It was about an hour after Kathryn had left and Henry had emerged from his room for the first time since breakfast. He had been lying on his bed reading his storybook, knowing that he should try to keep the noise in the house to a minimum in case his mother had wanted to sleep.

He was now standing in the hallway outside of his mother's room. He could hear her coughing in the bathroom, and not for the first time that day either.

The ten year old tread slowly into the room, making his way nervously towards the bathroom. From the doorway to the ensuite he saw her kneeling in front of the toilet, clutching the porcelain to hold herself up. She had stopped coughing by now but couldn't seem to catch her breath.

"Mom?" Henry asked from the doorway.

He heard a sharp inhale of surprise before she turned to look at him. She was white as a sheet and she looked as if she had been crying.

"Henry." She whispered.

"Mom are you okay?"

She gave a small nod in response, closing the lid on the toilet and then flushing it. She sank to the floor in exhaustion, leaning her back against the bathtub for support.

"Do you want me to get you anything?"

She shook her head softly, closing her eyes. "No. Thank you Henry."

"Should I call Emma?"

"No don't bother her." Regina responded quietly, sniffling a little as she looked up at him. "She's busy enough as it is and I don't think there's much she could do anyways."

Henry shuffled his feet awkwardly, watching as she wrapped her arms around her waist. "Do you think we should go to the hospital?"

Regina closed her eyes again. She raised a hand to her forehead in attempt to fight the dizziness that was afflicting her. "No, I can't go there."

"Because you don't trust Doctor Whale anymore?"

Regina nodded, sighing heavily. "I think I just let Kathryn stay longer than I should have. I just need some rest, I'll be okay in a little while."

"Are you sure?"

Regina swallowed, blinking back a few tears of pain. "Sweetheart can you help me up?"

Henry nodded. He entered the bathroom and came to his mother's side. He had been going to take her hands, but when she reached up to wrap an arm around his shoulders he secured his arms around her upper waist instead.

"Is that okay?" Henry asked, hoping her stomach wasn't still hurting.

She gave a soft nod, closing her eyes briefly and looking as if she was concentrating all of her energy into trying to stand.

She pushed herself up using the side of the tub as he helped to lift her. She tiredly pointed towards the sink, and continued to lean against him as he helped her towards it.

Once they had reached it she removed her arm from around him and leaned her weight against the marble countertop.

"Thank you Henry." She closed her eyes tightly, hoping that by the time she opened them again the room would have stopped spinning.

She could feel Henry still watching her as she slowly washed her hands and face and rinsed with mouthwash.

Once she was done, Regina turned to go back into her bedroom. However, as soon as she was away from the counter she was met with a new wave of dizziness and lost her balance.

"Mom!"

She could almost immediately feel her son holding on to her again as she quickly grabbed for the counter's edge to steady herself.

"I'm alright." She whispered.

Henry watched her with a slightly frightened look in his eyes. She could barely keep her eyes open now, and her uneven breathing was coming heavily and shakily. He could feel her shivering even though the house was quite warm.

"Mom are you sure I shouldn't call Emma?"

"No don't call her, she needs a break." Regina answered distractedly.

"But–"

Regina suddenly whimpered from the nausea and she pressed her hand to her forehead to try to make it stop.

"Mom," Henry practically sobbed because of how distressed she was. "Mom what should I do?"

He didn't understand, she was supposed to be getting better wasn't she? And yet every day her condition seemed to worsen.

"What about Grandma and Grandpa, should I call them?"

"Henry... they died years ago, you know that." She responded tiredly.

"What?" Henry asked, confused. "No I mean–"

"My mother..." Regina breathed. She kept her eyes closed as she moaned feebly from the queasiness. "She wouldn't... she doesn't..." Regina mumbled staggeringly, taking in a shaky breath. "Try asking... Try asking my father... instead... He'll want to help you."

Henry felt a sinking feeling in his stomach. "Mom what are you talking about?" His voice broke as he asked.

"My father..." She repeated in a dazed whisper.

Regina exhaled heavily, after which she slumped forwards unconscious. Henry was barely able to catch a hold of her before she hit her head against the edge of the counter.

"Mom!"

She still barely weighed anything, but Henry wasn't strong enough to support her for very long on his own. Not to mention that since his height had not yet reached even that of her shoulders, keeping her upright proved a bit of a challenge.

"Mom wake up!" Henry pleaded as he sank to the floor as lightly as he could with her, all the while trying not to drop her.

"Mom! Please wake up! Mom!"

Henry's vision was beginning to blur with tears as he stared helplessly down at her still form. He could see that she was still breathing but he didn't know what to do. The only time he could remember her ever fainting before was when he hadn't even been home. Emma had looked after her that last time, but Henry didn't how she had woken Regina up.

"Mom..."

Regina moaned softly and Henry's head shot up immediately at the sound.

"Mom?" Henry's shaky voice asked.

She made another quiet sound before her eyelashes began to flutter slowly as she regained consciousness.

"Henry..." she whispered, blinking her eyes open.

"Mom!" He sobbed in relief.

Her eyes filled with concern as she saw the tears in his. She reached up to touch a gentle hand to his face.

When he saw her gingerly trying to sit up, he helped her as best he could.

Once she was upright again, Henry cowered into her embrace. "Mom are you okay? What happened?" He cried into her blouse.

She dazedly returned his hug.

"Henry I–" Regina tried to say, but found that speaking made her too dizzy.

She wrapped her arms more protectively around him, running her hands through his hair as he tried not to let any more tears fall.

After remaining like that for a few minutes, Regina indicated as best she could for Henry to help her into her room. He seemed to understand because he wrapped his arms around her waist again and made sure that her arm was around him before carefully helping her up and into the other room.

Once they had made it to her bed, she allowed herself to sink into the unmade blankets. She surrendered into the pillows as Henry pulled the blankets over her, knowing how cold she always was lately. She had her eyes closed again but he could tell she was still awake.

"Mom what happened?"

Her breathing was still coming shakily, and when he touched her shoulder he could feel how badly she was shivering. Not knowing what else to do, he got under the covers and huddled into her side, wrapping a comforting arm around her. She blinked weakly as she tried to give him a grateful smile. Henry felt a delicate arm slip around him, and after a few moments he could feel her beginning to warm up again. However she still didn't answer his question.

"Mom what should I do?" Henry mumbled, trying to ignore the tears in his eyes.

He pulled away just enough to look up at her, and saw that she had fallen asleep.

For a few moments he stared desperately up at her, as if hoping somehow she would know how badly he wanted her to wake up. However she remained fast asleep.

Finally, Henry wrapped his arms around her and curled into her embrace again. He could hear her reassuring heartbeat from where his head was resting against her chest. It was that sound, along with that of her steady breathing, that remained two of his biggest comforts as he lay huddled in his sleeping mother's arms.