Chapter Twenty One

"What did you just say?" Henry asked, narrowing his eyes in suspicion as he wiped tears from his cheeks.

"I said, how do I find Emma? You know where she lives."

"Why would I tell you that?" Henry demanded, his face twisting into a scowl. "Haven't you done enough to her?"

"Henry, I haven't…" Regina paused, sighing as she forced herself to remain calm instead of getting defensive. "I don't know what you think I've done to her, but Henry, I just want to talk to her. If she thinks she's unwelcome here and it's because of me then-"

"Of course it's because of you!" Henry spat. "You only hurt everyone! It's all you know how to do!"

"I know," Regina said, quietly, looking down. She knew it wasn't worth fighting anymore because Henry was right.

"What?" Henry asked, staring at Regina in bewilderment.

Regina swallowed hard, and stepped over to sit on the corner of Henry's bed. "You're right. For a long time, all I've known how to do is hurt people. But you, Henry, you've changed me in ways you can't understand. And I know I've hurt you. And Emma. And I need a chance to make things right."

Henry sniffled, frowning as he tried to assess the sincerity of Regina's words. "How do I know this isn't a trick?"

Regina sighed. She hadn't expected this to be so difficult, but Henry was smart - and stubborn - and she knew there was only one thing left to do. "You're right about everything, Henry."

"What are you talking about?" Henry's voice betrayed his nervousness, and Regina knew the last thing on earth he expected from her right now was for her to come clean.

"The book. The curse. It is true, Henry. I shouldn't… I shouldn't have lied to you. I shouldn't have done a lot of things, but Henry, you have to understand how frightened I've been. I… I just wanted a chance at happiness."

"And you thought cursing everyone and taking away their happy endings was the answer?"

"At the time? Yes. I didn't care about anyone else. I didn't think I was capable of caring about anyone else since… well, it's not important right now, but the point is, I can't continue to hurt you. And I have to make things right with Emma."

"She's the savior. She'll break your curse," Henry pointed out.

"I don't care about that anymore. The curse didn't bring me happiness, Henry. You did. I understand that now, and I can't lose you. So I have to do the right thing for once. And I need your help."

Henry chewed on his bottom lip as he debated for a moment, before rolling off of his bed and slipping his hand between the mattress and the boxspring, pulling out a slip of lined paper and handing it to Regina. "That's her address," Henry explained, looking optimistically at Regina. "When do we leave."

Regina shook her head. "I have to do this alone, Henry. I'm going to call Mary Margaret and see if you can stay with her."

"You want me to stay with Snow White?"

Regina nodded tensely, knowing that if she did bring Emma back and Emma did break the curse, that was likely where Henry was going to end up anyway when they came for her. But she hoped it didn't come down to that.

Regina stood nervously in front of Mary Margaret's door, Henry beside her looking excited with his bag packed for the weekend. Regina wasn't really sure how long she'd be gone, but she'd already told Mary Margaret that Henry had a key to the mansion if he needed more clothes.

Of course, his teacher had been thrilled at the idea of Henry spending the weekend there, and even though Regina knew she remembered nothing of their past together, she still felt like she was crawling back with her tail between her legs, begging for a favour from the woman she despised.

"Henry!" Mary Margaret greeted excitedly, as she opened the door to her apartment. Her eyes bounced from the boy to his mother. "Mayor Mills, would you like to come in."

"No. I want to get on the road as soon as possible. Boston's a bit of a drive."

"Of course. And you have my number."

Regina nodded absently, her attention already back on Henry. "I want you to behave yourself for Miss Blanchard, Henry. I promise I will call."

Henry gave a small smile, before unexpectedly throwing his arms around Regina's waist in a tight hug. "Okay, Mom. I love you."

"I love you too, Henry."

Regina swallowed back her emotions as she watched Henry go into the apartment, and Mary Margaret close the door behind them. A big part of her wondered if she'd ever get him back after this, but that part, for once, was silenced by Henry's words replaying in her mind. For quite some time now, she'd wondered if Henry would be lost to her, but his 'I love you' gave her a glimmer of hope that she might be able to find a way to make this work.

Years before, she'd briefly imagined a life with Emma and Henry, but it had seemed like an impossibility at the time. Now, she considered that it could have happened if she'd let it. Perhaps it wasn't too late.

The drive to Boston was a long one. Regina hadn't made this trip by car since Henry was an infant, and it had been years since she'd been there at all. Still, she knew the main part of the city well enough that it didn't take her long to find Emma's building once she was there. She found a parking spot not far from the entrance, and took a deep steadying breath as the got out of her car.

Never once in all of their cross country meetings had Regina actually sought Emma out like this. They'd surprised each other more than once, but this was different and she wasn't sure how Emma was going to react. She knew the other woman was already mad, and hurt, and she'd tried to call more than once along the way to give her a heads up, but it had always gone straight to voicemail and Regina had always opted not to leave a message.

What would she say, anyway? She knew there was a good chance that if Emma knew she was coming, she would make a point of not being at home, so perhaps it was better this way.

Once she made in inside the main entryway, Regina faltered at the panel of apartment buzzers. She hadn't considered controlled entry, and she wondered what the odds were that Emma would let her up at all. Momentarily, she considered buzzing another unit and pretending to be a tenant who'd locked herself out, but, for once, fate smiled down on her as she an elderly lady approached the entryway, grocery bags in both her arms.

"Oh! Let me help you," Regina offered, sweetly, holding out her hands to lighten the other woman's load. The older woman smiled gratefully as she handed off the bags and reached for her key in her purse.

No wonder Henry's so good at this, Regina thought to herself, as she followed the woman inside, bypassing the controlled entry all together and wondering if Henry had tried a similar approach when he'd first come to Boston himself.

Once she'd followed the old lady to her apartment, deposited the groceries on her counter top and politely refused her offer to stay for tea, Regina set off to find Emma's apartment. It was two floors up from where she was now, but the elevator ride still felt like an eternity as Regina felt her nerves threatening to get the best of her. There was nothing she disliked more than being out of her element and not in control of any given situation, and currently, she was both.

But still, she had to try.

She took a few more steadying breaths outside what, according to Henry's directions, was Emma's door, and then she knocked.

For several long moments, she heard nothing from inside the apartment, and she began to wonder if Emma really wasn't there after all. Perhaps she hadn't even gone back to Boston and had gone someplace else entirely? Regina hadn't seen her Bug anywhere while parking her Mercedes, but she'd assumed the building had underground parking someplace.

She was about to turn and leave when she finally heard shuffling inside the apartment, and someone was approaching the door. She heard the click of the lock, and Emma's voice from inside as the door swung open.

"Henry, I swear if that's you out there I-" Emma stopped mid-sentence when she saw who was on the other side. "Oh."

Regina opened her mouth to speak, but found herself unable to find any words as she looked at Emma. She had lipstick smeared on her jaw and neck, and she had clearly just thrown on the oversized t-shirt she was wearing. Her legs were bare and her hair was a disheveled and it wasn't hard for Regina to put the pieces together.

"I take it this is a bad time," Regina said, much quieter than she'd meant to.

"Yeah, I'm a little busy," Emma said, leaning back against the door frame and crossing her arms on front of her. "What the fuck are you doing here?"

"You would answer the door for Henry looking like that?" Regina asked, before she could stop herself.

Emma looked confused, and wobbled a little as she uncrossed her arms and tried to pull her t-shirt down a little lower.

"And you're drunk," Regina assessed.

"What… what the fuck, Regina? You drove here from Storybrooke to lecture me on my life choices? I left. Didn't that send a clear enough signal that I'm done with you."

"We're not done, Emma. We need to talk. I didn't come here to lecture you. I came here to apologize."

Emma snorted and shook her head. "It's a little late for that, I think."

"Please don't say that. I know I hurt you and I'm trying to make things right."

"Please. You didn't hurt me. I just thought you could be something you clearly can't. But, I mean, you told me you didn't want a relationship right from the start, so that's on me, I guess."

"Emma, it's… Henry misses you," Regina attempted, hoping to strike a cord there. Anything to get Emma to talk to her.

"That's low, even for you."

"It's the truth."

Emma swallowed hard and looked up at the ceiling, biting on her lip as the took a moment to think. Finally, she sighed and looked back at Regina. "You're right, I'm a little drunk. And I have someone waiting for me in my bedroom. And I really hope I don't regret this come tomorrow, but… if you're planning on staying in Boston tonight, you can come back in the morning. She'll be gone and I'll be sober and we can talk. About Henry. That's it."

Regina nodded. "Okay. About Henry. Tomorrow morning," she agreed. It wasn't what she wanted, but it was a start. For now, opening the lines of communication would have to be enough.

Regina was about to ask what time, when Emma simply turned and shut the door.

She breathed a heavy sigh. It wasn't how she'd planned on this going at all, but there was a glimmer of hope and she had to go with it. All she could do now was find a room for the night, call Henry, and try to get some sleep before morning.

Somewhere in the back of her mind, she almost had to laugh at the irony that she was now chasing the woman she could have had at any point during the last ten years, and had rejected over and over. It was becoming increasingly apparent to her that her happy ending might not be eluding her simply because of fate. No, she was sure now that it was her own self-sabotage getting in the way every time.

But it wasn't too late. She was sure, it wasn't.

It couldn't be.

To be continued…

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