8:40 PM

Ever since Emma had left, Henry had been curled up next to his adoptive mother. They had stayed up talking to each other, but soon enough Regina had fallen asleep despite her best efforts to keep herself from drifting.

Henry sat up in bed now, watching his mother breathing peacefully for a few moments. Emma had said she wouldn't be gone long, and so Henry assumed she would be back within the hour. He wanted her to return now, he wanted to text her to ask when she was coming back, but he knew the message would only distract her and delay her that minute longer.

Feeling restless and not being able to sleep, Henry decided to go downstairs to get a glass of water to bring back up with him. He wasn't looking forward to the trip to Boston exactly, but he was anxious to get going.

He gently kissed his mother's cheek before carefully getting out of bed, trying not to wake her. As he made his way down the stairs, he thought back to a conversation between himself and his mother from earlier on.

"Mom why didn't you fight harder to get Emma to stay?"

"I couldn't ask her to make that choice Henry." Regina responded in a gentle voice.

"Why not?"

"Because if anything had happened to that little girl and Emma had chosen not to help, she would have felt horribly. She would have believed it was her fault for not doing anything."

"But if you had asked her to stay she wouldn't have left because she would feel guilty for leaving you."

Regina gave him a soft smile. "Emma still would have blamed herself if anything happened to that girl. It's just the way she is, and that's what makes her such a good person; she would never be able to just stand by and allow people to suffer. I know I will be safe here, so it's not right to keep Emma here just because I need someone to hold my hand for an extra thirty minutes."

"But David was going to go, he could have done just as much as Emma can. She wouldn't have just been leaving those people on their own. I know you wanted Emma to stay with you today Mom."

"Like I said it's only for a little while that she will be gone. We still have hours ahead of us before we have to leave. Besides, Emma is the Sheriff, and the woman specifically asked for her help. I think she believed since Emma is a mother too that she would be more understanding of what the woman must be going through, which means she will work harder to find the child."

"Oh..."

Regina delicately placed her palm to Henry's cheek. "Sweetheart if it were you that was missing I wouldn't want anyone on the case more than I would want Emma. Don't worry; she'll find this little girl and then she'll be back with us."

As Henry entered the kitchen he wondered if he knew the girl from school. She was only in kindergarten so he probably wouldn't know her by name, but he might still recognize her.

He didn't understand why someone would steal a car in this town. Basically everyone already had their own car, and if not, it wasn't a big deal to walk anywhere. Also it wasn't like anyone could just leave Storybrooke; he and his two mothers were the only ones who were able to safely cross the town line.

Henry had just taken a glass from the cupboard, and was about to get the pitcher of water from the counter when suddenly he was startled by a shrill beeping.

The shock caused him to let go of the glass and it fell to the floor, shattering into a million pieces on impact.

"DAVID!"

Henry heard his grandmother scream.

"Mary Margaret?!"

"David there's a fire! David!"

"Where are you?!"

Henry could feel his heart thundering in his chest as he looked down at the sharp debris around him.

His breathing was coming heavily and for a few brief moments, he stood there frozen.

"Regina?! Henry?!" He heard his grandparents calling

"Henry!"

"Grandpa?!" Henry replied.

Within seconds David hurried into the kitchen, closely followed by Mary Margaret.

"Henry we've got to get out of here, there's a fire."

Henry shook his head, looking down at the mess he'd made. "I– I broke a glass." He said, slightly dazed.

"Its fine Henry don't worry about it." David replied. "Don't try to walk through the glass. Here, let me help you."

Henry reached his arms out to his grandfather and David lifted the boy over the bulk of the shards.

"Watch your feet, there could still be some glass–" David started to say, but was cut off as the ten-year-old suddenly ran for the door.

"Henry!" Mary Margaret screeched, trying to grab him.

She knew he was running for the staircase to the second floor.

"Henry!" Mary Margaret shouted again as both she and David chased after him.

"We need to wake my mom!" Henry explained frantically as he felt a pair of arms suddenly holding him back. "Stop! We have to help her!"

"We will Henry, we will!" Mary Margaret insisted, struggling as she tried to prevent him from climbing the steps. "But Henry it's not safe, we'll get her out but Henry you need to get outside."

"No! Not without my mom! I want my mom!" Henry cried.

"Henry there's fire up there! It's too dangerous. You have to trust us, we'll get Regina out."

"Let go of me!" Henry struggled. "Mom!"

"Henry..." Mary Margaret pleaded desperately, looking around for her husband who had gone to get the fire extinguisher.

"MOM!" Henry cried.

There were tears in Mary Margaret's eyes as she continued to fight the distraught boy. She knew how scared he was but she knew it was too dangerous to allow him back upstairs.

"Henry come on we have to get outside!"

"But what about my mom?! We can't leave her!" Henry said, fighting Mary Margaret as she tried to pull him with her.

"We can't leave her, she'll die! She might not be able to get out by herself, she needs our help!"

"Don't worry Henry I'll get her out." David said breathlessly as he arrived, glancing up to the second floor.

"Do you promise?" Henry sobbed.

"Yes Henry I do, but Mary Margaret's right it's not safe for you guys in here."

"Please Henry, come with me. Don't worry, David will save her." Mary Margaret begged.

"Go!" David insisted.

"Be careful David."

David was already on his way up the stairs when he smiled reassuringly back at his worried wife. "I'll see you in a few minutes."

David shielded his eyes from the smoke as he bounded up the stairs.

Snow choked back a sob as she continued to pull on Henry. The house was getting extremely warm and she was starting to cough from the smoke inhalation, but she needed to focus. She felt terribly for keeping Henry from going to his mother but she knew it would be safer and quicker if Henry wasn't inside. David had enough to worry about focusing on getting himself and Regina out, he couldn't look after a frantic ten-year-old as well.

Not having the energy nor the heart to continue fighting him any longer, Snow scooped the ten-year-old up over her shoulder and ran from the house.

David had just made it to the top of the stairs; he could see that the door to Regina's room was not blocked by the fire, but there were large amounts of it in the hallway leading to there.

"Regina?!" He called through the flames.

There came no response as he extinguished the fire in front of Regina's bedroom as best he could, and then burst through the door.

"Regina!" David shouted as he made his way through the smoke-filled room. "Regina wake up!"

He could see her lying in bed, and she hadn't moved at all in the time it took for him to get to her bedside so he knew she had slept through both the fire alarm and her son's screams.

"Regina?" He tried shaking her arm with one hand. "Regina wake up. There's a fire."

She moaned quietly, stirring a little as he continued to shake her gently.

"Wake up Regina there's a fire."

David gave an alleviated sigh when he saw her eyes slowly opening.

"David?" She breathed, confused.

"Henry's going to be so relieved to see you." He practically laughed, speaking more to himself than to her.

She moaned softly again, closing her eyes. She was still very drowsy as he helped her into a sitting position.

Help wasn't the right word; he had to do most of the work and he found that once she was sitting up, he had to support her limp frame as she leaned heavily against his chest. She had weakly begun to cough some of the smoke from her lungs.

She opened her eyes groggily for a few seconds and her confused expression met his briefly.

"What... What's happen–?" Her whispered voice tried to ask as she held on to him.

He wrapped his arm more firmly around her waist to help her upright. "Regina there's a fire, we have to get of here." He explained in quiet urgency.

He heard her soft intake of breath. "There's a–?" She asked as she dazedly looked around at the smoke.

"Yes there is. But don't worry, Henry 's safe. He and Mary Margaret are already outside. Come on we've got to get out of here."

"I–I don't–" Regina coughed some more.

"Regina don't worry, everything's going to be okay alright? Come on, we have to go."

Regina didn't make a move to leave. She was still leaning heavily against him, and she reached her arms up around his shoulders to help keep herself steady.

"David." She whispered fearfully.

"It's okay, I'm right here with you. I'm going to get both of us out of here." He attempted to pick her up but was surprised when she resisted his help. "What is it? Are you hurt?"

Her eyelashes fluttered in a way that suggested she was fighting to keep her eyes open. She shook her head slowly. "No... David... it's..." Her voice quivered as she tried to speak.

"What is it Regina?" He asked in concern, glancing over his shoulder to make sure they still had a way out.

"Gone." She whispered, blinking heavily before lowering her gaze. Her hair brushed across his face as she tried to hold onto him and fought to stay conscious.

"What's gone Regina?" He asked.

"It's gone." She repeated in a small, quivering voice.

"What is it Regina, what are you trying to tell me?" He asked gently, despite the anxiety that was building up inside him as precious time ticked by.

"David..." She whimpered.

She started coughing and wasn't able to say anymore.

David was growing increasingly worried, but when he looked around at the room that was quickly filling with smoke, he knew it was better to first get Regina outside, and then figure out what was wrong once she was safe. Something was obviously distressing her but he knew they didn't have any time to waste.

"Don't try to speak, save your strength okay? I know you're trying to tell me something important but just try to get some of the smoke out of your lungs for now. Let's just focus on getting out of here."

She made a small dispirited noise in response. She closed her eyes tightly which allowed a tear to escape and roll down her cheek.

Feeling completely drained despite having just woken up, Regina rested her head against his shoulder and she felt him gently wipe the tear away.

"Try to stay awake too, I know it's hard Regina but we'll be outside soon. Do you think you'll be able to walk?"

She pressed her lips together to stop them from trembling. "I can't..." she whispered. She shut her eyes tightly, turning her head to the side as she willed herself to wake up so she could talk to him properly.

Regina was still weakly holding on to David, and he was realizing that if he hadn't been supporting her, she would barely have had the strength to keep herself upright. Her head was bowed again. He couldn't see her face but just from the way she was clinging to him he could feel how thankful she was that she wasn't on her own.

He couldn't help but think back to the much too similar scene that happened only a few months previously, minus the fire of course. When he had helped save her life those many weeks ago he hadn't known who she really was, but even now that he did, he felt like he probably still would have done the same thing. The woman who was currently in his arms could not possibly be the same Evil Queen who had hunted Snow and himself for so long. This woman didn't seem heartless or wicked, she just seemed fragile and so full of pain.

For some reason which David still couldn't understand, she had tried to hide her suffering that morning he had resuscitated her, but of course he and Snow could see right through her mask. These few months later she had come so far, but David could still see that pain buried in her eyes.

"You'll feel better once you get some fresh air." He assured her, rubbing her back gently. "Then you'll be able to tell me whatever it is you're wanting to say right now."

Regina looked like she wanted to respond, but couldn't find the energy to do it. He could see that her eyes were losing focus, and she seemed to be having increasing difficulty breathing.

David gently rested his hand on the side of her head. "Hang in there alright? You're going to be fine I promise."

"David..." her whisper ended in silence as her eyelashes fluttered shut.

Within seconds she had slumped against him and he knew she had lost consciousness.

David secured her using the arm that was already holding her, and then threw the rest of the bedcovers back with the other. He slipped the arm that wasn't already supporting Regina under her legs, and lifted her out of the bed.

Thankfully the hallway was still clear when he ran through it with Regina, and he was able to make it down the staircase without issue.

He ran through the doorway that Snow had left open, and continued to make his way across the lawn. He couldn't see Snow or Henry, but he found a place that was far enough away from the house where he could check on Regina.

Kneeling on the ground with her, David supported her in his lap as he tried to coax her awake again.

"Regina? It's David." He said softly. He rested his hand on the side of her face, before moving her head gently to try to rouse her.

He looked up towards the house again, he needed to put the fire out, and he had to find where Snow and Henry had disappeared to, but he didn't want to just leave Regina lying there unconscious. He checked her pulse, and was relieved to find it still beating steadily, he then checked her breathing, which also seemed okay.

David looked around again, still not quite sure where his wife had gone with their grandson. His gaze dropped again to the woman in his arms, he knew he had to leave her if he wanted to even have a chance to save her home, but he couldn't just abandon her here on the cold ground.

He glanced towards the road and remembered that his truck was still parked out front. Quickly lifting Regina up again, he made his way to the vehicle. As he walked, he felt a glimmer of relief as he heard a quiet whimper from the woman he was carrying. He looked down and saw her eyelashes fluttering weakly again as she tried to bring him back into focus.

"David?" She whispered.

"Yeah Regina it's me. We're outside, I'm taking you to the truck. You can wait in there while I try to stop the fire."

"Where's–" Regina blinked her eyes tightly, coughing softly. "Where's my son?"

"I'm not sure at the moment. But don't worry," David added when her eyes flew open in horror, "I know he and Mary Margaret got out of the house. She'll keep him safe. Don't worry Regina, there's no one still inside."

"E –Emma?" Regina whispered, coughing again.

"She's still in town but I'll give her a call. We're at the truck now, are you okay to stand on your own?"

Regina nodded, and so he began to let go of her, but carefully just in case she was wrong. She swayed a little without his support, and so he reached out to help her again.

Breathing a frustrated sigh, she wrapped her arms around his shoulders.

"It's okay, I've got you." He said as he unlocked the passenger side door to his truck and then lifted her up onto the bench seat.

"You'll feel better after a bit more fresh air. I'm going to go see if I can stop the fire."

He turned to leave but felt a small hand grab his arm.

"Regina, I'll be back soon I promise." He said, trying to calm the fear he saw in her eyes. He offered her a reassuring smile and squeezed her shoulder softly, before turning to leave again.

"David wait." She said shakily.

"What is it?"

She just continued to stare at him with a desperate look in her eyes.

"Regina? Tell me what's wrong, are you hurt?"

She shook her head. Her lips trembled ever so slightly as her eyes scanned the area surrounding them. Her gaze fell to her lap.

"Can you stay with me?" She whispered.

"Don't worry," he said, resting his hand on the side of her head. "I'll find Henry and Mary Margaret. I'll tell them you're here."

Regina looked a little let down, but she nodded in understanding as she blinked back a few tears.

"You're going to be fine Regina. Keep breathing in the fresh air; try to get the rest of the smoke out of your lungs. Everything will be okay I promise. I'm going to go try to put the fire out now."

Regina took a sharp breath as she fully registered what he had been telling her. "No, David you can't it's too dangerous. Wait for the firemen to do it."

"To be honest Regina, I don't know if they're coming." David said in delicate apology.

Regina's breath caught in her throat as she looked back at her house. David was right, she was the last person anyone would want to help right now.

"David you shouldn't."

"It's your home Regina, I'm going to try to save it."

Regina continued to stare at the house, she could see the smoke and flames flickering in a few of the windows. "Be careful." She whispered.

David smiled, nodding. "I'll find Snow for you." He said, squeezing her hand comfortingly.

As he stepped away, Regina continued to hold onto his hand, gripping it a little tighter when he tried to let go.

"You're going to be fine." He repeated, feeling his heart break for her.

Regina swallowed back her emotions, nodding as a tear slid down her face.

"David?!" Mary Margaret's voice called from somewhere in the darkness, causing him to turn his head anxiously.

"Go," Regina whispered, seeing in his eyes how badly he wanted to make sure his wife was okay.

David rubbed the side of her shoulder consolingly, giving her an appreciatory nod before hurrying towards the other side of the house.

Regina sniffled, wrapping her arms tightly around herself as her tear-filled eyes focused on her home again.

It was then that she remembered what she had been trying to tell David back in the house. The fire wasn't just a fire. It was made of magic. She had been able to sense it from the moment she had woken up.

What she had been trying to tell him was that the protection spell Mother Superior had placed around the house was gone. Someone had broken through it, probably in order to start the fire. The only question she had was why. Anyone with ill intentions could have started a regular fire without magic, so what was the purpose of breaking the protection spell when it was only really useful against those who wielded magic?

The fire wasn't just any regular fire, Regina concluded. She recognized what it was, and that was a trap.

A trap for her.

No one inside had ever been in any real danger.

"David?!"

The prince ran towards his wife's voice, calling her name as he tried to find her.

"David!" She exclaimed again.

Finally he laid eyes on her as he came running around the side of the house.

"Mary Margaret what are you doing over here?! It's not safe–"

"Henry was trying to see if he could see Regina from outside." Mary Margaret explained as she struggled against the boy. There were tears rolling down her face as she fought to keep the ten-year-old from going into the backyard.

"WHERE'S MY MOM?!" A heavily sobbing Henry asked. He had finally stopped struggling when he realized Regina wasn't with David.

"She's safe Henry she's in the truck," David assured him. "Come on, you guys should go be with her. I'm going to try to put this out."

"David it's probably grown too big by now," Snow said sadly, forgetting to keep a grip on the distraught ten-year-old.

"Henry?"

The boy had already started sprinting back towards the front of the house.

"Mom!" Henry shouted, running as fast as he could for David's old Ford.

"Mom?!" Henry repeated, hoping she would answer him.

"MOOOM!" He screamed.

Panting as she followed, Mary Margaret felt chills run through her at the sound of Henry's last shout. It took her a second to realize however, why he had made the disturbing, terrified sound that he did.

"David," she whispered, hoping he had been wrong about where he had left her stepmother.

The truck was empty.

"I don't understand... She was just here." David responded as a feeling of dread washed over him.

"MOM?!" Henry shouted, frantically searching around the outside of the truck.

All three of them jumped when suddenly a terribly loud, rumbling clap of thunder echoed throughout the dark night sky.

Within seconds, water began to fall from the sky, and almost instantly the three people on the street were drenched.

Mary Margaret turned in an almost daze towards the mayor's house, and saw that practically the second the rain had started, the fire had completely stopped.

"David look..." She said. "What is that?"

"What the hell is going on?" He stated, more than asked.

A/N: Thank you for reading, please review xx