A/N: Hey everyone, a few of you asked for a new chapter for Christmas and I'm sorry I didn't have one because I was trying to get as much of my Christmas story done as possible. But here is one for New Years! Or late Christmas lol.

Henry and Emma spent their second night in Boston in the hospital room with Regina. Henry had carefully curled up next to Regina on the bed again despite the nervousness it sparked among the nurses, and Emma had taken the armchair. She was pleased to have gotten a pretty decent sleep considering. The night before, Emma had talked Regina into agreeing to see a therapist here at the hospital, but Regina had insisted that they wait at least another day. Her reasoning was that she was still getting used to life at the hospital, but Emma suspected that the real reason was that the other woman was dreading talking about everything that had happened to her.

"Regina they'll be able to help you get through this." Emma had said to her the night before.

"Emma the only way I will be able to move on is if I stop thinking about it all. Talking to some stranger about all the horrible things that happened is just going to keep the memories alive. Emma... I just want to forget it ever happened."

"But Regina it did happen, and I know this isn't what you want to hear right now but it's probably never going to leave you. You can push it out of your mind all you want but one day, the smallest thing is going to trigger a bad memory and it's all going to come flooding back, just like it's happening all over again."

Regina's expression had changed a little at those words. "Something like this happened to you before didn't it?" She had asked, her voice barely above a whisper.

"No not to me." Emma replied. "But someone I knew once. Believe me Regina, seeing a therapist will help. They'll be able to show you how to move on in a healthy way." Emma had quoted Dr. Montgomery.

When Regina still didn't seem convinced, Emma moved on to a different approach. "Regina, you do know that Montgomery can insist you see someone as part of your treatment, right?"

"A doctor can't force treatment onto a patient." Regina argued.

"No she can't, but she can have your insurance coverage pulled if she tells your company that you're making decisions against her medical advice. How much do you think this all costs?" Emma had waved her arms around to indicate the entire hospital. "A LOT that's how much, and I'm not going to help you pay for it if they pull your insurance because you wouldn't have a conversation with someone."

Ultimately Regina had agreed, and Emma really hoped the brunette wouldn't back out the next day.

Now it was the morning of Regina's second full day at the hospital and if all went according to plan, Regina would start therapy the next day. Currently Regina was gazing down at Henry as he rested sleepily beside her. Right now he didn't seem ten, nearly eleven years old, he seemed far younger. She was reminded of the days when he was little and used to crawl into bed beside her after having a nightmare.

Having her own child next to her only made the current emotional struggle inside her stronger. "I've been thinking about my mother..." Regina mumbled absently to Emma, but not taking her eyes off of Henry. "I had a dream about her last night. Well, I suppose it must have been a dream… Either way, she's been on my mind ever since. I know what I've said about her, and it is true that she wasn't the warmest mother but... I suppose neither was I." Regina gently rubbed Henry's arm.

"I don't know about that, you seem to have done a pretty bang-up job." Emma commented, nodding towards Henry.

Henry blinked his eyes open and looked up at Regina. "You've been a great mom." He agreed.

Regina's heart warmed and she gave him a grateful smile.

"My mother could be a little suffocating at times, but despite everything, she only ever wanted the best for me, she just had different notions of success that's all." Regina frowned, lost in her own thoughts for a few moments. "Yesterday I dreamt that Whale was back." Regina said in a somewhat choked voice, dropping her gaze as she admitted it. "He was trying to hurt me but my mother wouldn't let him, she was there to protect me."

Emma had a soft look in her eyes. She had been wondering if Regina would remember. "That wasn't a dream Regina," she said gently.

Regina looked up at her with a stricken look on her face.

"Well... not completely. I don't mean you saw your mom's ghost or anything." Emma explained. "It was when we first got to the hospital, you were barely conscious and you thought the doctors were trying to hurt you. Dr. Montgomery was trying to comfort you. She spoke to you and she was able to get you to relax. She told me you were asking for your mother... or that you thought she was your mother. That part wasn't too clear to her."

Regina's brow furrowed a little. "The more I hear about last night the more embarrassing it gets. What else happened?"

"Hey, it's nothing to be embarrassed about, you were so out of it I'm surprised you remember that much. I'm sure they've heard way worse here. They knew you were a little delirious. Believe me she's been great about the whole thing." Emma bit her lip. "I know what you've said about her but... do you miss your mom?"

Regina's eyes turned a little pained. "Every day..."

Emma saw tears gathering in those brown eyes and she felt guilty, she hadn't meant to stir up more unhappiness.

"I wish I hadn't–" Regina closed her eyes, shaking her head slightly. "I wish she was still alive." Regina whispered, covering her face with her hands. "I miss her. I know we disagreed on a lot of things, and I know for everyone's sake that it's better that she's not here but... I did love her. And while she sometimes had a twisted way of showing she loved me too."

"Well I'm sure," Emma agreed kindly. "She was still your mom. I'm sure if she were here she would heal you in an instant, and then probably kick Whale's ass into oblivion. I get the feeling that she wouldn't take the news of what happened to you well."

"She would rip his heart out..." Regina mumbled in agreement, absently brushing her fingers through Henry's hair. She blinked away some of the tears and cleared her throat, looking down at her son.

Emma was quiet as she thought about this. She didn't really have any response to that, even though the thought gave her a strange sense of hypothetical approval for Cora's hypothetical actions. The comment could have been taken as a metaphor, but Emma gathered that Regina was quite serious. Yes, maybe it was better that Cora never came to this world after all.

"Henry do you have any comic books with you?" Regina asked, taking Emma off guard.

Henry sat up, rubbing the sleep from his eyes. "I think so... in my backpack. Why?"

"I think I'm in need of a distraction... and it's been so long since I've heard a good story. Emma could you read one to us?"

"Sure," Emma replied softly with a kind look in her eyes. If Regina was turning to comic books she must really not want to talk about Cora any more. Either that or the weight of all of her thoughts was just too painful at the moment.

Later that morning Regina seemed to be a little more at ease again, and Emma and Henry left the hospital to go clean up at the apartment and look for some brunch.

As they were driving, Emma's mind remained on Regina. She knew Regina was feeling a little lost. The woman had been kidnapped and tortured, she was feeling unwelcome in the town that had been her home for thirty years, and finally, she seemed unsettled at the prospect of Boston itself. Emma suspected it was because this 'outside world' was unfamiliar to Regina. Storybrooke had mimicked this world in many ways but that small town had always had something a little different about it. You couldn't exactly call it a pocket of the Enchanted Forest, but it had been a kind of haven from what could be a cruel, dangerous world out here. If the government ever discovered that there was a town full of not-exactly-legal citizens in a not-exactly-Earthly town, Emma could only imagine what could happen. If they discovered that there were werewolves, and fairies, and people who could do magic – people like Regina, Emma thought with an ill feeling in her stomach – they would probably take everyone into custody and run scientific tests and studies on them.

Emma had to push the thought out of her mind. As far as she knew, there was nothing unusual about Regina's biology that would raise any red flags to the hospital staff. And whatever barrier was around the town to keep its' citizens in, also seemed to keep those who belonged on the outside from entering. While people in the outside world could know of the town's existence, so far no one had any questions about it or had attempted to find it.

"She's fine..." Emma mumbled to herself as she drove through the city back to the apartment.

"Did you say something?" Henry asked from the passenger's seat.

"Hm?" Emma glanced over at him, not having realized she had spoken aloud. "Oh, no, nothing."

"Who's fine?" Henry asked.

Emma rolled her eyes a bit, her thoughts were stressful enough, she didn't need to talk about it. "Regina."

"Oh, yeah she'll be okay at the hospital. I think they really like her here."

Emma nodded with a small smile. "It's because their image of her isn't tainted by memories of the Evil Queen. All they can see is the person she is now."

"That's good. She doesn't need any more people against her."

Emma shook her head. "Well as long as she doesn't start throwing fireballs at the doctors when they try to give her a needle, I'd say there's no risk of that." She joked.

Henry laughed a little. "That would be kind of awesome though."

Emma looked over at him in surprise. "Well there's a new one! I thought you hated her magic... you said it was evil."

"I don't hate her magic, I just don't like the way she uses it... Or, used to use it. But I think it would be cool to see her use magic."

"Well if I were you I would tell her that." Emma said a little more seriously. "I think she thinks you're hoping that it won't ever return to her."

"Did she tell you that?"

Emma shook her head. "No. But she knows a lot of people are scared that her magic will return and she'll use it against them. I think she's gathered that you're not really a fan of dark magic. If I were you I would tell her that you're okay with her using it – for the right reasons."

"But she doesn't have any magic right now."

"I know, but in case it ever does come back. I don't want her to think she has to hide it. It's a part of her Henry, and to be honest, I kind of want her powers to return."

"So you can see her throw fireballs?" Henry asked with a grin.

Emma smiled, rolling her eyes. "No. I just want her to be able to protect herself in a way that's comfortable and familiar for her. I want her to feel safe."

"Do you think she will get her magic back?" Henry asked a little quietly all of sudden.

Emma bit her lip. "Well, I certainly hope she will. Because that would mean she's getting better."

"Do you think she's going to get better?"

Emma was silent for a few beats. She hated that he asked that question so often. Of course she wanted Regina to get better but how was she supposed to know what the future held?

"Hey I have an idea," Emma shamefully ignored the question. "Why don't we stop by the bookstore and grab a few books to read with your Mom? We can have our own little book club, doesn't that sound fun?" Emma had never been a big reader but she knew Regina did occasionally enjoy a novel, and she knew Henry loved to read. "We can get some books that are more for your age group but that sound like something we could all enjoy. We can take turns reading. What do you think?"

"Do you think my mom would even like books for my age group?"

"You tell me. Didn't she used to read with you a lot?"

"Yeah... she did read the whole Harry Potter series with me. We took turns reading... Did she tell you about that?"

Emma smiled. "Yeah she did mention it once. She misses it, and I think she would appreciate the distraction."

Henry shared her smile. "Then I think that sounds like a great idea. Will you help me pick some books out though? I want something that everyone will like."

"For sure kid."

It was later in the day and Emma and Henry had just returned to the hospital. They had cleaned up and gotten something to eat, and then made a trip to the bookstore to pick out a few novels. Emma had absolutely no idea what Regina would like that Henry would also like, but Henry had selected a few and they sounded good to her. They picked up a few different options and genres so Regina could choose, and Henry promised he would read them all on his own if Regina decided she didn't want to hear those particular stories, although Emma didn't think that was likely.

Currently Emma was hovering outside of the ICU, waiting to be let in. She had given her parents a call in the car and Henry was still talking to them when he and Emma had reached the family room outside of Regina's ward. Finally Emma had been tired of waiting and with Henry's permission, went ahead without him. She was clutching a tote bag full of books and the cutest cuddly stuffed animal she had found at the bookstore. It was a giraffe teddy that was really not giraffe-shaped at all. It had a big head, no neck and the most adorable big eyes Emma had ever seen on a toy. It had chubby arms and legs, all four of which were sitting on the ground in front of him. It was sitting on its plushy backside and it was able to sit up on its own. Emma had picked it up off the shelf and just its face was enough to make her want to buy it. It did help that the little guy was so soft too. Emma didn't know if Regina liked cuddly giraffes or not, but she felt the need to buy this for her and so the teddy had been added to the basket along with five books of Henry's choosing.

When Emma was let into the ICU she saw herself into Regina's room. "Hey we're back!" She announced unnecessarily as she walked in and pulled a chair closer to Regina's bedside. "Henry's in the waiting room talking to my parents on the phone. He'll be in soon."

"I'm happy he's getting a chance to talk to them." Regina responded, sitting up from the bed recline. "Are they filling him in on the current events back home?"

"I think so yeah. And he's also telling them all about our day."

"Which begs the question; what's all this?" Regina asked, nodding towards the bag curiously.

"Henry and I made a stop at the bookstore on the way here. I thought it could be nice if we maybe read some books together, the three of us. It'll help pass the time and hopefully keep Henry from getting too bored. I let him pick out the books... but they all sounded good to me. If you don't want to read these particular ones I'm sure we can pick up some more. One of the employees there said there are a lot of adult books that would be suitable for Henry too, but I had already let Henry pick out a bunch and he's promised to read them all even if we don't."

"I'm sure they're fine." Regina responded with a smile. "That sounds nice Emma, thank you."

"Don't mention it. Oh! And I have something else, this one is just for you though." Emma said as she dug into the bag.

"Really?" Regina's eyes were a little brighter as she lifted herself up a bit more in her seat.

"Yeah, there was just something about this guy and I needed to get it for you."

Regina's gaze dropped to the bag again as Emma pulled out the stuffed toy.

Regina pressed her fingers to her lips in a small gasp. Emma was relieved when she saw that Regina's whole face seemed to light up at the sight of the giraffe. She wouldn't have pegged Regina for a cuddly toy type of person but then she remembered the teddy bear the brunette had kept close by when Henry had moved out.

"That's certainly not what I was expecting," Regina chuckled. She reached out for the giraffe and Emma smiled as the brunette took the toy. She could tell that Regina thought the giraffe was adorable too and Emma was happy that she had clearly picked a winner.

Emma couldn't stop smiling in response to Regina as the other woman sat the giraffe on her lap and looked down into its big dark eyes. It was crazy how something so obviously fake could feel like it was a real animal with real feelings, even to an adult. Regina brushed her fingers through the giraffe's fluffy mane.

"What a face," she said in soft admiration of the animal. "Thank you Emma."

The blonde looked up from the toy to see Regina's eyes sparkling. There was a smile on her face, a genuine smile that was so uncommon as of late that it moved Emma deeply to see Regina finally happy.

Regina breathed a sigh, still smiling at Emma. The brunette shook her head a little and Emma swore she could see tears in her friend's eyes as she continued to hold her gaze.

"What is it?" Emma asked, smiling curiously.

Regina shook her head softly again, closing her eyes to blink back the tears. "It's you," she said in a soft voice.

"Me?" Emma asked in surprise.

"Nearly twenty-nine years ago... the day you were born... I believed you were destined to ruin me. And then when you arrived in Storybrooke with Henry that one awful night when he ran away from home – I had no idea who you truly were. But even then... I thought you were there to destroy my life. In the end... you didn't ruin anything. You did the one thing I never would have expected, you transformed my life Emma. You made it better. You made me better."

"Regina because of me you almost died." Emma responded in surprise. Regina always gave her this praise that Emma didn't believe she completely deserved.

"No." Regina quietly countered. "Because of me I almost died. Because of you I now have my son back; because of you I have a family. Because of you..." Regina swallowed back her emotions, blinking back yet more tears. "Because of you I have the chance to live the rest of my life. To happily live the rest of my life. I still don't know what I ever did to deserve someone like you."

"Regina I didn't do anything." Emma looked away, slightly blushing in embarrassment as she smiled.

"Yes you did. I don't know a single person who would have been willing to fight for me the way you have. Thank you for never giving up on me, and thank you for believing in me. If you hadn't..." Regina shook her head gently, sniffling as she tried not to let herself cry again. "Well, I wouldn't be alive today."

"Well you know..." Emma said, giving a self-conscious, somewhat stuffy laugh as she herself tried not to cry. "How could I not try to try to save your life Regina?"

Still looking at Emma, Regina tilted her head softly with a curious, gently emotional expression on her face.

"What the world be like without the Evil Queen?"

Regina breathed a laugh at that. Her gaze fell to her lap as her smile continued to grace her lips. She laughed again, and this time her laughter endured, and that beautiful sound filled Emma with an unforeseen happiness which caused her to beam emotionally in response.

When Regina realized what she was doing, her palm came to cover her mouth, and suddenly she was crying. Only less than a day ago she hadn't believed she would ever feel such a wonderful emotion again.

Emma recognized what Regina was thinking, and blinked back a few happy tears of her own as she stood up and came to sit beside Regina on the bed.

"It's good to hear you laugh Regina." Emma said, gently rubbing the brunette's arm.

Regina shook her head, trying to will herself to stop crying. She breathed a heavy, elated sigh as she smiled, contented, at the blonde.

"It feels good too." She responded softly, brown eyes shining in a way they hadn't in far too long.

Emma reached forward to ruffle the toy's fur a bit. "Wow... this must be a damned good giraffe huh?" She joked.

Regina laughed again as she looked at the animal. "Yes. Thank you again Emma, I love it."

As Emma smiled back at Regina she couldn't ignore the sudden pounding of her heart. It was happening again she realized, and it was causing her face to feel a little warm. She almost wanted to look away from Regina but she couldn't force herself to do it. What was going on with her lately?

Regina reached for her hand and Emma nearly felt the breath leave her body when their gazes locked again.

"Grams and Gramps said things are dying down in Storybrooke." Henry's voice announced his arrival. "They said people have mostly calmed down now."

Emma noticed the instant – even if slight – change in Regina's expression. Damn it Henry. The last thing Regina needed right now was to hear about how much better Storybrooke was doing without her.

"Hey, why don't we talk about what they said later okay?" Emma cut him off quickly. "For now why don't we show your mom the books you picked out?"

Henry's face lit up. "Okay!"

Regina gave Emma a grateful smile when Emma squeezed her hand comfortingly, before letting go and digging through the tote bag again to retrieve the books.

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A/N: Thank for reading, don't forget to review! Take care everyone xx