A/N: I hope you've all been well! Thank you so much to those who reviewed on the last chapter, I always love reading your comments xx
Emma's mind was spinning as she both worried about Henry, and tried to make sense of how Regina's bruises could have suddenly disappeared. Emma could only see her face, and she was desperate to find out if the rest of Regina's injuries had faded too. From where Emma was sitting beside the brunette her eyes kept drifting to the very faded, hardly noticeable bruise that was left. As much as Emma told herself that she was crazy, that Regina's face must have looked like that the whole time, she knew it was a lie. She had woken up about ten minutes previously, and was angry with herself for letting her guard down yet again since she had promised Regina she would watch over her, but at least she knew David was still downstairs.
Emma stared at Regina, trying to find a rational explanation. There was no way Regina's injuries had healed naturally; it was too fast. Emma considered the possibility that this was something Blue or Whale had done, she knew Whale had been treating Regina to ensure the longevity of her torture, and she knew Blue had mended a sickening amount of broken bones for the same purpose. She wondered if Regina's own magic was kicking in, or perhaps it had something to do with Blue's wand. Maybe it was trying to make up for its owner's abuse of its power, and that's why it had shown Regina the truth. Could a piece of wood really feel sympathy though? Emma wondered. There was a whole world of things that Emma had never learned about; it didn't seem logical but for all she knew magic fairy wands could work on their own terms. A fourth possibility Emma nervously considered, was that what if this had something to do with Henry's horribly timed disappearance? For instance what if he had found a way to save Regina by sacrificing himself? Emma felt a chill run through her at the thought. She needed to stop thinking, it was driving her mad.
Emma couldn't wait anymore, the not knowing was unbearable. She knew it wouldn't make a difference if she checked now or if she checked later but she needed to know. Trying to be as careful as possible not to disturb the sleeping brunette, Emma held her breath as she adjusted her seating, and then pulled the duvet slowly back. She didn't move it very far back since she knew the cold and the missing weight would soon alert the other woman. As she placed the folded back part down carefully over Regina, she checked on the woman. Regina's deep breathing quietened, but she was still very much asleep.
Next, even more carefully now, Emma took hold of Regina's arm. She lifted it only about an inch from the bed as gently and as subtly as she possible could, before reaching for the pajama sleeve to push it back.
A quiet noise came from Regina before she shifted very slightly in her sleep. Emma froze, still holding Regina's arm in hopes that if she didn't move any further Regina would simply go back to sleep. Unfortunately, Emma had no such luck. She swiftly put Regina's arm down but it was too late.
Regina awoke with a small grimace, giving a sleepy but troubled moan as the pain hit her once again. She felt somewhat rested, but now that the drugs had mostly wore off her senses were a little sharper which unfortunately made the pain a little less tolerable. Her brow was furrowed as she was pulled from slumber too soon, and she curled in towards her pillow as she tried to get comfortable again. Her eyes opened as she realized someone was pulling the duvet up to her shoulders, and they raised to find a guilty looking Emma.
"Sorry," Emma whispered. "I didn't mean to wake you, just go back to sleep okay?" She said, resting a hand on the other woman's shoulder.
Regina closed her eyes again, making a quiet sound in response. She was still so relieved to be at home, it almost felt like a dream. After a little sleep she now felt more aware of everything that was around her. She appreciated the feeling of being in fresh, clean pajamas, and she cherished the comfortable familiar feeling of being able to sleep in her own bed. She blinked her eyes open tiredly, taking in the familiar sights, scents and noises of home, until her eyes landed on Emma again.
She gave a tired sigh, feeling herself slipping further and further away from sleep. "Were you holding my hand?" She asked curiously, wondering if that had been part of a dream.
"No I–" Emma began, but the look in Regina's eyes stopped her. "Um yeah, um, I mean sort of. It was your arm, I was checking on your bruises."
"Oh," Regina asked, closing her eyes again. "Why?"
Emma bit her lip, not really knowing how to explain. "Okay... so, this is going to sound crazy but..." She began uncertainly, not wanting to get Regina's hopes up if she was wrong. "I think you might be healing somehow, or at least even just your injuries from the kidnapping. I don't know how or why but... I'm pretty sure."
Regina breathed a tiny, disbelieving laugh. "Emma that's impossible."
"But Regina I'm positive you had some bruises on your face earlier, and somehow while you were sleeping they practically all disappeared."
"You're delusional. Get some sleep Emma," Regina responded softly.
"But Regina–"
"Emma, now that I've slept off whatever Whale gave me I can feel everything even more fully. Trust me, nothing changed while I was asleep."
"Can I please just check?"
"Check what?" Regina sighed, sounding a little annoyed now.
"Your arm?" Emma asked hopefully. "I want to see if the bruises there are gone too."
Regina was silent for a few moments,
"I promise if I'm wrong I'll leave you alone after."
"Fine," Regina breathed, withdrawing her arm from under the covers and lifting it for Emma.
Emma's heart was pounding as she carefully pulled the sleeve back. What if this was really happening? What if they didn't have to worry about the hospital anymore? What if Regina would be better by morning?
Regina wasn't watching, she already knew the answer but she knew Emma wouldn't believe it until she saw it for herself.
As Regina's skin was revealed, Emma's heart sank as she saw that her arm was still covered in injuries, meaning the rest of her probably still was too.
"I–"
"There, are you satisfied?" Regina asked, drawing her arm back to her and pulling the sleeve up to cover the wounds.
"I'm sorry..." Emma whispered. "I really thought–"
"Well you were wrong." Regina said, not unkindly, but in a tone of finality.
"But Regina I swear, the bruises on your face are gone, I'm not crazy."
Regina sighed, taking a few moments to think. "Let me see." She finally said.
Emma hurried to the bathroom to grab a handheld mirror and Regina reached up to touch her face. She frowned, it felt fine.
"Here, look." Emma said breathily, she held up the mirror for Regina to see but the brunette quickly took it from her, slowly sitting up before she would look at her reflection. As she locked eyes with the tired, sickly woman who was staring back at her, she felt her eyes water. She looked away from the dark circles, the sallow complexion and the much too prominent cheekbones and focused instead on her skin. Earlier on she had glanced in the mirror very briefly when Snow and Emma had been helping her with her skin care routine, but had immediately needed to look away when the sight was too upsetting. There had been bruises, a few cuts, but now, they were gone. She reached her hand up to touch her face again, it didn't even hurt.
"You see?" Emma said. "I didn't imagine it did I?"
"Emma..." Regina said in wonder. "How did this happen?"
"I have no idea! But what if this means your powers are coming back? Or something else is trying to heal you? Do you think it had something to do with the wand?"
"Emma there is no way my powers are coming back, I'm even weaker than I was before."
"But what else could it be?"
Regina placed the mirror face down on the blanket beside her. Her brow was creased and her eyes were thoughtful for a few moments before she slowly looked back at Emma again.
"What is it?" Emma asked.
"Maybe... I don't know..."
"Regina what?"
"The Savior..." Regina mumbled to herself, lost in thought.
"What is it?"
"What if..." Regina turned her head to look at her. "Emma what if you did this?"
"What?! I don't have magic." Emma replied in surprise.
"But what if you do?"
"There's... No, no there's no way, I'm just me. Just me."
"And who are you Emma?" Regina said softly. "You're the Savior. It would only make sense if you were to have magic of your own."
"But... wouldn't I have noticed it by now?"
"Not necessarily, not if you were never trained to tap into your powers."
"But if I've never been trained... how could I have done this without even trying to?"
"I don't know Emma... It's just a guess. But do you remember that day I was trying to heal myself?"
Emma nodded, her eyes were still quite wide.
"When you touched my arm, I felt a spark."
"You did?"
"Yes. If you remember, for one tiny second I thought I had healed myself, but I hadn't. At the time I thought it was me. I thought I had been able to access my own magic but just wasn't strong enough to use it. But maybe Emma, maybe it was your powers, trying to give me a little push."
"But how?"
"I don't know." Regina responded quietly, closing her eyes. She gave a sleepy sigh, lying down again and finding a comfortable position.
"If this is true..." Emma touched Regina's arm. "Do you think I could heal everything else?"
"Maybe..."
"How can we tell if I have magic or not? Is there like some test I have to do or something? If I do end up having magic could you show me how to use it? If it's in there it will work right?"
"Learning to use magic is difficult, it takes a lot of time and patience."
"We don't have a lot of time..." Emma surmised a little disappointedly. "But could you still try?" She asked hopefully.
"Perhaps, but not right now. I need to rest."
"Okay..."
Emma couldn't stop looking at Regina. She wanted to know more. She wanted Regina to tell her more. How could this be true? It didn't make sense. She couldn't have magic could she? If it was true and Regina showed her how to use magic, she could heal Regina, she would be able to protect her family, she would actually be able to fight back if anyone like the Blue Fairy ever tried to attack her again.
"Regina," she began, but stopped herself even though the brunette had opened her eyes already. She needed to let Regina sleep. "Never mind, just get some rest. I'm sorry I keep waking you up. "
Regina gave a small smile, reaching out to touch Emma's hand before curling deeper into her pillow. She was just about to try to go back to sleep when her eyes blinked open again.
"Emma is Henry here yet?"
"What? Oh... um, no not yet. Sorry."
Regina was staring up at Emma, a look of panic was slowly building in her eyes.
"Why?" Regina asked in a hushed whisper. "Surely he should be here by now." She brought herself back up into a sitting position. "What the hell could be going on in town that no one can get to him? Is he in danger?" Regina's voice quivered.
"No he's–"
"Emma don't lie to me. Why isn't Henry here yet?"
Emma shifted uncomfortably. She had really hoped they were going to find Henry earlier.
"Emma where is my son?" Regina asked in a quiet, but fearful voice.
Emma had a pained, apologetic look in her eyes as she met Regina's gaze again. "I don't know."
Regina's eyes flashed with fear. "What? "She whispered.
"He's missing but we're trying to find him, all of our friends are out looking for him right now."
"But how? Did someone...?"
"I don't know Regina."
"Emma!" Regina whispered, a look of hurt and betrayal in her eyes. "Why didn't you tell me?" Her voice rose.
"I'm sorry Regina..." Emma said in a quiet, emotional voice. "We didn't want you to worry. We didn't want to add to your stress, it's so dangerous to your health right now."
"He's my son I had a right to know the truth," Regina's shaky voice accused as tears rolled down her face. Her heart was pounding, she felt angry, she felt scared, she didn't know what to do.
"I know... and I knew you would be mad at me for keeping this from you but–"
"Then why did you?" Regina asked in a small voice.
"Because..." Emma closed her eyes to stop her tears but accidentally allowed a few to escape instead. "I was trying to protect you."
Regina shook her head. "By lying to me?"
"Regina you needed to rest, you needed time to recover. You still do."
"Emma you should have told me..."
"I know," Emma replied in a lost voice. "It killed me to keep this from you, but you've been through so much. I didn't want you to... I don't know... have a heart attack or something."
Regina closed her eyes, shaking her head slightly.
"Regina?"
"Emma..." Regina said in a low, angry voice. "You should go."
"What?" Emma's eyes widened, she felt like she had been kicked in the stomach. She had expected Regina to be upset but she hadn't expected that response.
"You have to go look for him." Regina explained.
"Regina I–"
"Go!"
"Regina there are so many people looking for him right now, believe me if I thought they couldn't do it without me I would already be out there. I need to stay here with you."
"No you don't! Henry's more important."
"Regina you're not safe here by yourself, we think this might be a diversion! We think someone might have taken him so we would leave you to go look for him. I'm not making that mistake twice. I'm not letting them get to you a second time."
Emma wiped a tear away as she heartbrokenly watched the brunette falling apart in front of her. This is exactly what she had not wanted. Regina had curled in on herself, she was crying, her arms were wrapped around her waist.
"Regina you know you wouldn't survive a second kidnapping." Emma said in a quiet, emotional voice.
Regina was silent for a few moments, her breathing was heavy and shaky, but soon she managed to calm herself down a little. "I don't care..." Regina said in a tiny, desperate voice. "You have to go look for him."
"Are you sure?" Emma asked, crestfallen as she realized Regina was serious. "You really do want me to leave you here by yourself? Now?"
Regina sniffled. She looked up at Emma with a tortured look in her eyes. She gave the smallest of nods.
Emma let out a surprised breath. She sat up a little straighter and looked towards the door. Then she looked back at the broken woman beside her.
"Regina I don't think I can... What if something happens? What if they come after you again? Regina you wouldn't stand a chance."
Regina pressed her lips together, closing her eyes and not responding. Her emotions were running wild: she was tired, she was in pain, but most of all she was heartbroken and frightened. She needed Henry back.
"Please Emma, find him."
Emma sighed heavily, blinking back the rest of her tears as she looked up towards the ceiling. "Fine..." She whispered. "But I'm going to get your phone. You call me the second anything happens okay? Even if it's just that you've changed your mind and don't want to be alone." She comfortingly touched Regina's leg. "I'll come back as soon as you call."
Regina nodded sniffling as she accepted the tissue Emma offered to her.
"I'll be right back." Emma said gently.
Even as Emma left the bedroom she had already made up her mind. She was not going to leave this house, she was going to lie to Regina again and she hated herself for it. She would send David in her place, even though she would truly rather have him here. Regina needed to hear someone leave and Emma couldn't come to terms with leaving her, not while Emma was haunted by the memory of what had happened the last time she had listened to Regina and left the house to go searching for a missing person.
A few minutes later Emma returned with Regina's phone. The battery had died during the time Regina had been gone but Emma had found a portable charger for it.
"Keep it beside you at all times okay?" Emma said. "And keep it plugged in to this thing, it was at zero percent."
Regina nodded, taking the phone.
"Do you need anything else before I go?" Emma asked softly.
Regina shook her head, there were tears rolling down her face as she sat back against the headboard.
Emma felt her heart tug painfully, she wanted to stay up here. Even though she wouldn't be far at all, Regina shouldn't be alone.
"Are you sure you want me to go? I'm sure everyone else has got it handled."
Regina closed her eyes, giving another small nod of her head.
Emma gave a heavy sigh. "Okay. Well I guess I'd better go then."
She leaned forwards and wrapped her arms around the brunette in a gentle, but comforting hug. Emma felt Regina's arms wrapping lightly around her in response, and Regina rested her chin on Emma's shoulder.
"Bye Regina," Emma whispered, before she started to stand up. She took a moment to gather her strength. She wanted more than anything to sit back down again, but if it was only going to worsen Regina's anxiety over Henry than that was not an option.
She turned to leave the room however she stopped when she felt a gentle hand wrapping around her wrist. Her tear-filled eyes turned to see Regina's gaze fixed downwards, not able to look up at the blonde.
"Emma..." Regina whispered.
"Yeah?" Emma asked, her voice a little raw.
Regina was quiet. She closed her eyes again.
"Regina?"
"I don't want you to go." Regina reached her other hand for Emma's arm too, "I don't want you to leave again." She whispered.
"I know..." Emma sighed in regret. "I wish I didn't have to either."
Regina closed her eyes, dropping her gaze. Emma felt physical pain at the sound of the brunette's uneven breathing as she tried to stop herself from crying. Emma knew Regina was starting to cry more heavily, and her heart was telling her that it was beyond cruel to leave her right now. Even if Emma would only just be right downstairs the whole time, Regina would think she was there alone and that was almost just as bad as the real thing.
"Regina..." Emma took a few steps closer. "I don't have to leave if you don't–"
She was cut off as Regina burst into tears. Regina's head was bowed and rested in her hands as she was sobbing heavily all of a sudden.
"Regina," Emma breathed sadly, immediately moving to sit down beside her again.
She put her arm around the brunette again and Regina immediately turned into her embrace. Regina clung to Emma tightly and Emma held onto her protectively in return.
"This is never going to stop is it?" Regina's broken voice asked. "This is just my life now. One disaster after another."
"Regina that's not–"
"It's never going to end; this suffering is never going to end."
"It will." Emma insisted softly. "I promise it will. I'm sure Henry's just run off again. He keeps thinking he'll be able to find you, I'm sure he was just getting anxious and ran off to look for you again. We'll find him Regina. He's going to be okay."
"But what if he didn't leave on his own? What if someone did take him?" Regina's tear-filled eyes looked up into Emma's. "If someone who's allied with Whale took him... because they knew they couldn't hurt me anymore... if they took Henry to punish me further..."
Regina raised a shaky palm to her forehead, trying not to imagine Henry being tortured like she had been. "I never believed Whale could be capable of anything like that but Emma... he's capable of anything. Something happened when the curse broke, his two identities did not mix well. Together they created a monster consumed by vengeance. I believe it's possible that he's worse right now than I ever was. I never hurt children, and that poor little girl... he could have killed that sweet, innocent girl."
"Regina, Whale's been arrested remember? He doesn't have Henry."
"But someone working with him could." Regina whispered.
"Regina... Henry's going to be fine, I know he is."
"You can't possibly know that.
"I don't know... I just have this... gut feeling." Emma breathed a heavy sigh. "Regina... I think I'm going to stay here with you after all. You shouldn't be alone right now."
"What? No Emma, Henry needs you."
"You need me too. Let the others handle this. David and Mary Margaret are more than capable of tracking someone, and Ruby I hear is one of the best. They'll find him."
"You should be out there looking for Henry, not sitting here babysitting me." Regina shook her head.
"If he really is in danger... the minute I know where he is I'll go to help. I promise. But until that happens there's no way in hell I'm leaving you here this way."
Regina looked up at Emma and was comforted by what she saw in the other woman's eyes. Despite how upset she was with the blonde right now, she had missed that feeling she had when Emma was around, that she was safe and wanted and cared for. After being in her own personal version of hell it felt almost like a dream now, but she knew it was real and she never wanted to let go of it.
"Okay," Regina whispered, closing her eyes and leaning into Emma's embrace. "Thank you."
Emma gave a heartfelt sigh, wrapping her arms more protectively around the brunette. She placed a soft kiss to the top of her friend's head. "I'm not ready to lose you again."
Across Town
The ten year old boy rushed easily and unnoticeably through Storybrooke General. In his lifetime he'd had a fair amount of practice at sneaking off and now was the perfect time to utilize those skills. He knew it had been wrong to run away from Granny, but he couldn't just sit around and do nothing. His mother was still missing and even though he knew there was not much he could do to get her back, he needed some answers of his own. He needed to know more about the incidents surrounding her disappearance, and more than anything he needed to know why.
The only difficult part had been trying to find which room it was, but now that Henry had reached his destination he was getting a little nervous. Currently he was standing in the doorway of a hospital room, just staring in at the occupants who had yet to see him. The little girl who was in the hospital bed was fast asleep, but the woman sitting beside her was wide awake. The four year old's mother was leaning back against the wall behind her and was gently brushing her fingers through her daughter's hair. The site caused Henry's heart to ache, it reminded him so much of his own mother it hurt.
He felt tears in his eyes, and finding himself growing too upset, he turned and was about to leave when the woman's head turned towards him.
"Hello?" She asked.
Henry paused with his back to her, before slowly turning around to meet her gaze. "Um, hi..." He said uncertainly.
The woman looked puzzled for a few moments before a look of recognition washed over her face.
"You're Henry Mills aren't you? The Mayor's son."
Henry nodded.
"Is there something I can help you with?" She asked in a kind, soft voice, careful not to wake her daughter. "Are you lost?"
Henry shook his head.
The woman gave a small smile, waiting for him to explain what he wanted. When it became clear that he wasn't going to speak first, she reached a hand out to him. "Would you like to come in?"
"Okay," Henry said nervously, wondering suddenly if it had been a mistake to come here.
"Are you alright?" The woman asked, suddenly growing concerned as she saw that the boy was crying.
Henry nodded.
The woman's expression changed. "You're worried about your mother aren't you?" She guessed quietly.
Henry nodded again, unable to find his voice.
"Here, sit down." The woman offered kindly, gesturing to a chair beside the bed.
Henry didn't respond, but took the seat.
"I'm Julie, by the way."
"Hi. I'm Henry."
Julie smiled. She waited for him to bring up the reason for his visit but when it became clear that he was too lost in his own thoughts to say anything, she started for him.
"I think I know why you're here... You want to ask about what happened with my daughter." She said softly. "Because it might be connected to what happened to your mother?"
Henry nodded, but didn't respond. He couldn't stop thinking about Regina.
"I owe a lot to your family, if it wasn't for them I don't know what would have happened to Katie." A tear rolled down her face as she pulled the blankets slightly higher over her daughter. "They drugged her. Whoever took her they drugged her, she's just four years old. I don't understand how anyone could do something like that to a child."
"Is she still sick?" Henry asked, wondering why she was still in the hospital.
"The drugs are out of her system now but the nurses wanted to keep her here to monitor her, just as a precaution."
Henry sniffled as he too looked at the sleeping little girl. "Do you know if she saw my mom at all?"
"No," Julie whispered softly. "She was asleep the whole time. I'm sorry Henry."
Henry was silent for a few moments. He had hoped this other family would be able to tell him something about what had happened to his mom. Henry bit his lip. "Can I ask you something?"
"Of course."
"Why did you say no when David offered to help you find your daughter? Why did you need it to be Emma?"
"I–" Julie faltered. "I don't know."
"Did you know what was going to happen to my mom?" Henry asked quietly.
Julie closed her eyes. "No. I didn't." She whispered.
"But you've known David longer, don't you trust him?"
"I do trust him, I honestly didn't mean for your mother to get hurt." Julie responded sincerely. "I had no idea what those people were planning, I just wanted my daughter back."
"Then can you tell me why it had to be Emma?" Henry asked, not in an accusatory way, he just wanted to know.
"I don't know," Julie responded quietly. "Because she's the sheriff, I guess I thought she would be the best equipped. Maybe because she's also a mother." She smiled softly at Henry, until her expression changed.
"What?" Henry asked.
"It is strange though... now that I really think about it..."
"What's strange?"
Julie's brow furrowed and she breathed a heavy sigh. "It's almost like I felt compelled to insist on Emma's help. I know David would have done an equally good job but... my mind just kept telling me that it had to be Emma. I do trust Prince Charming, very much, but for some reason at the time I didn't believe he could help. But sitting here now, of course I would trust him to find Katie." There was a troubled look on her face as she brushed the four year old's hair back.
"Maybe you were under a spell." Henry said. "I think Mr. Gold was helping Doctor Whale."
"The Dark One and Her Majesty do have quite the history." The woman nodded thoughtfully, before breathing a heavy sigh and meeting the boy's gaze again. "Henry, I'm very sorry for what happened to Regina. And I'm so sorry to have been involved in her disappearance. I truly do hope that she'll be found before it's too late."
"Really?" Henry asked hopefully. "Even after what she did to everyone in Storybrooke?"
"Even then. She's not a bad person, at least I don't believe so. I know a few people are having a difficult time with it but I forgive her for the curse. It was drastic but I can understand wanting to escape her past. Hers was darker than most."
"Thank you." Henry said quietly.
He watched the way Julie gently brushed her daughter's hair back, and he felt a sad twinge in his heart when she rubbed Katie's arm softly. He missed his own mother, he missed Regina. For so many years he had taken her for granted, pushed her away even. He had wasted so much time with her and now he may never get to see her again.
"Henry is it okay if I call your family?" Julie asked softly, breaking through his thoughts. "I have a feeling that you might be here without their permission, and if that's true I know they must be worrying a great deal about you by now."
Henry sniffled, nodding as he wiped a tear away.
"Oh, you poor thing." Julie breathed softly as she reached a hand out to comfort him. "I can't even imagine what you must be going through right now."
Henry immediately went to her, burrowing into her embrace as if she were his own mother.
"I miss her so much."
"I know sweetie. But I'm sure your family will find her, there are only so many places in Storybrooke she could be."
"But what if they hurt her? Or what if they kill her before anyone can find her? I don't want to lose her."
"I know," the woman repeated softly, rubbing his back consolingly as she hugged him.
"Henry? Is that you?" A familiar female voice asked from the doorway.
Henry instantly turned around.
"Oh... thank god." The blonde said in relief.
"Oh, hi Mrs. Nolan." Henry said, sniffling as he pulled back a little from Julie.
She entered the room. Her smile faltered slightly at the name Henry had called her by. "Please, you know you can call me Kathryn."
Henry nodded, sniffling again as he wiped his damp cheeks with his sleeve.
"What are you doing here?" Kathryn asked worriedly. "You're supposed to be with Granny, everyone's been looking for you. We found your mom, she–"
"You found her?!" Henry was instantly on his feet. "Is she okay? Did they hurt her? When did you find her? Is she going to be okay? Where is she?"
"She's..." Kathryn began, she couldn't really say that Regina was okay because the woman was far from it. "She's safe. She's back at your house with Emma and David. We need to get her to Boston but Emma couldn't take her until you were back, come on we should get going. Mary Margaret is upstairs, I'll call her."
Henry turned to look up at Julie, there were tears of relieved disbelief in his eyes.
"I told you they would find her." The woman smiled kindly, rubbing his arm gently.
Henry smiled back at her. "Thank you."
Henry was pulling against Snow, trying to urge her to hurry as they rushed out to her car. She was holding his hand and while she was already jogging to keep up with him he still tried to make her go faster. When the two of them, Kathryn and Ruby finally piled into the car, Henry was on edge. He couldn't sit still, he was anxious, he was excited, and he was worried. His mom was home and he was going to finally get to see her.
In no time at all Snow had started the car and they were on their way.
Henry was quiet for a time until the guilt started eating away at him. He turned sheepishly to the woman sitting next to him.
"I'm sorry I ran away from you and Granny." He said to Ruby.
The woman gave a reassuring smile. "It's okay... there are worst crimes than wanting to know the truth." She glanced at Snow before leaning in towards him. "And let me tell you a little secret; I probably would have done the same thing." She said with a wink and a kind smile.
Henry smiled in response, and the smile only grew when he saw his grandmother shaking her head at her best friend's remark.
"But Henry you still should have told Granny where you were going." Snow said as she drove.
"She wouldn't have let me come..."
"You don't know that. At the very least she could have come with you to make sure you were safe. Henry you know how risky it is for you to be out on your own right now. Everyone's been worried sick."
"I just wanted to find my mom..."
"I know you did honey but you should have let the grownups deal with it. You put yourself in danger by going off on your own and that's not the way to help your mother."
"I know..." Henry's head hung in shame as he recalled a similar conversation that he'd had with his birthmother. "So everyone's been waiting for me so we can leave for the city?"
"Yes..." Snow replied, "although I think your mother might have changed her mind now."
"About what? About leaving Storybrooke?"
Snow nodded.
"But why?! She needs to see that doctor!"
"Honey you'll have to ask her about it, I'm sorry."
Henry looked out the window. Snow wasn't driving fast enough. He needed to be home now. He needed to see Regina, he needed to see that she was okay, that she was alive, that she was home. He wanted to tell her how sorry he was. He wanted her to hold him, he wanted to feel the safety of her arms around him and more than anything, he wanted to tell her that he loved her.
xXxXxXxXx
A/N: Thank you for reading! Please review, and take care xx