It was early in the morning when the door to the spare room burst open and the newcomer rushed to the bedside.
"Emma! Emma wake up."
The blonde turned over, moaning from the disturbance but she remained fast asleep.
"Emma!" The desperate voice urged her.
Emma woke abruptly to find someone shaking her.
"What?!" Emma raised her arms to defend herself against the assailant. "Regina! What the hell's going on, what are you doing!?"
She sat up a little annoyed at being woken so rudely but then she saw the mayor's expression. "Regina what is it? What's happened?" She asked more seriously.
"Henry." Regina's voice trembled and there were tears in her eyes. "He's gone."
"What?! What do you mean he's gone?" Emma threw the covers off of her and followed a frantic Regina as she rushed from the room.
"I mean he's not here!"
"Well, he's probably just outside or something. I'm sure he's fine."
Just after entering Henry's room Regina stopped so suddenly that Emma ploughed right into her.
"Argh, Regina." Emma complained, stepping back from her.
The mayor turned to face her, tear stains were glistening on her cheeks. "But why would he just leave like that? He didn't leave a note or anything. Emma I don't know where he is, I need to find him." Regina's voice broke with emotion.
"Whoa, Regina breathe. Calm down. He's probably just gone out for a bike ride or something."
"But why would he leave without letting one of us know?"
"I dunno." Emma shrugged apologetically. "Maybe he wanted to just let us sleep?"
Regina buried her face in her hands. "What if he heard us talking last night?"
"Hey," Emma said softly. She was completely taken aback by Regina's behaviour but she needed to get her to calm down. "It's going to be okay. Henry's fine I promise. He's probably just gone into town. Have you checked to see if his bike is still here?"
Regina covered her mouth with her hand to suppress a sob, she shook her head.
"Before we start worrying why don't we go see if it's there. Where does he keep it?"
"In the... in the garage."
"Well then let's go check the garage."
"Emma what if he's run away?"
"He hasn't run away."
"How can you know that?"
"What reason would he have? When you were in the hospital he was terrified of losing you, he wouldn't just all of a sudden up and leave on his own."
"But what if he did hear us talking last night? What if he's afraid of me?"
Emma held the other woman's shoulders gently. "Listen. Henry's fine. He didn't run away, he's not afraid of you and there is a perfectly good explanation for all of this. Okay?"
Regina nodded, but none of the grief faded from her eyes. Emma could feel her trembling and so decided to try something she'd never done before. "It's going to be okay." She took the brunette into her arms and gave her what she hoped would be a comforting hug. Regina didn't protest, she didn't hug Emma back but she didn't push her away either. Her hair brushed softly against the side of Emma's face and after a while her breathing slowly became steadier. Emma could feel her beginning to relax and could hear her breathing become softer. She felt Regina's arms raise to return the hug, but the brunette seemed to decide against it almost simultaneously.
Regina was the first to pull back, looking slightly ashamed after what felt like one of the longest few minute's of Emma's life.
"Are you okay?" Emma asked a little cautiously. She was worried she had overstepped, especially since Regina hadn't reciprocated.
Regina wiped a few of the tears from her face. Finally she nodded before rushing off to check the garage.
Emma stood there alone in the room for a few moments, astounded at the whole situation. She shook her head before she too headed towards the garage.
"Is it in there?" Emma called through the open door to the garage as she approached it. She shifted her bare feet uncomfortably on the cold marble tiles of the hallway.
"No." Came Regina's reply.
"Come back inside then, all the cold air from the garage is getting in."
Regina appeared at the door and shut it behind her as she re-entered the house.
"What do you think that means?" She asked, her voice still a little raw.
"It means he's probably just gone for a bike ride like I said." Emma said.
Regina shook her head as she wrapped her arms around her waist. "I need to get him a cell phone."
Emma breathed out a laugh, she had been thinking the same thing.
Regina shifted anxiously as Emma dialed the phone.
"Granny's Diner, how may I help you?"
"Hey Ruby, it's Emma. Henry wouldn't happen to be there would he? Regina and I are looking for him."
"Yeah he's here. He's been here for about an hour."
"Great! Thanks Ruby. Listen, if you see him leaving can you ask him to stay? We're coming to get him."
"Actually it looks like he's about to head out. Should I just tell him you'd like him to come home?"
"Oh, yeah that's perfect, thanks Ruby."
Emma hung up the phone. "Regina he's–"
But Regina had already hurried out of the room.
"Regina!"
"He's there?" She asked as she rushed to the front door.
"Yeah but Regina... Regina!"
The brunette spun around, hand on the door knob. "What?!" She asked anxiously.
"He's coming back here. Ruby said she's gonna send him home."
"Oh..." Regina let out a breath she hadn't realized she'd been holding. As she came back up the steps her hand raised to her chest.
"Regina seriously are you okay? You almost just went out the door in your PJs. What's up with you this morning?"
When she didn't respond, Emma continued to try to calm her down. "See? He's fine. He was at Granny's the whole time. I told you he'd be safe."
"I'm sorry." Regina's voice broke. "It's just, I woke up and he was gone and I wondered if––" Her step faltered and her breath seemed to catch in her throat.
"Wondered... if what?" Emma asked as the brunette stopped moving towards her.
"If he might–" Regina closed her eyes tightly, her hand raised to her neck as her chest rose and fell in struggled breaths.
Emma's eyes were full of worry as she studied the mayor.
"Regina?"
The woman's gaze fell from Emma's and suddenly she collapsed to the floor.
"Regina!" Emma rushed forward to try to catch her but failed.
She dropped to the floor beside her.
"Regina?!" Emma shook her a little, and when the brunette didn't wake up she pulled her into her lap.
She held her like that for a few moments, wondering what on earth was happening and considering her options for what to do next.
She was just about to call 911 when the brunette's eyes finally fluttered open, causing Emma to flood with relief.
"Don't do that Regina! I thought you were... well I dunno what I thought but I knew it couldn't be good."
Regina blinked up at her in confusion, and what scared Emma was her silence.
Regina's palm shakily raised to her forehead as she tried to stop the room from spinning.
"What happened?" She finally asked in a quiet voice.
"You fainted." Emma said with a small smile.
"I never faint."
"Well I hate to break it to you but you just did."
Regina groaned, shutting her eyes tightly and covering them with her hands.
"Don't forget to breathe." Emma advised. "Breathing is important. Are you okay?"
Regina's eyes remained closed, she took a few moments to respond. "I'm sorry." She whispered, breathing heavily.
"Don't be. What do you have to be sorry for?" Emma's voice turned more gentle. "What's going on Regina?"
"I guess… I may have overreacted. Of course Henry's safe."
Emma gave a small laugh. "You're just concerned about him that's all. There's no need to apologize for wanting to make sure he's okay. But... just keep breathing okay? You're gonna give yourself a heart attack if you don't let yourself calm down."
Regina's gaze dropped again and Emma realized she was still cradling the mayor. And not just the mayor, the Evil Queen. But right now the title didn't seem to fit.
"Have you ever fainted before?" Emma asked, helping Regina to stand up.
"No." She responded thickly.
"Are you okay to stand?" Emma asked, keeping an arm around her and a steadying hand on her arm in case she was still dizzy.
"I'm fine." Regina insisted, and Emma cautiously stepped away to give her some breathing space.
"Are you sure? Why don't you go sit down, I'll get you some water. Maybe try some deep breathing too. Don't worry about Henry, he's already on his way back so he should be here any minute."
Almost as soon as Henry entered the living room he found himself being pulled into his frantic mother's embrace.
"Henry! Where have you been? I've been so worried!" Regina held him tightly.
Shocked, Henry wrapped his arms around her too. "I just went into town. I went to Granny's that's all."
"Why didn't you tell us where you were going?" Regina sobbed, she buried her face in his hair as she tried to keep from shedding more tears.
"You guys both slept in… and I always go out by myself. I thought it would be okay."
Henry could feel Regina trembling as she held him close. "I'm sorry Mom I swear. I thought you wouldn't mind."
He heard a stifled sob as she held him even closer, she was brushing her fingers through his hair.
Henry felt Emma's hand on his shoulder. "C'mon guys let's sit down."
Regina nodded as she finally let go of Henry. Their hands remained clasped as they walked over to the couch, Emma following close behind with her hand still on Henry's shoulder.
"Mom what's wrong?" Henry asked in a quiet, slightly frightened voice. He had always been allowed to wander Storybrooke on his own during the day.
"Nothing." Regina replied shakily. "Don't worry you're not in trouble. I was just worried when I woke up and you weren't here. I didn't know where you were. Why didn't you leave a note?" She asked gently, cupping his chin with her palm.
Henry shrugged apologetically. "I don't know."
Her hand dropped to rest on his arm instead, and he covered her hand with his own. "I really am sorry Mom. I won't do that again I promise."
Regina gave a watery smile before pulling him gently into her arms again.
After a few moments Henry opened his eyes to meet Emma's. He looked at her with a worried expression and she shrugged sadly, not having an answer for him.
Emma and Henry were slowly making their way down Main Street after accompanying Regina to Archie's office. Regina had called him after what had happened earlier that morning, and he had invited her to come talk to him even though they weren't scheduled for a session that day. Right now she was up in his office and Emma and Henry didn't really have a plan for what to do while they waited for her.
"Want to go to Granny's?" Emma asked.
Henry just shrugged.
"Want to walk around for a bit?"
Again, Henry shrugged.
Emma wrapped a comforting arm around him and the two remained quiet as they headed in the direction of the docks.
Emma noticed people staring at them as they walked through town. She saw the pity in their expressions as they looked at Henry. He on the other hand, kept his eyes downcast for most of the way, and so remained quite oblivious to their gawking.
When they reached the docks Emma suggested they sit down on a bench to watch the waves and boats and Henry merely gave a tiny nod.
"What are you thinking about?" Emma asked quietly.
Henry's shoulders seemed to sag at her words.
"Listen, you don't have to tell me if you don't want to." Emma said kindly. "Just know that I'm here if you want to talk."
"Emma?" Henry asked, looking out towards the water.
"Yeah?"
"You don't think my mom will try to hurt herself again do you?"
Emma gave a pained sigh, staring out at the waves for a few moments before meeting his eyes.
"No Henry, I don't think she will. Not now that you're here with her."
"But she's so different from how she used to be. I thought I wanted her to change, but seeing her so sad all the time isn't what I wanted. And she seems more afraid of things too."
"It's always hard to see people we care about hurting. But Regina's still just having a rough time. Hey, it's understandable. I think the best we can do right now is be there for her."
"How?"
"Just by letting her know that we care."
"But... how?"
"Just keep doing what you've been doing. You've been doing great."
"I have?"
"Yes, you have. Your mom's been in a lot of pain, it's going to take time for her to fully heal, but I can see how much you're helping her."
"Really?" Henry asked hopefully.
"Yeah, I mean it Henry. You mean the world to her. We just... we never really saw it before because as you know, she likes to hide her emotions."
"Not anymore."
"Yeah... but it's probably better that way. I'm guilty of this too but holding in emotions isn't healthy for anyone. At least now hopefully we'll know when she's hurting, and that way we'll be able to help her."
"Yeah, maybe you're right."
"Of course I am." Emma smiled, causing Henry to smile too.
"C'mere kid." She pulled him into a tight hug. "Everything's gonna be okay I swear."
When they pulled back from each other a minute later, Emma was pleased to see that some of the light had returned to Henry's eyes.
A/N: Thanks always for reading, please let me know what you think :)