, five years old at most and with floppy brown hair and big brown eyes came toddling into their train-cabin. Regina's heart almost skipped a beat when she looked at him. What an adorable little boy. Made her miss her own boy all the more.

"Hello," the tiny tyke said and gave a crooked smile that almost melted Regina's heart.

"Hey kid," Emma said and lifted an eyebrow. "Are you sure you're supposed to be here all alone? Where are your parents?"

"I dunno," the little boy said with a slight shrug, completely unbothered as he climbed up on the seat and sat next to Regina. "What are you reading?"

Regina's first impulse was of course to answer the sweet little boy's curious question. But then she remembered. That she could not. That her lips were permanently sealed. Her broken vocal cords flickered, but they did not flame. Even if she did chose to go against doctor Auburn's recommendation and spoke, there was a good chance the little boy would flee in horror. And Regina would not blame her. Her voice was horrible. Grotesque. She sounded like a monster from a scary movie. Regina ended up simply pointing to the cover of the book.

"What does that mean?" the little boy asked confused. "I can't read."

Regina immediately felt stupid. No, of course he could not read. He was only five.

"Great Expectations," Emma interjected. "It's a grownup book."

Yes. That was exactly what Regina would have said if she could.

"What's it about?" the little boy asked curiously, looking to Regina. He was clearly a curious little one. Much like Henry had been at that age. And still was.

"Bit difficult to explain, kiddo," Emma said and seemed to frown a little bit. "Where are your parents? Do they know you left?"

A look of guilt crossed the little boy's face. He lowered his gaze slightly. "My mom went to the bathroom and I was bored."

Emma leaned forward slightly now. Her forehead was still wrinkled. "I think it would be better if we found your mom, kid."

The sweet little boy shook his head stubbornly. "Wanna stay," he said firmly and looked up at Regina with his big brown eyes again. "Can you read to me? I wanna hear a story!" he smiled beamingly at her. "Pweaaase?"

Regina's heart broke. She was suddenly reminded of all the times she had read aloud to Henry when he was younger. It had been such a steadfast part of their bedtime routine. She would never be able to do that again. And she wouldn't be able to read to this little boy either. Because she couldn't speak. Not a word. Her voice had been stolen from her. Regina felt her mouth twist and her lips instinctively part. Like she really was trying to speak. It was an instinct. The maternal instinct that always kicked in when she met a child.

The little boy looked expectantly up at her and kicked his little legs up in excitement. So happy at the prospect of being read to.

But Regina could not. For a moment she actually tried. Because she could not deny a child anything. But of course no words came out. Of course she remained permanently silent.

"Can you read to me? Pretty please?" the little boy asked. Still with an excited gleam in his eyes, but a confused, protruding bottom lip as though Regina had hurt him. He thought she was purposefully ignoring him. Regina felt absolutely horrible.

Emma rose from her seat. Regina was not entirely sure what her plan was, but before Emma could do anything, the door to their train-cabin was opened again, and a young woman with curly brown hair stepped in. "Roland!" she exclaimed, relief etched onto her face. "There you are! You can't just run away from mommy like that. You scared me! Now come here, you little rascal."

The little boy- Roland- climbed off the seat and toddled over to his mom. "The lady doesn't wanna read to me," he announced, raising a pudgy finger, and pointing to Regina as his bottom lip trembled.

Regina could feel her own bottom lip tremble. Her chest ached. Her throat too. Oh, why couldn't she just read to him?!

"That's enough young man," his mother scolded him. "It's rude to point. And you should be thanking these nice ladies for looking after you."

"Thank you for looking after me," Roland said obediently. He was only looking at Regina.

Regina gave a strained smile in return. Her throat still hurt, and she had to somehow convince herself that the pain was psychosomatic.

"You're welcome, kid," Emma said, smiling at the kid too.

"I am so sorry about that," the mother said as she lifted Roland up. "He's been complaining about being bored since yesterday morning. It's a good thing we'll be in Vancouver soon. Thank you for looking after him."

"It was no problem," Emma said politely.

The woman turned her attention to Regina. "Thank you."

Regina tried her best to smile, but her facial muscles felt stiff. The corners of her lips pulling downwards as though she wanted to cry and not smile.

The woman turned around and left their train cabin with her young son on her hip. Regina could hear her scold him for running off like that. She looked down at her hands without actually seeing them. She felt numb all over again. That little boy had wanted her to read to him. And when she could not, he had looked so sad. Perhaps he thought that she did not like him. Maybe he was telling his mom about it right now. Regina almost couldn't bear it. She couldn't bear the idea of a child thinking that she disliked him.

"Are you okay?" came Emma's voice, but for once, Regina was not in the mood for communicating. She settled for shaking her head in response. No, she was not okay. She was upset. Very upset.

"Regina..."

But Regina simply turned her head and looked out of the window without seeing anything. Nothing Emma said or did could make her feel better right now. After a moment, she gave up and rose from her seat. She needed to get out of this cabin for a little while. Needed a moment to compose herself.

She walked down the hallway. Ended up in the bathroom where she splashed some cold water onto her face. Then she went back to her sleep compartment.

There she sat down heavily on the neatly made bed. Rubbed a hand over her forehead. There was nothing more frustrating than wanting to scream when you literally could not. Oddly enough, screaming had also been the first thing coming to mind in the hospital. When she was told that she could not speak any longer. She'd had this intense urge to use her voice so she could yell about the injustice of it all. Regina liked to think that she was not a whiny person.

She'd had her fair shares of tragedies.

Both of her parents dead before she turned thirty.

A prince charming turned demon.

And now a stolen voice.

And the lost opportunity of ever complaining again.

Killian wanted her to shut up. So he had made her shut up.

Simple as that.

Killian had always been a man who took what he wanted.

And he had wanted her voice.

Her words.

Her 'no'.

Consent stolen from her as easy as one-two-three.

As quickly as wrapping a belt around her neck.

Regina rose from the bed. Squared her shoulders and pulled herself together. Getting upset over something she could not change was not worth it. She did not want to cry. Not again. She had already wasted too many tears on Killian Jones.

She left her sleep compartment and walked back down the hallway. It did not take long before she reached the cabin she shared with Emma.

Emma looked up when she approached, and Regina could see the worried little line between her eyebrows. Regina felt guilty all the sudden. She had once again brushed Emma off when she wanted to help. That was not okay. Regina wanted to lighten the mood. She grabbed a new post-it and wrote down the first thing coming to mind. 'Are you ready to go out and find some dinner?' after having concluded the question, she gently pushed the note towards Emma. A kind of peace-offering. A silent apology for having rejected her help and left like that.

But Emma did not seem the least bit offended as she took the post-it note and read it. Shortly after she looked up and grinned. "Yeah, absolutely. I'm starving."

Feeling utterly relieved, Regina eagerly scribbled underneath the question: 'Your appetite is very impressive. I admire that. I've never been very big on dinner.' Merely meant as friendly conversation, but it was actually true. Dinner had always been something Regina made for Henry. Often she was too busy with work to make anything beyond salad for herself.

Emma's eyebrows knitted together. "Seriously? How can anyone not be big on dinner?"

Regina settled for a shrug, willing herself not to get upset. She had just come to think of Killian and how he preferred that she kept fit. He did not want a 'fat' wife, as he put it. Regina had suffered endless jibes about how much she ate.

"Well," Emma said, interrupting Regina's train of gloomy thoughts when she grinned. "Just stick with me kid, and you will be."

Regina smiled gratefully. Kid. She could not remember the last time she had been called 'kid' by anyone. And there was something particularly amusing about being called 'kid' by a much younger woman.

Together they headed into the dining area and found a table for two. Emma ordered a huge steak with baked potatoes and gravy. Regina opted for the tomato soup. The waiter did not comment on her choice.

Neither did Emma. And she even made a point of looking in the opposite direction when Regina took the pill that would relax her throat muscles before starting dinner. Regina could tell that the act was deliberate on Emma's part and not a coincidence, but she was still grateful. It was sweet of Emma to pretend...

When the dinner was over, and the lights had dimmed, the passengers started to leave their cabins and hover in the hallway. Regina too left the cabin she shared with Emma and went back to her sleep compartment to gather her things. She felt both excited and nervous. What if she could not adjust to being back home with her son and sister? What if she had gotten too used to the confined little bubble that was her hospital room? What if she was too scared to ever become a part of the society again?

No. She could not think like that. She would just have to believe that she could do this. As her psychiatrist had said, she was a 'survivor' .Whatever the hell that meant. Were you really a survivor simply because you had lived through something horrible? 'Survivor' sounded like something grand and majestic. A heroes cape you should wear.

But Regina did not feel much like a survivor.

She felt like the plaything Killian Jones had chewed up and spat out when he got tired of playing with her.

She had not survived because she had put up a fight.

She had survived because the police had arrived when they did.

End of story.

Regina shook her head firmly and squinted at her reflection in the mirror. Enough with the negative thoughts already. She was going home to her son for crying out loud. And she was damn well going to be happy about it! No more tears. Henry had seen her upset far too many times already. He did not need to see it again. And certainly not on her first night home. He was excited to see her.

If she was upset when she got home, it would devastate him.

She would have to put on a smile for him. Be happy to finally be home at last.

She could do that.

Chin up. Solider on.

Regina made her way into the crowded hallway with her suitcase. It did not take her long before she spotted a familiar face in the crowd. Emma did not look too comfortable in the crowded place either.

Regina went over there and was grateful to spot a place for her to stand near Emma. She much preferred that rather than being surrounded by strangers. Emma was somewhat of a friendly face on this trip.

"Didn't most of the people get off in Winnipeg?" Emma asked a tad irritated. Definitely not a fan of crowded places. Or perhaps it was the screaming children again. Admittedly, they were being a bit loud. Perhaps they were excited to get off the train.

Regina settled for offering a slight smile and a light shrug. She did not have her pencil and post-it notes with her. That did make it a little harder to communicate.

"Seriously, I swear there are more people than there was when I got on this train," Emma half muttered.

Regina tried to smile as best as she could, but she could feel herself starting to grow worried again. This, the train-cabin and the sleep compartment had been yet another confined little bubble. Safe. She had not been a part of the real world for a year. How was she supposed to function without the safety net of doctors and nurses ready to help her when she started to feel overwhelmed? And what about Henry? Regina almost shivered upon remembering how she had not been able to touch him. How his touch had made her flinch and shrink away. She did not want to go back to that dark place.

Then her phone chimed in her pocket. Regina of course quickly checked the message and felt her face loosen up in a smile. 'I can't wait to see you, mom :D I've missed you so much!'

Henry.

Henry missed her.

Henry was anxious for her to come home.

Yes.

That was the one thing Regina would cling on to.

The upcoming reunion with her son.

Regina texted back that she could not wait to see him either. Then she slid the phone back into her pocket. Or, tried to. There was something blocking it. A feel in her pocket told her that it was the stack of unwritten post-it notes. Oh. Why had she taken those? They didn't belong to her. She turned to Emma and handed the stack of post-it notes to her.

"Oh," Emma said and gave a little half-smile. "Thanks."

With both of her hands free, Regina could write on her phone again. And she did so. But this time it was not a message for Henry. It was one for Emma. 'I wouldn't want you to forget your post-its.' Then she turned the screen towards Emma.

Emma chuckled softly. "I'm pretty sure I could have survived without them, but thanks."

Regina offered another little smile and braced herself by putting a hand on the wall. She knew for a fact that the train would come to a stop in a moment. And that it would be a jerky one too. It always was.

But Emma Swan clearly wasn't nearly as prepared. She lost balance, stumbled, yelped, much like the children who had not been holding their parents' hands as instructed. But Emma Swan was not a child. And she would most certainly have fallen face first if Regina hadn't acted.

It had been an instinct kicking in.

Regina had not even thought about it before stepping forward and gently grasping Emma's upper arm to keep her upright.

Emma's cheeks were rosy as she looked at Regina. "Thanks," she said slightly half-heartedly.

Regina quickly released her grip on Emma's upper arm. But she couldn't help but raising an eyebrow. That was a close call. She did not have the option to write on her phone or a post-it, so she had to rely on Emma's ability to lip read as she formed the word: 'Careful'.

"Yeah," Emma said and sounded a bit awkward. She rubbed the back of her neck. "I'm chronically clumsy. Did I almost throttle you?"

Regina shook her head in negative. Thankfully not. That would have been quite terrible. She did not like the idea of being 'throttled' one bit.

"Good," Emma said, and Regina noticed that she now was rubbing her upper arm. The exact spot where Regina had grabbed her a moment ago. And Regina was immediately worried. Had she grabbed Emma too tightly? Had she accidentally hurt her? Oh no. Regina had far too many memories of Killian gripping her arm too tightly.

Often there had been finger marks and bruises on her arms for days afterwards.

A message was announced over the speaker. 'You have now arrived at Vancouver station. We thank you for having travelled with us, and we hope you've had a pleasant journey.'

Regina mulled over that. Yes, she had in fact had a pleasant journey. She had smiled more than what she had anticipated. Communicated more than what she had expected. That was nice. And she felt like she might even have made a new friend too.

After a moment, the train doors opened with a creaking sound, and Regina immediately took hold of her suitcase and strode over to the open door. For some reason, nobody tried to shove her out of the way. Perhaps she still had that look in her eyes. That look Henry always called 'the professor-look'. Perhaps that look wasn't entirely gone after all even though Regina could not remember the last time she'd had that look in her eyes.

She made it out on the platform and shivered slightly in the cold air. Adjusted her scarf and coat and glanced around. Where was Zelena and Henry? God, it was impossible to see anything because of all these people! Regina set her jaw and began walking through the sea of people. With her free hand, she patted her pocket to ensure that her phone was still there so she could text Zelena or Henry if she needed to. And maybe she would need to. She certainly couldn't see them anywhere. Until...

"Mom!"

Regina's head whipped around, and she felt a smile blossom on her lips as she saw her little boy coming barreling towards her with his scarf billowing in the wind. Zelena was right behind him. Yelling at him not to run, but Henry paid no attention to that. Nor did Regina. She sat her suitcase down with a thunk and opened her arms in anticipation. It did not take long before Henry reached her and flung himself into her arms with so much eagerness Regina almost stumbled. Goodness, when did her boy get so big? Has he grown in the short time they've been apart? Impossible.

Regina made Henry laugh by spinning him around once. Then she sat him down on the ground and crouched down slightly to be more at eye level with him (soon that wouldn't be required, soon he would be taller than her!) and began smoothing kisses all over his cheeks and forehead.

Henry laughed wetly. Was he crying? Oh bless him. Regina would never leave his side again. Once again she felt a sharp pinch of guilt about that point where she had walked over to the window with the intention to take her own life. How could she even have considered killing herself? It was impossible to comprehend when the sole purpose of her existence was standing right here and half crying, half laughing? The sound brought tears to Regina's own eyes, and she hugged her son once more for good measurement. Never again, she vowed to herself. No matter how tough things would be... she would never EVER think about ending her life.

Henry returned the hug and squeezed her tightly. Almost too tightly. That once tender spot on her belly was acting up once more, but Regina forced the feeling out of her system. It was psychosomatic. She did NOT want to think about Killian's boot connecting with her stomach. Not now!

"Alright, little man. My turn."

Regina looked up. Zelena had finally caught up with them. She stood there in her green furry coat and smiled beamingly whilst patting Henry on the back to make him let go. He only reluctantly did so.

Regina rose to her full height and willingly let Zelena hug her. She too was hugging her quite tightly. But not as tightly as Henry, though. Because Zelena knew about the tender spot on Regina's stomach. And she knew that it tended to hurt a bit from time to time. For whatever reason.

Henry did not let go of her hand as Zelena hugged her, so the hug was a bit uneven, but oh well. Regina was not about to wiggle her hand out of Henry's grasp. She was thanking her lucky stars that he still wanted to hold her hand.

Zelena kissed her cheek in that sisterly fashion she had started doing ever since Regina had woken up in the hospital. "Oh, baby sis," she said gently. "You have no idea how much I have missed you!"

But Regina actually had a very strong idea of just how much her sister had missed her. She had missed Zelena too.

"How was the train ride?" Henry asked curiously. He was butting in. Something Regina had made a point of teaching him never to do, but today she let it slide and immediately turned towards him. This was the point she always mucked up. But her doctor had told her that she had to keep trying, so she did. She wiggled her fingers in the air. Tried her best to tell her son: 'it was nice. I met a nice woman on the first day. she was very friendly.'

"Really?" Henry said and laughed a bit. "Cool. At least you weren't bored then."

Regina felt relieved. Henry understood what she was saying. Thank god. Sign Language was ever so difficult. But she had done it. She had managed to make a sentence without screwing up. She had told Henry about the friendly woman. And speaking of friendly woman...

Regina glanced around. Where was Emma Swan? Regina had been so busy getting out of the train and get to her son, but now she felt a bit guilty. Emma Swan had been good company for the past three days. Very good company. Regina would have liked to say goodbye properly before parting ways with her.

And perhaps she still had the chance to.

When turning her head once more, Regina spotted Emma. She was standing nearby with her phone in hand and looked a bit lost. A bit confused. Regina felt for her. It could not be easy arriving at a new city all alone.

Regina made a quick decision and walked towards Emma Swan with Henry and Zelena trailing somewhat confused behind her. Emma had already called her a 'fairy godmother' a few times, so perhaps Regina could be a fairy godmother one last time? Once she was close enough, Regina smiled at Emma.

Emma returned the smile. "Hi. I was just... looking for a taxi. Or a bus."

A bus? Regina crinkled her nose. Oh no. Surely, Emma should not be riding a bus with that big bag of hers. No, that simply would not do. There was no reason as to why Emma should wait forty five minutes for a crowded bus when there was a different option.

Regina turned to Zelena and lifted her hands. Signed: 'I want to give her a ride.'

Zelena frowned slightly, and Regin was forced to elaborate even though it was so difficult to sign. She wiggled her fingers again: 'her name is Emma. She is the woman I shared a train-cabin with for the past three days. She is very friendly and kind. She is going to Steveston. She has a room waiting for her at Eugenia's.'

Now Zelena smiled and nodded. She turned to Emma and said: "my sister would like to know if you'd be interested in getting a ride to Steveston?"

Relief swiped over Emma's features as she looked at Regina. "Seriously?"

Regina nodded in affirmative and smiled. Yes, indeed. Emma had shown her nothing but kindness these past three days. She had made her smile more than once. She had come to her aid with the post-it notes, and she had not displayed rude curiosity a single time. Of course Regina wanted to give her a ride.

"That would be great," Emma said earnestly. "But you guys really don't have to, I don't wanna intrude or any-"

Regina held up her hand to silence her. Emma Swan was apologizing for her presence far too much. And Regina wouldn't have it. She made sure to smile as she gently motioned for Emma to come along.

And Emma quickly trailed behind them. Regina was happy that she had accepted the offer, and she was even happier when she felt Henry's hand slip inside hers. She gave her boy's hand a little reassuring squeeze. She was here and she wasn't going anywhere. Ever.

To Be Continued...