Sorry that I have been MIA, I kind of hit a wall with this story and I've been struggling to finish it, but there will be an ending and perhaps an epilogue. Thanks for all the kind reviews!
Emma drove past the town line and was officially out of Regina's reach. Henry yelled at her, cried at her, begged for her to turn around, but Emma just kept driving.
"Henry, I promise, everything is going to be ok, I just have to keep you safe. We just have to leave Storybrooke until I can figure everything out," Emma tried to reassure him. It didn't work.
"No! You said you would break the curse! You said you would help me! You lied!" he yelled angrily.
"I didn't lie, I just didn't know the truth. I'm not even sure I believe it now. This is all so crazy," Emma pleaded with him.
"But now you know the truth, so now you have to help. There are other people back there that need you too. Your mom and dad are still in Storybrooke. Only you can save them."
"Jesus." Emma rubbed her temples. She was trying to process the fact that her mother was Snow White, the Disney chharacter, a.k.a. Mary Margaret, her roommate. And her dad, oh, he was just Prince Charming, who had apparently been in a coma for twenty eight years and was her same age.
Her entire life Emma had fantasized about who her parents were. She imagined them to be anyone from drug dealers to international spies, but nothing could have prepared her for the truth. It was completely insane.
"Look, Henry, just let me get us someplace safe. I need time to think, ok? This is a lot to take in, and I'm going to need some time. But I promise, I will fix everything. It's my destiny, right?"
Henry just crossed his arms and looked out the window, sniffing back the last of his tears. Emma sighed heavily.
Fine. He could give her the silent treatment if he wanted, it was better than the crying and screaming. She focused on the road ahead. She wanted to put as much distance between them and Storybrooke as possible.
SQ
Regina stood in her front yard, unmoving. She watched Emma's taillights disappear down the street moving towards the town line. She couldn't stop them. She thought about going after them, but it would have been futile.
Regina felt numb. The night air was cold and damp but it didn't register. She stood there, hoping against all odds that the yellow VW bug would come back, but after an hour she knew that they were gone.
Somehow Regina made her way inside the house, moving as if in a trance. She climbed the steps of the porch the same way she had done thousands of times before. She hung her coat in the closet in a habitual rhythm, placing her keys and purse in their designated places on the table in the hall. She walked slowly to the kitchen to pour a glass of wine, as was her usual nightly custom.
Maybe if she did everything the same, maybe if she pretended that nothing was wrong then she would find Henry in his room, Emma would come over later and make love to her, and everything that had just happened was a bad hallucination. Maybe if she wished hard enough everything would go back to normal. Maybe she could will Henry and Emma back to her.
Maybe she could survive this. Maybe she was strong enough.
But the silence of the empty house was enormous, pushing down on her like the weight of the ocean, and Regina knew it would be too much.
SQ
Emma finally found a decent-looking motel off the side of the highway in a small town near Boston. She had been driving for hours and was exhausted, mentally, emotionally and physically. She needed a hot shower and a good night's rest.
Henry had long since fallen asleep, his tousled brown hair brushing against the car window. He looked so small and fragile, curled into himself, and Emma wondered how someone so little could shoulder a burden so big.
Henry knew about the curse. He knew his mother was the Evil Queen and he was trapped in a town full of amnesiacs from another world. Yet Henry didn't despair; instead, he fought to find his birth mother and bring her town, convincing her to stay and setting into motion a plan to release the curse and save everyone inside Storybrooke.
Emma smiled to herself despite her exhaustion. Her son was a hero, and he was only eleven years old. If he could be strong, so could she. She would find a way to fix everything, but first she needed to sleep.
SQ
The next morning found Regina seated in her kitchen, hovering over a mug of coffee. She hadn't slept at all. Her phone rested on the table in front of her. Of course she thought about calling Emma, it's was all she thought of the past 9 or so hours, but thinking about what Emma would say to her was absolutely terrifying.
That's assuming that Emma would even picked up the phone at all, which would be a miracle in itself. Regina just couldn't handle another rejection. The look of horror on Emma's face once she realized the truth spoke volumes. No, Emma would be long gone by now, with Henry, most likely never to return.
Regina had gone through all the options of her next move, every likely scenario. She envisioned herself calling Emma, not calling Emma, involving the police, exposing Storybrooke to the world, even attempting to cross the town line, but nothing seemed plausible; only desperate attempts that would most likely make the situation worse. Her only choice was to wait and see.
And that seemed even more impossible to do.
SQ
Emma woke up after a fitful night of sleep. All night she had been plagued by crazy dreams of castles and purple smoke, and deep brown eyes that squinted with viscous laughter. She woke up even more disconcerted than when she went to bed.
Apparently Henry still had not forgiven Emma. As soon as he woke up just sent a sleepy glare towards Emma and locked himself in the bathroom. Emma just sighed to herself and yelled through the closed door that she was going to the lobby to grab them a few bagels for breakfast.
Glancing at her phone Emma noticed that she had no missed calls. She thought that Regina would have tried to call at least once. That almost scared Emma more than anything, that Regina hadn't called to berate her for driving Henry out of town without permission.
Thinking about Regina brought up too many conflicting emotions and confusing thoughts. Even now, even after learning the unbelievable truth, Emma was still in love with Regina.
Regina, Emma's Regina, was kind and loving. She was a good mother who cared about her town and always wanted to do the right thing. She was an excellent cook, a huge book nerd and got sleepy after 2 glasses of red wine. She may put up a tough front, but underneath she is as soft and vulnerable as a child.
But the woman in Emma's visions, the Evil Queen in Henry's books, was a completely different person. Emma shivered as she remembered her cackling, viscous laughter as she stood over the dying body of Emma's father. The hatred in her eyes was unreal. She had been there to kill Emma, a baby, and if she was capable of that, Emma didn't want to know what else she would be capable of.
It scared Emma how little she knew about the woman she loved. While deep down her instincts told her to trust the Regina she knew and loved, she still wasn't ready put herself back within the woman's reach. She couldn't decide on her next course of action, so instead she settled for stale bagels and weak coffee from the motel lobby.
SQ
A knock on the door broke Regina out of her stupor. She ambled towards the door while tying her robe more securely around her pajamas. Normally she would never allow anyone but Henry and Emma to see her in such a casual appearance, but that morning she could care less.
Opening the door, Regina's anger flared at the sight of the person who had come to call. She instinctively held up her hand to contour a fireball in the man's face, but of course, her magic failed so she settled for a hostile, "What do you want!?"
Mr. Gold put his hands up defensively. "I'm just here to talk, Regina. I know Emma took Henry, and I'm here to help."
"I think you've done enough," she spat angrily.
"Remember, we both want the same thing. We both want to break the curse. I'm on your side, believe it or not. Now, you can either invite me in and we can work together to bring the two of them back, or you can shut the door in my face and continue to sulk unhelpfully in your pajamas."
Regina glowered at the man before opening the door a few inches and reluctantly inviting him inside.
"You can wait for me in the kitchen," Regina instructed over her shoulder as she made her way upstairs to change.
Regina returned a few minutes later dressed in designer jeans and blouse to find Gold pulling the creamer out of her fridge to make himself a cup of coffee.
"So what's your brilliant plan?" the Mayor demanded, following suit and making herself a fresh cup.
Regina knew that Rumplestiltskin was greedy and conniving and sneaky, but he was also extremely intelligent and intuitively strategic. Though she was loathe to be in the same room as the person who forced her to reveal her secrets to Emma, she also knew he would be her best bet at getting Emma back.
"Well of course it isn't going to be easy, getting Emma to come back," her surmised, taking a sip of his coffee. "She's just discovered a truth that is incredibly hard to digest. It's not everyday one learns that they are the offspring of mythical characters. If we want to find Emma we have to think like Emma. She is scared and confused. When someone runs out of fear, they usually go to a safe, familiar place. I would be willing to bet that Emma is headed back to Boston. Have you tried calling her?"
Regina crossed her arms. "No. I've thought about it, but I think that would only make things worse."
Rumplestiltskin nodded in agreement. "Yes, it would be best to approach this in person. The way I see it, we have two options here. One, we wait and hope that Emma will come back; not likely though," he said and scrunched his face skeptically. "Two, you go after her. We find a way through the town line, you find Emma, convince her of your love, share true love's kiss, and the two of you ride happily off into the sunset. Easy."
"Easy!? Seriously? That's your big plan?" Regina spat incredulously. "And just how are we supposed to find a way through the town's magical barrier? You don't think I've tried everything over the past 28 years? It's impossible."
"Now, now dearie, nothing is impossible. It might take a few weeks, but I think if we out our heads together…"
"A few weeks!? I don't have a few weeks! Every minute that Emma and Henry are gone they get farther and farther away. A few weeks and they could be anywhere. That's not good enough."
"Well it's all I have at the moment. This is quite a pickle we are in. Maybe if you hadn't let them go in the first place we wouldn't be in this mess."
"Oh so now this is my fault!? You're the one who told me to tell Emma the truth! This was your idea!" Regina yelled.
"Yes but I didn't tell you to scare her away."
Regina rubbed her temples at the migraine that had suddenly appeared. She was exhausted. She was frustrated. She was scared. "Go away Gold. I don't need this right now," Regina pleaded in a low tone. She couldn't think straight, let alone have it out in a snarky battle of wits with the magical imp turned town pawn broker.
Gold sighed sympathetically and placed his mug on the counter. "Alright Regina. Why don't we both take some time and think about it. You know where to find me. I'll see myself out." The man limped out of the room and let himself out of the house, closing the front door behind him.
Regina took several deep breaths and tried to call her fraying nerves. Her mind was a whirlpool of turbulence and she could barely form a coherent thought, let alone devise a plan to go after Emma and Henry.
She needed a break. She needed something to help her calm down so she could begin to think clearly. Absentmindedly Regina reached for her bottle of homemade apple cider in the fridge. Since coming to this new world Regina had copious amounts of free time on her hands; well, before Henry anyway. She had become quite adept at brewing her own cider, and it had become both an entertaining and productive hobby.
Taking a swig of the amber-colored drink, Regina's mind wandered to happier times. She remembered how Emma would smile at her just before she kissed her, how Emma's warm, naked skin would caress Regina's own, how Emma would whimper and bite her lip whenever Regina would touch her in just the right way. She would give anything to have that back. The last image that flooded the brunette's mind was of emerald eyes that looked at her in adoration, before she fell limply to the floor.
Blackness overcame Regina's senses, and then there was nothing.
SQ
Emma was trying her best to usher a reluctant Henry out of the hotel room and towards the car. The boy was incredibly stubborn, kicking and screaming in protest, even locking himself in the bathroom. Unfortunately for him, Emma was an expert at picking locks.
She had finally succeeded in dragging him out of the room by the collar of his shirt when her cell phone rang. Instinctively Emma reached for the device, her grip on her son loosening and Henry wriggled out of her grasp and darted back into the hotel room, slamming the door shut.
"Damnit Henry!" Emma yelled, banging her hand against the door in frustration. She glanced at the screen of her phone and sighed before answering it.
"Hi, Mary Margaret," Emma said flatly. For a split second she had forgotten that the woman formally known as her roommate was actually her mother, and pushed the thought out of her mind for the time being. She needed a little while before she could process that tidbit of information.
"Emma! Where are you? You never came home last night." The woman sounded nervous.
"Umm, yeah, I had to leave town. Something suddenly came up," she responded, trying to sound neutral.
"Well, do you know where Henry is? We...I think he ran away again."
"Uh, yeah, he's actually with me. I'm taking him for a little road trip. Regina said it was ok," she added quickly.
"That's actually why I'm calling you. Regina's in the hospital."
Emma's blood froze. For a minute she for got all about the curse, all about magic, all about her Fairy Tale parents.
"What! What happened!? Is she ok!?"
Mary Margaret took a deep breath. "She's in a coma. Mr. Gold discovered her unconscious in her house this morning. The doctor says she is stable, but unresponsive, and he can't figure out what triggered her condition."
Emma swallowed hard. She felt sick. No matter how confused she was, or how angry she was with Regina, she still loves the brunette.
"Ok, we're coming home. We'll be there as soon as possible. Call me if anything changes."
Home. For some reason that sounded right. She was headed home, with her son Henry, to save Regina. Everything would be ok, she would make it ok. Emma swelled with a sense of purpose. If it was the last thing she did, she would fix everything.