A/N: Just another short one, but I hope you'll like it all the same. Thank you to those who commented on the last, without you this chapter wouldn't be here today! I hope you all enjoy your weekend xx
Still sitting on the chilly forest floor, Henry sniffled as he curled closer to Regina. He himself was warm enough, nestled into his mother's side as they were both wrapped in David's coat. He was able to fit most of his body inside the coat beside her, but he knew she must be freezing even if she couldn't feel it at the moment.
His heart was pounding in his ears as he listened into the darkness. About five minutes or so ago, as he had been debating on whether to call an ambulance or one of his family members, he had finally received word from Emma.
"Help is coming Mom," he said softly, closing his eyes as he leaned into the soft fabric of her coat. "Don't give up okay?"
His eyes quickly flew open again when he heard the sound of a car approaching on the road nearby. Sure enough, he could see the spill of the headlights slipping through the trees and slightly illuminating the woods around them.
He heard the gravelly sound of the car coming to a stop a little further down the road than where they were, and then he heard the car door slam shut.
"Henry?!" Emma's voice called into the darkness.
"Emma!" Henry responded in relief.
"Henry where are you?!"
"Over here!"
"Henry?"
He could hear her voice, but she was still a little off in regards to their location.
"We're here!"
"Henry?!"
Henry reluctantly let go of his mother and slipped out from under the coat. He touched her shoulder, "I'll be right back Mom." He promised. Next he hurried back to the road in hopes that Emma would be able to see him. When he got to the street he could see the still-running car sitting there like a beacon, but he didn't see his birthmother anywhere.
"Emma?" He called into the darkness. There were absolutely no streetlights on this road, and so the only light was the result of whatever moonlight could filter through the thick of the trees, along with the headlights from Emma's car.
"Kid where are you?" Emma's voice called.
He could just make out the beam of her flashlight bobbing between the trees up the road closer to her car.
"I'm here, back on the road!" He didn't move from where he stood, he didn't want to go looking for her and then lose the spot where Regina was.
Emma soon appeared out of the woods not too far away.
"Henry, oh thank god," she breathed in relief as her eyes fell on her son. She jogged towards him, pulling him into a grateful hug, which he returned fiercely. "I'm so sorry. I'm so sorry. I would have called you earlier but I couldn't." She pulled back to look him in the eyes. "Where's Regina?" She asked urgently.
"Over here." He quickly disentangled himself from her arms and hurried back into the woods.
"It's so dark out here." Emma commented in frustration. She shone the flashlight into the trees as she followed Henry, lighting his way as well as her own.
Henry soon fell to his knees beside the small, unconscious form of Regina.
Emma felt her heart stop at the sight of the brunette. She dropped to the ground in front of Regina too, reaching out for the other woman.
"Damn it." She mumbled, cupping Regina's face as she took in the state the brunette was in. Her face was a little too pink, the bottom of her nose especially was red, and her skin was as cold as ice. "This is all my fault... I'm sorry." Emma turned to Henry. "How long has she been out?"
"I don't know." He responded in a small voice.
"It's okay," Emma sighed through her words, zipping David's coat up over Regina's wool one. "Come on, let's get her into the car." She handed the boy the flashlight.
Emma slid her arms around the queen and then scooped her up against her chest. "Don't worry Regina I've got you. You're going to be okay." Emma whispered against the other woman's hair as she carried her.
Emma was careful as she made her way through the twigs and leaves back up to the road.
"Henry, run ahead and open the door will you?"
"Okay." Henry obeyed.
Emma reached the bug not long after he did. "There we go." She breathed as she placed Regina delicately into the passenger's seat.
"She's going to be okay right?" Henry asked, watching nervously. "We got her out of Storybrooke. That means she's going to recover now, right?"
"Just get in the car okay?" Emma said, not intentionally being short with him. It had been a very long day, and they had another very long night ahead of them. She fastened the seatbelt around Regina and then closed the door.
Henry didn't respond as he went around to the driver's side of the car. He pulled Emma's chair forward and climbed into the back seat which was already partially occupied by bags and other items. Emma soon got into the vehicle herself and closed the door behind her.
"Pass me that pillow that's back there." Emma said, "I think it should be behind your mom's chair."
Henry found it quickly. Emma had taken it from Regina's bed, he recognized even in the dark.
"Thanks," Emma said, quickly taking it from him. She leaned over Regina and placed the pillow between the brunette and the door to the car. She carefully guided Regina's unresponsive form to lean against the pillow so that her neck wouldn't get hurt from staying in the same awkward position for too long.
"There should be a blanket back there too." Emma said.
Henry already had it in his hand. He held it out between the seats and Emma took it, unfolding it and covering Regina in it.
"She'll warm up soon Henry." Emma assured him, pushing Regina's hair back so she could see her face. She felt her heart tug with guilt. Because she had previously wanted to disregard Regina's wishes and forcibly take her from Storybrooke, she had gotten herself tied into a deal that had–indirectly–nearly killed the two most important women in her life today. She couldn't even blame Gold on that one.
Emma sighed, leaning back against her seat as she stared at the tree-lined road before them. She needed a minute before starting the long drive ahead. She couldn't believe they had actually pulled this off. It had all gone to hell, but it had been a success. Regina was out of Storybrooke, they had avoided a confrontation between her and the townspeople, and finally, there was no longer anything standing in the way of getting her to the hospital.
Emma turned her head to look at Regina tucked safely into the passenger's seat beside her. No matter how big of a disaster tonight had turned out to be, it had been worth it. Regina was safe, Henry was safe, and they were all together. For now, for the sake of her sanity, she would tell herself that Regina was simply asleep. She would not give a single thought to any other possibilities. If Regina was still unconscious by the time they got to the hospital, she would let herself worry about it then, but for now she needed to focus.
"I'm sorry I took so long to get here..." She apologized in a tired voice.
"It's okay," Henry responded. "What happened? Was it because Grandma got hurt?"
"No it wasn't just that..." Emma slumped a little into her seat. "People were tailing me... watching me... and Snow and David too. They wouldn't let us do anything or really go anywhere. They knew something was up, they didn't believe that Regina was already gone. They were just waiting for me to pick her up somewhere. They looked for her... Boy did they look for her. They went to your house, the Sheriff's Station, her office, Mary Margaret's place, Kathryn's..."
"They broke in?" Henry asked.
Emma nodded, closing her eyes. "It's the same as before, they believe that if they are trapped in Storybrooke the one responsible for it should be too. We're just lucky they left her alone until now. I guess they didn't feel as threatened until it was confirmed that she was trying to leave."
"But she can't fix the town line right now. It's not her fault she can't use her magic. If they let her get to the hospital then she would be strong enough again, she could lift the barrier later. Don't they understand that?"
"Yeah well..." Emma replied tiredly, "they don't exactly trust her to come back either."
Henry frowned, he did understand their reasoning, but he wished they could see it the way he could. "If all they want is for Mom to lift the spell, why did they hurt Grandma when they thought she was her? Why not just try to ask her?"
Emma felt her heart ache at the memory. "I don't know..." she said quietly. "I guess because even now they still feel threatened by Regina. And don't forget, because of the Blue Fairy's lies a lot of people believe Regina killed Sidney... and they think she attacked Whale."
"But how could they think she would even be able to do that right now?"
"I don't know Henry..." Emma grumbled in exhaustion.
"How did you get away from them? Did they see you leave?" Henry seemed impervious to the fact that Emma didn't really want to talk anymore.
Emma bit her lip. "I finally left using a road on the other side of town. Some of them watched me go... I think the fact that I left without Regina confirmed that she really was gone. According to Ruby they cleared away from the exits once I left. I circled around Storybrooke but it took a while to get back here since the only direct route is through town. The reason I didn't call the second I was over the border was because I was on the phone with David and Mary Margaret; they were looking at a map and talking me through the route."
Henry bit his lip. "How is Grandma?"
"She's fine... her arm obviously hurts but she's going to be okay. David says it is going to heal really well."
Henry was silent for a few moments, and Emma was glad for the break. "Are we going to leave soon?" He finally broke the silence again.
"Yeah. In a minute." Emma answered quietly. Henry didn't say anything more after that.
Emma closed her eyes. Allowing herself a few more moments to calm down and rest after the emotional rollercoaster of a day she'd been having. She had some difficulty trying to force her eyes open again. She could feel her body fighting her, trying desperately to sleep. She could not take a quick nap, there was no time for that, and where they were currently sitting they were technically still in view of Storybrooke. On top of that she knew they were going to have to leave if they wanted to make it to Boston before the early morning traffic began.
She breathed another heavy sigh, staring at the dark, empty road in front of her. She groaned a little as she pulled herself into a more upright position and gripped the steering wheel. "We're gonna have to stop somewhere for coffee Henry..." She mumbled, switching the car into drive.