Take me to Wonderland
Chapter 3
Emma had spent all of Saturday thinking about the child she had seen in Regina's window the other night and it had not stayed unnoticed by her friends that something other than girls night had been occupying her mind, but luckily for her Mary Margaret had been so excited because of her upcoming wedding that nobody had paid much attention to Emma's behavior.
Sunday had been boring altogether, because Killian had called last minute to reschedule their planned movie night, because he had gotten hired for a job last minute and so Emma had ended up on her couch, lost in thoughts once again.
Regina Mills had a child, lived in a run-down building and worked as a stripper.
It did not make any sense.
Clearly she had to do it to survive, to pay her bills, but still.
No child should grow up like this.
Emma was aware that one did not always have much of a choice, but there had to be something Regina could do – besides stripping bare for money.
Maybe she could do something to help her.
Maybe, with a little help, Regina could turn her life around.
Why Emma wanted to do something for the brunette?
Well, she was not ready to face that yet. Maybe she would never get there.
Sure, she was fascinated by Regina Mills, but the truth was that Emma was well aware that she could have ended up right the same – if her parents had not adopted her.
And so she changed her clothes and headed for her car, ready to face Regina once again.
Back to The Rabbit Hole, back to Wonderland.
Emma still did not feel comfortable in this bizarre version of Wonderland, she still did not like The Rabbit Hole one bit.
She was not even sure what was worse – that everyone was a fairy tale character or that they were strippers.
But she had to talk to Regina, so for the sake of the brunette's child, she had entered the club once again.
Emma was met by a smirking Jefferson, The Mad Hatter, "I see you have developed a certain affection for our establishment, Emma Swan."
"Don't flatter yourself, hat guy. I just came to talk to Regina", Emma stated quickly, her eyes roaming the club impatiently.
"Is that so?", he tilted his head, curious and surprised at the same time, "I'm afraid she is not here tonight, sweetheart. She called in sick. Actually her colleague Ashley called in for her."
Emma could not ignore the disappointment she felt, but she had no time to think about it, because it meant she could go home, could leave the freak show.
"Uhm well…thanks I guess. Hope she will be better soon. Good night."
That said Emma headed out of the club, not even bothering to wait for a reply from Jefferson.
She had wanted to go home and yet she was standing in front of the run-down building once again.
There was still light in the window, from which Emma knew it belonged to Regina's apartment and she looked up for a while, debating whether to go and knock or to forget about it.
The last thing she wanted to do was to wake up the kid, but on the other side she worried about Regina's well being. The brunette had been soaked two nights ago and so she decided to check on her – she would not be able to sleep if she did not.
Emma got out of her car and entered the building, slightly nervous about Regina's reaction, because if Emma had learned one thing about Regina Mills, it was that the brunette was big on her privacy if all the walls she had built up to protect herself were any indication.
"Comes with the job", Emma mumbled to herself and headed upstairs, trying her hardest to ignore the dirt everywhere.
She stood in front of the apartment door, which was supposed to be Regina's, for a few minutes, too nervous for her own good, because she doubted that the brunette would be amused about this invasion – especially at such a late hour.
But then, all of a sudden, Emma started to knock anyway.
She simply had to make sure that Regina and her child were "okay".
If anybody, who lived in a building like this, could be anywhere near okay, which she highly doubted.
It took a while till she heard footsteps and Emma took in a deep breath, preparing herself for Regina's rant, but none came, because when the door finally opened Emma caught sight of a boy, who looked at her with wide eyes.
"Hey kid", Emma was totally overwhelmed by the situation and smiled awkwardly.
"Who are you?" the boy eyed her warily.
"I'm Emma. And what's your name, young man?
"Henry."
The situation became even weirder and Emma shifted her weight from one foot to the other and back, "How…how old are you, kid?"
"I'm nine", Henry answered quickly, "So, what do you want? It's late."
"I'm…well…I know your mom…and I heard that she is sick…so I came here to see if she is okay", Emma explained carefully.
"She is sleeping since hours", Henry countered silently, his eyes suddenly staring at his feet, "I don't think she is okay..but…I'm not allowed to talk to strangers…or let them in."
Emma was taken aback by that statement, but what had she expected?
Regina Mills might be a stripper, but that did not mean that she was a bad mother. Not even when she was living in a place like this, because obviously she could not afford more and who was Emma to judge?
She had been on the lucky side for a long while now and Regina clearly had not been anywhere near lucky. That did not make the brunette less worthy though.
If anything it made Emma respect her more, because Regina did what it took to raise her child – even if it meant selling her intimacy or at least part of it.
"I see", Emma stated after thinking about the situation for a moment, "Listen, Henry…I'm aware that you don't know me…but I…I brought your mom home the other night…when it was raining. Do you remember? You've been looking out of the window…"
He eyed her closely for a moment, but then he nodded, "Yes…I saw you."
"Good. That's good. Because I really want to help your mom…but you need to let me see her", Emma explained further, hoping that she would be able to convince Henry that she really meant no harm, but the boy just stood there, still blocking the entrance, obviously debating whether to trust Emma or not.
"Okay, you know what, kid…I…I could give you my mobile phone", Emma started and pulled it out of her jeans pocket, "And you can call 911 if you don't feel safe…how does that sound?"
It took another few moments, but then Henry grabbed the phone and nodded before he stepped aside to let Emma in.
She sighed in relief, but as soon as she entered the apartment she held her breath.
What she saw was a lot worse than she could have ever imagined.
The place was shabby, the few pieces of furniture in the living room worn down and the small kitchen unit in the corner did not look like anything would function properly anymore. There were countless holes in the walls and Emma was sure the rest of the small apartment would not be in a better condition.
But before she could worry about any of that she noticed a slight movement on the couch and Emma realised that Regina had to be lying there, under a few blankets.
That was when she also realised that it was more than a little cold in the place.
"Kid, why don't you turn the heater on? You have to be freezing", Emma stated quickly, but Henry only shook his head, "It doesn't work and Mister Gold refuses to have it repaired."
"Who is Mister Gold?"
"He is my mom's boss. And he owns this building", Henry explained, sadness shining in his eyes.
Emma felt the anger rising in her chest.
Who was that Mister Gold?
And why had his staff to live in places like this? He was responsible for her employees, why didn't he take care of them?
She would worry about that later, because first she really needed to check on Regina.
Emma went over and knelt down next to the couch, watching the brunette, who was out like a light, skin pale and Emma recognized the sweat on her forehead.
She reached out, but Henry moved himself between her and his mother instantly, "Don't touch her!"
"I'm not going to hurt her, kid. I promise. I just want to check if she has a fever."
"She's been sleeping for hours", Henry repeated his earlier statement, not moving an inch.
"I understand. So, can I touch her forehead for a second? Just to make sure if she is running a temperature…", Emma explained patiently.
"Okay."
Henry made two steps to the left, so Emma could put her fingers on Regina's forehead, but the boy watched her every movement like a hawk.
"She's glowing! Your mom needs a doctor...", Emma announced and moved her hand to Regina's shoulder, "We need to wake her up, kid."
"Mom can't afford a doctor. But I can try to wake her up", he said quickly and sat down next to Regina.
"Don't worry about the money…I'll take care of it, okay? But your mom is very sick…and she needs help. Let me call a friend of my dad. He is a doctor…he'll know what to do."
"I don't know…", Henry stared down at his feet again, "People always promise to help…but they never do. Mom says you can't rely on anyone, no matter what they say."
Emma did not know what to reply to that, but she felt so very sorry for Henry. And Regina.
The brunette must have had to deal with a lot of disappointment in her life and Emma knew quite well that someone could easily lose their trust in humanity after a certain amount of pain and bad experiences.
She clearly did not want to scare the boy, but Emma was aware that Regina needed help and that she needed it now, "Kid, I'm serious. The doctor is a friend of my family…it will be okay. But your mom needs medicine…she is running a temperature…and this can easily become dangerous. I know you want your mom to be okay…so do I…please let me call Doctor Whale."
"Okay", Henry agreed after a few moments and handed Emma her cell phone, "Is there anything I can do? I want to help…"
"Sure. Can you get a washcloth or something? You have to make it wet with cold water…and then you can put it to your mom's forehead. And we have to wake her up…she needs to stay awake."
That said Emma dialed, not caring for a second that it was close to three in the morning.
Whale had not been amused, but he had agreed to come right away.
Henry had done his best to wake his mother up, but Regina clearly had been too weak to realise what was going on and Emma had been grateful for that, because she was aware that the brunette would not be too happy to see her.
The doctor had arrived about forty minutes later and had earned a death glare from Henry right away, making clear that the boy did not trust him one bit.
But he had agreed that Whale could check out his mom in the end.
Whale had told Emma that it would be better to bring Regina to the hospital, but the blonde had told him that it was not an option and so he had given the brunette two injections, after explaining everything to Henry – twice. He had left some medication for Regina as well, with detailed instructions about the dose and when Regina was supposed to take them.
Henry had listened carefully, had made mental notes and Emma had to smile at the smart boy, who clearly loved his mom more than anything.
Even though they were living in a place like this.
Whale had been sure that Regina had a very bad cold and that she was close to getting pneumonia and he had been concerned about the brunette's well-being as well as Henry's, especially because of the bad state the place was in, but Emma had promised him that she would take care of it.
Once Whale was gone Emma tried to talk Henry into going to sleep, but the boy wanted to watch over his mom and he told her that he was too worried to sleep anyway.
But then he had crawled under the blankets and had snuggled up right by his mother's side and before Emma knew it Henry was already sound asleep.
She had to smile at the sight before her and slid down to the floor.
Leaning against the couch she promised to herself that she would not fall asleep as well and since she was so overwhelmed by the recent events she might even succeed.
Regina Mills lived in this shabby little hell hole with her smart nine year old son.
Henry was the smartest kid she had ever met and he loved his mother dearly, which was a great relief. Because they might not have much, but the brunette had succeeded in being a great mom anyway and Emma knew that was all that mattered in the end.
She had gotten everything she had ever wanted as a child, but she had always been lonely, because her parents had been travelling most of the time.
And Regina managed to be a mom during the day and a stripper at night. That had to be the reason she had been so tired the night of Mary Margaret's bachelorette party.
It made Emma realise that there had to be a lot more to Regina Mills than she had thought and Henry being all protective about his mother was the ultimate proof.
What had Regina been through in her life?
Emma doubted that it would be a nice story and she swore to herself that she would make life a bit better for Regina and her son – even if she did not know how she would achieve that yet.
Of course Emma had fallen asleep at some point, but she woke up to a knock at the door in the morning. And so did Henry.
He shot up and pulled the front door open, much to the blonde's surprise and while Emma got up and stretched her sore muscles, another blonde entered the apartment, eyeing her suspiciously.
"Uhm…hi", Emma offered, not really awake yet.
"Who are you?" the blonde asked, obviously worried and Emma remembered that she had seen the woman before – at The Rabbit Hole.
"I'm Emma. I came to…to check on Regina, because the guy with the hat…what was his name again? Jeremy? Anyway…he said she was sick."
The other blonde chuckled and seemed to relax a bit, "It's Jefferson…and he mentioned you earlier, but I didn't think to find you here."
"Emma called a doctor…he checked mom", Henry explained quickly.
"You did? I'm Ashley by the way", the blonde offered Emma her hand, who grabbed it and shook it immediately.
"She was having a fever and I was worried", Emma felt like she had to defend her every action.
"We need to wake mom up anyway. She has to take her meds, right?", Henry announced all of a sudden.
"Right", Emma agreed, "Can you do that, kid? I'll make some breakfast in the meantime."
Once Emma opened the fridge she recognized that it was pretty much empty and she sighed heavily.
What had she thought?
That Regina would be able to shop everyday like she could?
Of course not.
She pulled her phone out of her pocket and called her secretary, Virginia Vaughn, to let her know that she would not come to work that day, because she had some personal matters to take care of.
When Henry showed up next to her, smiling proudly, Emma had to smile as well, "How is your mom?"
"I guess she is feeling a bit better. She took her meds, but went back to sleep, because she is very tired."
"That's good. She needs a lot of rest. And you need to get ready for school, kid", Emma stated the obvious.
"I'm not going. I'm staying with mom. She has nobody else, because Ashley has to work…and I am the best in my class…so I can skip a day", Henry answered, sounding very serious and Emma did not dare to argue with him, because she did not want to wake up the brunette.
"Fine. But we need to do some shopping, because the fridge is empty. Want to come with me?" Emma was not sure if Henry would agree, but when he stormed off to ask Ashley if she could watch Regina for half an hour Emma knew she had made a break through, at least when it came to the Regina's son.
Henry had offered to rob his piggy bank, because he did not want to take money out of his mother's purse without her permission and Emma had been surprised once again – in the best way possible.
That kid was quite something.
But Emma had told him that it was no problem and that she would pay for the groceries and Henry had given her a thankful smile.
The trip to the supermarket had been fun and she had allowed the kid to pick everything he thought they needed and Henry surprised her once again.
He had not picked much sweet stuff as she had suspected and he had told her that Regina did not want him to eat too much candy, but that she always tried to get something healthy on the table – whenever she could afford it.
He also explained to Emma that Regina was a fabulous cook.
Who would have guessed?!
Emma had picked all the ingredients she needed to make a chicken soup, which would be exactly what Regina needed and when they came back home, the brunette was sitting on the couch, a cup of tea in hand and Ashley was sitting right next to her.
As soon as Regina caught sight of Emma, she almost dropped the mug and shot daggers at the blonde, but Henry sensed the tension immediately and ran over to his mother to hug her tight, glad to see her awake, "Emma and I were shopping…and now we are going to cook you soup!"
Ashley got up and said good bye, obviously aware of the storm that was about to come, shooting Emma an apologetic look before she headed out of the apartment.
"Henry, can you go to your room and look for a book to read…I would like to speak to Miss Swan for a minute", Regina announced, her voice husky.
"Am I in trouble? I know I'm not supposed to let anyone in…but…you were so sick…Or is Emma in trouble? Because she came here to help…she even called a doctor…because you were having a really high fever…and we were worried", Henry started to explain, obviously afraid that he had disappointed his mother.
"Nobody is in trouble", Regina reassured.
"Okay."
That said the boy disappeared into his room.
The truth was that Regina was furious as hell, but she was too weak to yell and she was not mad at her son, but she was angry with Emma S
wan.
Why couldn't she leave her alone?
On the other hand she knew that she owed the blonde, because she would be in a lot more trouble now if it would not be for Emma and that doctor friend of hers.
More than anything she was embarrassed that Emma had seen the mess that was her home and Regina felt vulnerable and exposed to no end, was afraid that Emma might call social services or something and that they would take away her son.
Emma had to be disgusted, because clearly the blonde led a very different lifestyle.
And what would Emma expect in return for helping her?
Everything in life had a price after all.
"Listen, Regina…I can see how uncomfortable you are with me being here. Don't even try to deny it. There is nothing to be ashamed of. I'm just cooking soup with Henry, because I promised him…and then I will leave you and your son…who is an amazing kid by the way. You have nothing to be afraid of…I mean you no harm…not at all", Emma stood there, looking all serious, praying that Regina would believe her, because she spoke the truth and the brunette had to see that. She had to.
When Regina said nothing, but nodded, Emma let out the breath she had not being aware of holding, but the brunette did that to her – Regina had this intimidating way, even when she was sick and looked like hell.
By the time Emma was ready to leave it was already evening and Henry seemed to be a bit sad, so she promised to come back and check on them one of these days. She also gave him her business card and wrote her private cell number on it in case he ever needed anything, which made the boy smile brightly.
Regina had fallen asleep a while ago and Emma watched the brunette's resting form for a few moments. Regina had not spoken much during the day, she simply had been too exhausted and yet Emma had enjoyed her company. Kind of.
When she wanted to pull the car key out of her pocket she found the dollar bills she had given Regina the night they had first met at The Rabbit Hole, the sevenhundred dollars Regina had given back to her the other night and Emma shook her head with a smile.
She had put it into her jeans and had not thought about the money again – and now she had found it.
That had to be a sign.
She reached out to give it to Henry, who looked at her in confusion.
"Give this to your mom. And tell her she can't give it back. I'm sure the two of you will spend it wisely."
"Why are you helping us?"
"Because I want to show you and your mom…that there is still some good in this world, kid."
That said she put the bills into the boy's small hand and left the apartment, glad that she was able to help for once.
Wednesday evening Emma found herself in front of the worn down building in Mifflin Street again.
She had decided to check on Regina and Henry tonight, because the next few days she would be busy with the last preparations for the upcoming wedding of Mary Margaret and her Prince Charming – Saturday was not that far away anymore after all.
When she stopped in front of the apartment door with the number 108 Emma became aware how nervous she was once again.
Would Regina even talk to her?
She highly doubted it, but she knocked anyway, her heart racing in her chest.
It took about a minute before the door was finally opened and the brunette appeared in the doorframe, "Miss Swan…"
"Good evening, Regina…I just came here to see how you are doing", Emma stated quickly, hoping that Regina would not slam the door in her face.
"I'm doing much better, thank you", the brunette's voice was distant and yet nicer than usual.
"How is Henry? I hope he didn't get sick as well…"
"He is fine. He is upstairs at Ashley's to play with her daughter Alexandra", Regina countered, getting a bit uncomfortable.
Two nights with the worst nightmares about Henry being taken away from her had her on edge and the blonde asking about her son's well-being only made the fear of losing her child getting the best of her once again. She had to get rid of this Emma Swan, no matter how nice the blonde might be, because in the end she would stab her in the back like everybody else before.
"Regina, I know you are scared, but I won't let you down…you can trust me", Emma announced quite desperately. Why did the brunette make this so hard?
But then she caught sight of a flicker of warmth in those brown eyes. It was gone only a second later, but it had been there. It had looked as if Regina would consider reaching out and taking the offered hand, as if the brunette would actually come around.
Of course she did not in the end, of course she cut her off once again, "I don't trust anyone, Miss Swan. So don't take it personal. I'm thankful for everything you have done for me…and my son, I really am. But I would appreciate it if you would mind your own business and stay away from us."
"Why do you do that, Regina? Why won't you give me a chance?"
"Because everything in life comes with a price, dear. But I have nothing left to give."
Before Emma could say anything else her phone rang and she looked down at the display of the cell phone she held in hand and she knew it had to be important, because it was Mary Margaret, who was calling.
Emma made a quick gesture with her hand to make it clear to Regina that this discussion was not over yet and answered the phone – only to go pale a second later, "Calm down, Mary Margaret. Where are you?...what?! Is David okay?...Oh my God! What about Ruby? …I'll be right there…"
Without bothering to say good-bye or anything else Emma stormed off, because right that moment nothing was important anymore.
There had been an accident and she needed to go to the hospital – she needed to make sure her friends were alright.
And Regina Mills stood there, watching one Emma Swan running down the corridor as if the devil would be after her and for a moment she felt sympathy for the infuriating blonde, because if Regina knew one thing then it was how merciless life could be.
No matter how much money someone had, everything could be taken away from them in a heartbeat.
And life would never be the same again.
