Emma, Regina, and Henry returned to a new Storybrooke, one where its citizens finally remembered who they were. It had a definite effect - all business and activity in town had come to a halt as people emerged from homes and businesses, embracing on the sidewalk or in the middle of the street, reuniting and reconnecting.
And, for the most part, they traveled unnoticed as Emma drove the injured Regina and elated Henry to Storybrooke General. Despite their joint protests, she had insisted that they needed to be checked out. After all, Regina had been thrashed by a dragon! As she drove, Emma shook her head, struggling to make sense of this being real.
Nevermind that we're apparently true loves.
She cut a glance toward Regina in the passenger seat, but the mayor - the Evil Queen - had her eyes closed, her expression controlled. Just the same, Emma could see she was in pain despite her protests at going to the hospital. The blonde sighed inwardly, green eyes flicking to the rearview mirror. Henry was peering out the windows at the townsfolk, watching their reunions with a huge smile.
"Here we are," Emma said as she pulled into the emergency room parking lot. "I'll… get you two in and stick around until you're seen. Then, I better check out the town and make sure everyone is okay. They looked pretty rattled."
"Yeah! Everyone remembers who they are!" Henry said, beaming.
Regina winced, peeking her eyes open as she unbuckled. She looked to Emma, but the blonde only climbed out of the car, coming around to help her out wordlessly. Regina pursed her lips, knowing now was not the best time to talk about what had happened, what this meant anyway.
"Hang on - I'll go get a wheelchair," Henry offered, dashing up the sidewalk toward the entrance.
Emma shoved her hands into her pockets as Regina leaned against the side of the car, neither looking at the other.
"So ... " Emma began, ending the silence between with defensive levity. "How many people am I gonna have to fend off when we wheel you through the place?"
Regina sighed. "Just get me into the lobby, then go. Take Henry somewhere safe, even if that means with Mary Mar— with your parents. I don't want him to see me facing the town's wrath."
"What? No way! Kid's staying with you. He'll defend you. Explain what happened. You know the town will listen to him," she protested animatedly. "Last thing he needs is you being a martyr since you actually almost died."
She glanced over at Emma, and knew they only had seconds, really, before Henry returned with the wheelchair. "I hope you're right."
"My gut says I am," she affirmed, glad Regina backed down, unable to look at her.
"Then, if you can just get me inside, Henry and I can manage, dear. I'm not so badly injured anyway," Regina said. "I'm confident your mother is avidly searching for you now, and it would be better for all if you and I weren't together when she finds you."
Emma nodded in agreement, only imagining how that reunion would play out, as Henry brought the squeaky wheelchair up the sidewalk. She was already thinking that she needed to make herself scarce. Just not the way Regina may have initially thought.
"Here you go, mom!" Henry said quickly, locking it in place as a few nurses walked by in a daze. They blinked in realization as to who was standing there.
The nurses hovered together and spoke in a conspiring, harsh, tone that Emma noticed darkly. "She stopped a homicidal dragon from destroying the town, so watch yourself."
Regina suppressed a chuckle at that description of Maleficent.
"Wheel her to Room Three and we'll have you checked out… Your Majesty," the nurse replied.
Regina wondered why they were still in Storybrooke at all, but that was a mystery to be solved later. For now, she resigned herself to being rolled into the exam room, and gingerly changed into the flimsy cotton gown, alone. She observed the scrapes, cuts, and massive bruising to her body dispassionately; all that mattered was that they had saved Henry from the dragon.
Emma had let Henry and Regina know that she would swing by later after doing a quick patrol around town she spoke of earlier. She was silently grateful that her son did not inherit her superpower and that Regina was too much in her head to realize the lie as she pulled away from the hospital and through town. She avoided Main Street, knowing that was a central meeting point for Storybrooke citizens, as many people had flocked there in hopes of finding loved ones and celebrate the end of the curse. Which was why Emma was keeping to side streets to get her to the long stretch of road through the forest and then out of town.
She was always prepared to leave Storybrooke - her belongings never fully unpacked from the Bug - and what little she had left at Mary Margaret's place were just clothes, things easily replaced. Emma was wearing her irreplaceable red leather jacket and had her mementos of the past in the trunk, all safely packed away in a box. This avoided a chance encounter with her parents.
As the yellow Bug sped down the road, Emma convinced herself she had no regrets with this decision and her mind drifted to a wish she had as a child. That she have a chance to ask her parents why they had given her up for adoption. Why didn't they love her enough to keep her.
Henry's book had given her all those answers she didn't like. She was a pawn, to put it simply. A pawn for Gold's schemes, forcing her to be labeled as the savior of Storybrooke to people who were now strangers to her. All of the familiar faces that she had gotten to know during her time here were fantastical people from another land who would expect so much from her. It wasn't fair.
She tightened her grip on the steering wheel and spoke out loud. "I'm not a storybook princess. This isn't where I belong."
The car accelerated with purpose before its driver could change her mind.
"Thank you, Graham, for the ride home."
He lingered, watching her there on the den's sofa, concern clearly conflicting with revulsion. The Huntsman loathed her; she was unworthy. The Sheriff understood her kindness toward him, as ironic as it was.
For Henry's sake, he asked, "Are you sure ye don't need anything more? Emma and I will alternate patrols past the house."
"That's more than I can ask for," Regina replied.
She was comfortably medicated after having a few stitches put in on a more serious cut. It galled her that she didn't have her magic now, to simply heal herself. But, the medication muted most of that annoyance. She was surprised the staff at Storybrooke General were as cordial with her as they were. The staff silently completed their duty for Henry's benefit, she assumed.
"How… How is Storybrooke? Everyone?" she dared to ask.
At that, his gaze did harden for a moment. "Bewildered, no thanks to you. Bewildered and seeking out both kin and loved ones."
He made a promise to Charming and Snow White that he would bring Emma around after patrolling. They were anxious but also understood that duty had to be fulfilled with a scared and angry town.
Henry sat beside his mother, eyes casting an understanding look to him. "And both mom and Emma will help with that." He looked at Regina's profile and implored, not wanting to push too much with her recovering. "When you're up for it. Right?"
"Right." She sighed. "Of course."
If they don't execute me first, she thought.
Her son looked sympathetic and gave her a gingerly hug. "Want to rest? I can get your stuff from upstairs if you want to stay down here?"
"Thank you, Henry. That is very thoughtful," she said, returning his hug.
As he left the room, Regina eyed Graham knowingly.
"This was a favor," he said, more Huntsman than Sheriff, "for the lad. Not you. Do not call on me again, Your Majesty."
Regina didn't let it show, but the title stung as intended. "Thank you, Graham. I appreciate your kindness to my son."
And with that, he turned sharply on his heel and departed.
The mayor sighed heavily, snuggling deeper into the couch.
A few moments later, Henry came down with a pillow tucked under his arm and Regina's favorite black, fluffy, blanket, trailing behind him.
"Here you go, mom." He startled when he realized that Regina was alone. "Where's Sheriff Graham?"
"Oh." She shifted her shoulders. "He had to go. Patrol the town and make sure everything is well, considering all that's… unraveled."
Henry fluffed the pillow before resting it against the sofa arm with a determined look. "I'm not going to let anyone hurt you, Mom. We'll help them understand how everything's changed. Emma too!"
"Thank you, my prince. You're… far more understanding than I ever thought you'd be about all of this," she said to him.
You're willing to stand by me, despite all I've done. While Emma… Miss Swan, she thought to herself, ...has surely left town by now, putting us behind her for good.
Regina was under no illusion that Emma was going to turn back up after patrolling. She knew the blonde better than that and fully expected her to go. Hell, she'd given her the "out" when suggesting she not stay at the hospital while she was checked out.
The yellow Bug crawled to a stop with the engine running, as Emma regarded the Leaving Storybrooke sign with a frown. There was still a chance to turn around and go back, properly meet her parents, the townsfolk, and work through whatever magic had bound her and Regina together as true loves. Scowling, she shoved the door open, the metal creaking under the strain of purpose, and Emma climbed out.
To her, this was a cruel joke. That the woman that had abused her with magic in the first place, ended up being the love of her life. That reality meant that making everything right between them would be a daunting task! Then to add how difficult it would be to adjust to a new life in a woken Storybrooke - it was just too much for Emma to bear.
She was not the savior that the town needed. That should be left to her parents, and the other heroes of Storybrooke, to rebuild their new kingdom. Emma may have been born in the Enchanted Forest, but she was a child of the world that lay over the townline. That is where she belonged.
With a sigh of finality as she approached the sign, she unclipped the deputy badge off her belt. Her thumb ran over the cool metal, eyes hard as the read the words Sheriff's Department for the last time. The badge felt suddenly heavy.
She crouched to the ground and left the badge where the metal rod met grass. Her hand recoiled quickly, fearing she might snatch it back and change her mind. Quickly she rose and headed back to her car, her belt lighter, but her heart weighted down with memories. The door slammed closed, her objective clear. Emma held the steering wheel tightly as she shifted the Bug in to drive, sparing the sign one last look, before driving out of Storybrooke for good.
She's not coming back.
Regina suspected as much, but she could now feel it in her bones, as connected to the town as she was. Lying awake on the couch in the darkest hours of night, Henry curled up beside her - sound asleep, she simply knew. She stroked Henry's hair gently as he slept, thinking.
It's always been us, my prince. And so it shall continue to be.
Regina was, of course, disappointed. She had finally found true love - albeit backhandedly - and had lost them again. Enough had happened this time that Regina could accept that losing love, this time, was her own fault. If she'd handled Emma's arrival in Storybrooke differently, everything might have turned out differently.
Henry shifted in his sleep, muttering that he was thirsty. Another moment passed and he sleepily came to sit. Bewildered eyes took in the darkened room, the only source of light was the streetlamp coming through the living room window.
"What time is it?" he murmured, rubbing his eyes.
"After four… did you need a drink, Henry?"
"Uh huh." He sniffed, rising. "I'll go get it."
"Oh." Regina settled. "Alright."
She watched him go, then took a quick peek at her silenced phone. There was nothing from Emma, but she did have a full voicemail thanks to enraged and confused townsfolk. Regina wondered that they had been undisturbed at the house and thought that Graham must have put a car out on Mifflin Street despite what he had said before. She made a mental note to thank him. She further supposed that the only reason the Charming's were yet to show up on her doorstep was because they were busy looking for Emma.
Henry shuffled back into the living room, sipping from a plastic Batman cup. With the time of night and the quiet of the mansion, he felt a shiver of wonder. He went to the window, gently moving the sheers away, to look outside. There was a patrol car there as Regina had postulated, but there was no one in it. His eyes looked down the driveway and frowned at how empty it was.
He looked to Regina with an uneasy expression. "Is… is Emma still patrolling?"
Even now, still wanting to believe in her. Us.
Sighing, Regina patted the cushion beside her, deciding not to mince words. "It would be a terribly long shift, so no, I doubt it, Henry. I expect that Miss Swan has left town by now."
That snapped him fully awake. "How can you say that?! You're true loves!"
"That is true… but not every true love story has a happy ending."
"But the book shows that it does!" he protested. "Might not be easy. And you have to fight for it, but there's always a happy ending!"
Regina didn't necessarily agree with that, but didn't argue that with her son. Instead, she said, "But, Henry… if saving you from a dragon, and then saving my life wasn't enough to convince her, what can?"
"She's just scared!" he countered, coming back to the couch, the water sloshing inside his cup and threatening to spill. "Who has time to think when we were in danger?!"
"Maybe she's just gone to think then," Regina countered.
He scowled at that. "You don't believe that at all."
"You're right." She sighed and gazed at him wearily. "But, what else can I do to win Emma over, Henry? Truly?"
Henry's face scrunched up with serious thought, going through various ideas. Emma's likes and dislikes, what Regina had done in helping the town heal and find their happy endings when the curse started to weaken, and how she vowed to break the curse. Which she did! It was inadvertent but the result was the same. His mother just had to keep working with the town and prove to Emma that she wanted to change and have a better life here with her and Henry! There was just one big flaw in that plan. Emma wasn't here to see it.
"Wait!" he exclaimed with realization. He ran over to Regina with wide eyes full of hope. "That's it!"
"What's it?" she asked.
Henry set his cup down on the glass coffee table and took his mother by the shoulders, squeezing hard. "You have to go after her!"
Regina ran her fingers through her hair and let out an uncharacteristic noisy breath. He had a point, but even moreover, she was concerned that - if she didn't pursue Emma - Henry would. After all, he had already left town to find her, setting all of this in motion.
"You found Emma once. We can find her again. Right?"
A smile slowly spread across his lips, but then his dark eyes looked surprised because this was too easy "Wait. Just like that? You're agreeing to this? No … arguing or … or … or anything?"
"No arguing," Regina agreed. "If I've learned anything in all of this, it's that you're a very wise young man, Henry, and I need to trust and listen to you. So, I put my belief in you."
He beamed, relieved by what he heard and flourished under the praise. He wrapped his arms around Regina in a bone crushing hug, so proud of how much she had come. How much their relationship had shifted to how it used to be for the better. "We can do this!"
He leaned back and was grinning ear to ear, his mind fast at work on what their next steps would be. "Alright. Let's go get her, Mom."
Thank you to all of our readers for following this story. It is hard to admit that our love for OUAT has faded, as evident by our other unfinished stories that will remain unfinished. However this story is near and dear to us and we wanted to make sure it ended in a way that made sense to us and for the characters. There is no way to tie a neat little bow around Emma and Regina's relationship with this considering how it started. So, the story ends in the same way that the story for the show started - Henry finds Emma and brings her home, to Regina. Now this time, mother and son do it together.