Chapter 4
Regina blinked hard as she attempted to get her bearings straight. It took her a few moments to realize she was sitting behind her desk in her office, but everything looked slightly different. An older version of her office, before she redecorated due to Snow's brief tenure as Mayor following the year spent in The Enchanted Forest. She quickly looked around her purse, pulling out an old, outdated blackberry, her previous phone before she upgraded to the modern iPhone after the curse was broken. Turning on the screen, she smiled. The date on the top of the screen read "October 22, 2011". She was exactly where she wanted to be.
She checked the time next. "4:00pm". If she remembered the events of this day correctly, she wouldn't discover Henry was missing for another hour, which means he was already on the bus to Boston. She quickly stood up, her legs still a little wobbly from the time portal, and raced out of the office without stopping to inform anyone she was leaving for the day. Henry had at least an hour head start on her, and she needed to get to him before he convinced Emma to bring him back to Storybrooke. But in the four years since Emma came to Storybrooke, Regina never once asked where she lived in Boston, so she had no idea where to look for Henry, until she remembered the website Henry had used to find Emma in the first place.
Racing up to Henry's bedroom, she logged into his computer and started typing away, eventually finding the email he had received from the website, listing Emma's last known address in Boston. She ran back out to her car only to remember that it was 2011, and her phone didn't have a GPS function on it, never needing one when she had no reason to leave Storybrooke. Cursing her past self for not purchasing the device, she ran back into the house to mapquest the directions to Emma's apartment, making sure to print out the return directions as well, as she couldn't exactly ask someone directions to a town that didn't appear on the maps.
Getting back in the car, Regina realized that her research and navigation break took longer than she thought, and Henry now had at least a two hour lead on her. The tires of her Mercedes squealed as she peeled out of the driveway, and within a few minutes she was crossing over the town line, speeding down the highway towards Boston. She knew she would eventually have to stop for gas, as her past self did not anticipate an impromptu trip out of state, and had only a half filled gas tank. Driving as far as she could until the needle was drastically close to empty, she was forced to pull over at the next gas station and fill up the tank.
Roughly four and a half hours after Regina left Storybrooke, she was pulling into a small parking lot next to an apartment complex in Boston. She drove slowly through the rows of cars, searching the yellow monstrosity that Emma Swan drove, hoping she wasn't too late and they had already left. A flash of yellow in the corner of the parking lot proved that Regina wasn't too late, the Yellow Bug was still parked in the parking lot, which meant that Henry was still here. Parking her car a few spaces away from Emma's, Regina quickly jumped out and started to jog towards the front entrance of the building, accepting the open door from a kind stranger, and making her way towards the elevator, waiting patiently for the doors to open.
Regina was beginning to grow impatient as she waited for the elevator to open and as soon as she entered the elevator, she jabbed the number 2 button and frantically hit the "close door" button, an act that everyone did, but also knew didn't make the doors close faster. The elevator moved slowly, but eventually came to a stop on the second floor. As soon as the doors opened, Regina took off into another jog, quickly finding the door marked "205". Emma Swan's apartment. She took a deep breath and knocked briskly and loudly on the door. She could hear movement inside the apartment and could have sworn she heard "Now what?" From a voice behind the closed door.
A few moments later, the door opened quickly and forcefully and Regina's breath was ripped from her lungs. There she was, Emma Swan, the woman she had been frantically attempting to save for the last six months. The woman who would come to Storybrooke and change her life forever. There she was, standing in front of her, and all Regina could do was stare. Emma looked exactly how she remembered her, only a few years younger, the stress of being the Savior had not yet taken its toll on her. She looked just as she had the first time Regina saw her, four years ago, standing in front of her house, as she returned Henry to her. Instead of the skinny jeans and long sleeve shirt combo, Emma was wearing a tight red dress that hugged her curves and looked as though it was painted on her.
"Can I help you?" Emma asked, clearly annoyed.
"Where is he?" Regina asked, snapping out of her trance that was caused by seeing Emma again. "Where is my son?"
"Who? The kid?" Emma asked, revealing that Henry was already there.
"Yes. My Son, Henry! Where is he?" Regina screamed again, looking around Emma into the apartment.
"Mom?" Henry asked from inside the apartment. "What are you doing here?"
"Henry!" Regina cried, pushing past Emma to race over to Henry, as he stood in the kitchen, drinking juice straight from the bottle. "I came to find you! What are you doing here?" She asked firmly.
"I came to find my REAL mom!" Henry screamed, dropping the bottle of juice on the floor and running into the bathroom.
"You're Henry's birth mother?" She asked, turning towards Emma, who was already on her way over to clean up the mess Henry had made.
"Hi." She said, smiling shyly. "This is exactly how we met" Regina thought to herself, as she watched Emma pick up the now empty bottle of juice off the floor, reaching for a roll of paper towels. On the counter behind her, Regina could see the cupcake that Emma had told her about. The one she bought for herself to celebrate her twenty-eighth birthday. The one she wished upon right before Henry showed up at her front door. The blue star candle that was pressed in the middle looked as though it had been lit and blown out. "It's exactly how she described it." Regina thought to herself, as Emma attempted to bend over in her tight dress.
"Here. Let me." Regina said, attempting to clean up the mess, struggling a little as well with her outfit. "I'm sorry for the mess."
"It's ok. Accidents happen." Emma said with a smile. "I'm Emma. Emma Swan." She said, extending her hand in an official greeting.
"Regina Mills." Regina answered, shaking Emma's hand. A small spark of static electricity shocked both women as they chuckled slightly. "I am also very sorry for this intrusion, Miss Swan. I had no idea until recently that Henry was attempting to find you. Had I known, I would have attempted to set up a less invasive meeting." Regina said, tossing the dirty paper towels into the garbage.
"It's alright. I don't mind at all." Emma smiled. "It's weird though." Emma started to say, stopping to think if she actually wanted to continue the sentence.
"What is dear?" Regina asked.
"Today is my birthday." Emma said with a smile. "And a second before the kid…" She started to say.
"Henry." Regina corrected.
"Yeah, Henry. A second before Henry knocked on the door I made a wish to not have to be alone on my birthday." Emma's smile reached from ear to ear. Regina never once realized how lonely Emma truly was before she arrived in Storybrooke. A pang of pain hit her heart suddenly when she realized how alone Emma was her entire life, a loneliness that was utterly her fault.
"Well then, Happy Birthday." Regina said, as she looked at Emma Swan in a way she had never in the entire four years she had known her. There was no anger towards the blonde anymore. But there was something else, something brewing inside her as she looked at Henry's birth mother, as if this were the first time she was seeing her.
"Thanks!" Emma said, with a twinkle in her eye that Regina had never seen before. "Can I offer you a drink? He's probably going to be holed up in there for a while." Emma asked.
"Sure, why not!" Regina said.
"I have a bottle of red wine I was saving for a special occasion." Emma said, grabbing the bottle off the top shelf. "If having the son you gave up for adoption ten years ago show up at your door, followed by his beautiful mother isn't a special occasion, I don't know what is." Emma said, offering the bottle to Regina to inspect.
"Red wine sounds lovely." Regina said, as Emma motioned for her to have a seat in the living room. "Is Emma Swan flirting with me?" Regina thought to herself, as she took a seat on the couch. "And do I want to flirt back?" She thought, as she heard the cork being pulled from the bottle, and the sound of wine filling the glass.
Thirty minutes, and two glasses of wine later, Emma and Regina found themselves having a pleasant conversation, as if they were old friends. A few times Regina had to remind herself that this version of Emma had only just met her. "This is what it would have been like if I hadn't been so aggressive towards Emma when we first met. Could my anger towards her have caused her to hate me so much?" Regina thought to herself, realizing she liked this version of Emma better than the one that was cutting down her apple tree.
"So, Regina. Is there a Mr. Mills?" Emma asked suddenly, pulling Regina from her thoughts.
"What?" She asked, shocked at the question.
"Oh, sorry. That was very personal. Sorry." Emma said, retreating at Regina's response.
"No, it's ok, dear. I was just taken back a little." Regina answered, smiling. "No, there is no Mr. Mills. Is there a Mr. Swan?" She asked, already knowing the answer. This Emma was still single, at least that's how she remembered it.
"HA! You're hilarious." Emma responded, laughing out loud. "There is definitely no Mr. Swan." Emma responded, offering Regina a third glass of wine, which Regina declined due to the long drive back to Storybrooke she had waiting for her.
"What about Henry's father?" Regina asked.
"There was one." Emma responded, taking a sip of wine. "But you don't have to worry about him. Things didn't exactly end well with us. He doesn't know about Henry." Emma answered, smiling at Regina.
"I'm sorry to hear that." Regina said, trying to cover up the smile that is forming on her face, as she caught herself being engulfed in Emma's green eyes.
"So…uhh….I wanted to say….ummmm…." Emma started to stutter, trying to figure out how to word her statement. "I uh….wanted to say thanks…for….you know…" She said, motioning towards the bathroom. "For taking such good care of Henry. Ten years ago I was in no position to take care of a baby." Emma said, looking nervously at her wine glass.
"It's been an honor." Regina smiled, knowing the truth about Henry's birth. "Thank you for giving me that opportunity." She smiled at Emma, feeling her heart skip a beat when her eyes locked on Emma's.
"You've done a great job so far." Emma said, as a slight blush filled both their cheeks.
"Thank you." Regina whispered, realizing that was the first time anyone had ever commented on how well she was raising Henry. "Speaking of which, it is getting late. I better collect Henry and be on our way. We have quite the drive back home ahead of us." Regina said, standing.
"Oh. Yeah, of course." Emma said, standing beside Regina. "So maybe…I could…come and visit you guys." Emma asked, rubbing the back of her neck nervously. "I'd like to get to know both of you a little better."
"I don't think that's such a good idea." Regina said, clearly seeing the hurt in Emma's eyes after the statement.
"Oh, right. I get it. No problem." Emma said, as Regina walked towards the bathroom door, knocking lightly, informing Henry that they were leaving and to come along.
"It was nice to meet you." Henry said, as he gave Emma a light hug, before turning towards the door.
"Yeah, it was nice to meet you too, Kid." Emma said, looking up at Regina. "It was nice to meet both of you." She smiled at Regina.
"Yes, well, thank you again for the hospitality, Miss Swan." Regina said, very formally, extending her hand for Emma to shake once more, another spark of static electricity shocking them both. "I apologize again for Henry's intrusion. I know I raised him better than that." Regina said, glaring down at Henry.
"It's fine. I really don't mind." Emma said, as she followed Regina and Henry to the door. "Drive safe, back to wherever you call home." Emma said, as Regina and Henry left the apartment.
"Yes, thank you." Regina said. She could see the hurt in Emma's eyes as she watched them leave.
Regina wanted so much to turn around and look back at Emma, as she walked down the hall towards the elevator, and it took everything in her power to resist the urge. As she hit the button to summon the elevator, she heard Emma's apartment door close, allowing her to release the breath she didn't know she was still holding.
Regina scolded Henry for the first twenty minutes of the ride back to Storybrooke, explaining how dangerous it was for a young child to travel alone to a strange city, to meet a person they didn't know, even if they were his birth mother. Henry remained quiet and withdrawn as she spoke, and Regina was quickly reminded of the tension that was between herself and her son in those days before the curse was broken. They had come so very far in the last four years, she almost forgot how much anger he felt towards her. She made a mental note to give Henry an extra long hug when she returned to the present, hopefully one where Emma Swan was still alive.
Before long, Henry fell asleep, leaning against the car door, snoring slightly, as Regina was left alone with her thoughts of the evening. The version of Emma Swan she met tonight was far different than the version who broke her curse. This version was kind to her. Her eyes were bright when she looked at Regina. "She called me beautiful." Regina whispered, the sound of the radio drowning out her revelation, as a smile so wide stretched across her face, butterflies beginning to fly around in her stomach.
About half way back to Storybrooke, Regina stopped for gas again, and it was while she was standing in the empty gas station that she realized why this version of Emma was so different. It was her. She had been nice to Emma upon first meeting. It truly was her anger towards Emma that made her hate her so much. Another pang of pain hit her heart when she realized how different things could have been if she had just been kind to the woman who had returned her son to her after he showed up at her door in the middle of the night. But all the coulda-shoulda-woulda wouldn't change what happened between them that very night in another life. Regina straightened herself up again, wiped the stray tear that was suddenly falling down her cheek, and climbed back into the car, careful not to wake Henry, as she pulled back out onto the interstate.
Her mind was racing the entire way home, and she was exhausted, both mentally and physically by the time she pulled into the driveway. Waking Henry gently, as he had grown too big for her to carry him, she instructed him into the house and straight to bed, whispering they would talk more in the morning, as he crawled into bed and under the covers.
Eager to return to the present time, she waited a few minutes until she was certain Henry was fast asleep, before she slipped out into the back yard. She had successfully prevented Emma Swan from coming to Storybrooke, and thus prevented her from becoming the Savior. The pain began to return to her chest when she realized that, if she was successful tonight, that would be the last time she would ever see Emma Swan. "But at least she would still be alive." Regina thought as another tear fell from her eyes. She clutched her pendant, whispering the incantation that would open the portal back to the present time. Sure enough, a moment later, the swirling yellow and orange portal opened, and Regina quickly stepped through it, returning her to the present, one where Emma Swan would hopefully still be alive.
Regina stumbled through the portal and quickly looked around. She was back in the cemetery where she had opened the first portal. Turning around quickly, Regina ran over to the plot where Emma's grave once stood, but what she saw caused her chest to hurt more than it ever had. There, Emma's grave still stood, exactly where it was when she first left for the past. Her mission was clearly a failure. Regina immediately fell to her knees in front of Emma's grave, weeping uncontrollably at her failure to save Emma. It felt like she had lost her all over again, and the pain was becoming unbearable. She reached up towards her chest, ready to remove her heart to stop the pain, when she was distracted by a voice behind her.
"Mom?" Henry said, walking up behind her.
"Henry?" Regina asked, trying to pick herself up off the ground, but finding she hadn't the strength to stand just yet. "What are you doing here? I thought you were with your grandparents."
"I was. But then Neal started crying and Grandma started to get overwhelmed so I told them I was going to go for a walk, and I decided to come here. It's the six month anniversary after all." Henry said, sadness in his voice when he said the last part.
"When did Emma come to Storybrooke?" Regina asked suddenly, a lightbulb going off in her head.
"What?" Henry asked, confused. "You know when she came here." Henry said, looking a little hurt.
"Pretend I don't know." Regina said, regaining the strength to stand. "When did she come to Storybrooke?" Regina asked again.
"On your birthday, four years ago." Henry answered, looking confused.
"Did we go see her in Boston?" She asked, hope filling her eyes.
"Yeah. I found her on the internet and went to find her in Boston. You followed me and brought me back." Henry explained.
"And she came here after that?" Regina asked.
"Yeah. She somehow tracked us down a couple months later." Henry explained.
"And she broke the curse?" She asked.
"Yeah…" Henry said, more of a question than a statement.
"How?" She asked, desperately. "How did she break it?"
"She told me she Loved me, then kissed my forehead when she was leaving town." Henry answered, concern written all over his face.
"And what were we to each other?" Regina continued.
"Mom, are you ok? You're starting to scare me." Henry said, walking slowly towards Regina.
"Emma and I, were we enemies? Did we hate each other when she got here?" Regina continued to ask.
"No. You guys have always been friends. You never hated each other, at least that I know of." Henry answered, looking at his mother.
"Did she marry the pirate?" Regina asked, her voice suddenly quiet.
"Killian?" Henry asked, her face slightly confused. Regina nodded, waiting for him to answer. "No. She didn't marry Killian. They dated for a few months after we got back from Neverland, but she broke up with him. She said he wasn't right for her. He left right after they broke up." Henry explained. "Mom, seriously, are you ok?"
"Yes, I'm fine. I figured it out!" Regina said, excitedly.
"Figured what out?" Henry asked.
"She came back for you. That's why she stayed the first time. And that's why she eventually came this time. She came to be with you." Regina said, her eyes wide with excitement.
"Yeah, she told me that. A few times actually." Henry said, matter-of-factly.
"Go back to your grandparent's house. I have more work to do." Regina said suddenly, walking towards her vault.
"Mom, are you alright? I don't want to leave if you're not ok." Henry said, stopping Regina before she walked away.
"I'm great, Henry. I just needed a moment to figure out the answer to a tough question. But you helped me figure it out." Regina smiled, kissing Henry on the forehead. "I Love You, Henry."
"I Love You too, Mom." Henry said, as Regina turned and walked back towards her vault.
Once she was inside, she ran quickly downstairs, directly to her potions table, following the directions once again to make another time potion exactly like the first, quickly enchanting her pendant once again to act as her anchor to the present time, allowing her to come back when she was done. Checking to make sure Henry had left the cemetery, Regina ran back out, confident she knew what the solution was.
"I failed before, but I know now how to save you." Regina said once more, tears falling as she spoke to Emma's grave. "I'm going to save you, even if I have to give up the thing I Love the most to do it." She said, as she stood up, sprinkling the teal potion on the same spot a few feet away from Emma's grave, opening the same time portal a second later. Closing her eyes, Regina stepped through the portal once again, disappearing into the past.
A/N: Regina tried so hard. Maybe the next time will be more successful. Where do you think she's going now?