Emma Swan wasn't afraid of anything that "normal" people were. Spiders? No problem. Snakes? No big deal. But being alone? That scared her more than anything.

As a child of the system, Emma had gotten used to being alone. But now that she had a family, she never wanted to let them go. So far she had been fine whenever Henry or Regina weren't home and she was by herself. But this morning would change everything.

Regina had decided that she wanted to surprise Emma with breakfast. For some reason, she had woken up wide-awake and motivated to get something done. Emma had been working the late shift for a while so that David could be home with Snow and Neal, so she was going to be asleep for some time anyway.

Normally, Emma would have woken up immediately when Regina got out of bed. But her exhaustion had added up, and she remained fast asleep.

Regina started preparing breakfast, smiling at how happy that Emma would be when she came downstairs to breakfast. She had told Regina when they had first gotten married that due to time in the system, she never really got to enjoy a breakfast that made her think of home. So Regina did it at every opportunity that she could.

Meanwhile, upstairs, Emma was waking up. She smiled and stretched, fully anticipating to feel her wife next to her. Instead all she felt was the empty side of the bed.

Eyes snapping open, Emma looked over quickly at the spot where Regina should have been. She felt it, and started panicking when she felt the lack of warmth there. Regina had been gone for a while.

"Little orphan Emma," Emma whispered. She tried to take deep breaths, but the panic in her started to get stronger. What if Regina had left for good? Maybe she had finally gotten tired of Emma's baggage and had just left.

Thinking of that, tears began to gather in Emma's eyes. How could she have been so weak? Letting Regina hear all of her problems had probably pushed her away.

Had she taken Henry too? If she had, Emma didn't know if she could handle it. Losing both of the people she loved wasn't something that she could handle.

Minutes passed, and Emma's panic and despair only grew. The house was quiet, which most likely indicated that no one was around. They had left her, just like everyone else in her life. Family didn't mean anything if you eventually got fed up with someone.

Emma was so caught up in her emotions that she didn't even hear Henry walk down the hall. He paused at the door to Emma and Regina's bedroom, frowning when he heard what sounded like crying coming from inside.

Smelling breakfast downstairs, Henry quickly walked to the kitchen where Regina was happily humming as she made breakfast.

"Mom?" Henry asked. "Is everything between you and Emma okay?"

"Of course," Regina said. "Why do you ask?"

"Because you're up earlier than usual, and I hear crying coming from inside your room," Henry said. "And if you're down here and Emma isn't, it's probably her."

Regina eyes widened. "Don't let the muffins burn, okay? I'm going to go see what's going on."

Henry nodded, so Regina quickly ran up to their bedroom. Sure enough, she heard crying. Without even hesitating, Regina opened the door and went straight to the bed. "Emma. Emma, look at me."

Emma had her face buried in her pillow, her body shaking and her breaths more like gasps. Regina shook her and tried to get her to look, but Emma remained in her position.

"Emma, look at me please," Regina pleaded. When Emma still didn't move, Regina rolled her over, forcing Emma to open her eyes at the sudden movement.

When she saw Regina, her crying started to die off, and her breaths started to even out. Regina hadn't left. She was still here.

"You're here," Emma gasped out. "I thought you left me."

Regina's heart broke. "No. Don't you ever think that. I was just up early so I thought that I would go downstairs and make breakfast."

Emma just nodded, continuing to try and catch her breath. Regina grabbed her hand and squeezed gently. Emma squeezed back before sitting up and wrapping her arms tightly around Regina.

Regina immediately returned the hug, rubbing Emma's back gently. "I will never leave you. No matter what happens, I will always be here. You aren't alone anymore. I promise."

Emma just nodded, still clinging tightly to Regina. After several minutes, Emma finally seemed back to normal. Regina pulled away, wiping the tears from Emma's cheeks. "All better?"

Emma nodded. "Much. Thank you."

"No need to thank me," Regina said, kissing her gently. "Now let's get back downstairs. I have a huge breakfast prepared, and I want to make sure that Henry didn't burn the muffins."