Can I do some Henry dreamscape? Yes? Excellent! Enjoy.
Henry had been moved to a nice room in the pediatrics ward, it was pale orange with lots of natural light. There was a bathroom and television en suite, so Emma had plenty to do while she waded in her hopeful misery. It was a torturous game, one where winning came with a price and losing, an even bigger one. All of the moves were made blindly, and in complete honesty, winner's and loser's were just a matter of title.
Emma had arrived bright and early, the doctor was having his morning coffee when she pursued him with all of ferocity of a pissed of Mama bear.
"Hey." She called, he jumped and spilled his coffee.
"Ugh." He groaned, shaking the liquid off his hand. "Miss Swan, you're up early." He greeted half heartily.
"Yeah, I need to ask you some questions." She said, leaning against the counter so he had no escape.
"Okay, go ahead," He said, his name was Picoult, but she didn't care.
"I need to know why you're holding back information, I know you know more than you're letting on. I'm an adult, I can handle it, so spill." She left no room for argument.
"I don't think you understand-" He started.
"No, I don't think you understand!" She yelled, looking around and lowering her tone. "That is my kid in there. I'd give my life for his, and I know you're bullshitting me, I have every right to know, for better or worse." She gave him a wide-eyed look to silently communicate that she was dead serious.
He gave a defeated look before slipping his mask on once more. "Okay," He motioned for her to follow, he lead her to a room and pulled out a file belonging to Henry. "You asked for bluntness and I'm going to give it to you; we don't think he's going to wake up." She nodded, trying to stay strong. "His scans show little brain activity at most, sometimes none at all. Now, we can keep him on life support for as long as you see fit, but after 6 months." He shook his head. "And if he does wake up, we don't know what kind of state he'll be in, he will have memory loss regardless, but it's unclear if anything more drastic will come in to play."
She processed this all, not sure what to say, this man was practically telling her that her son was going to die, and if he didn't he might not even remember her, or himself. "What if he wakes up, and I can't take care of him."
"There are ways around that, a nurse of some sorts could live in with you until you get the hang of it. Hypotheticals are the silent killer, Miss Swan, try not to dwell, and hang on to hope as long as you can." He said, regarding her kindly. "If that's all, I have rounds." She nodded, and he was gone, leaving her to swim in his words.
Emma headed back to Henry's room, pulling a chair up aside the bed. She smoothed his hair aside, it had lost its curly life and hung flat and limp to either side of his pale face.
"My baby boy." She whispered, trying to remember happy times before this, but coming up dry as she couldn't lose herself in the past that easily. Emma took a shaky breath before burying her head in her hands.
"How," She let out, and screamed silently into her palms, tears falling freely and covering the expanse of her face.
He was falling, not very far one would initially think, but it happens in slow motion, Henry had felt smaller than ever in that moment, like he was an infant again. There was pain, then it was dark and the pain had dulled. He still felt awake but he did not feel attached to his body, he was a force of nature, stitching in the fabric of the universe.
Hello!
He tried to yell, but he could feel no words traveling from him, panic was his initial reaction although he didn't feel scared; he felt safe, albeit the sense of vulnerability that he couldn't shake. Focus was what he needed, but he soon found it difficult to think of anything but the endless emptiness that he was alone with. For how long? Henry hoped with all hope that his mom could save him.
Just as the thought brought another wave of sorrow over him, he heard a voice from somewhere under the draping darkness. His soul cried out in desperation to the voice, how he wished he could control his voice.
"Henry." Came a distorted rush of a reply. YES! Henry called.
"Why are you here? Can't you speak?" The voice was deep but not bellowing, it was almost majestic. Henry told him 'no'. "Why don't you try now." The voice twirled around him, everywhere but nowhere.
"Where are you?" Henry spoke, his voice sounding like another's, louder and deeper like he was a man and not a boy. "What's happening?" He spun around, or at least he imagined he did.
"Calm, tenderfoot." Henry did so without second thought, what was happening? "For I have all the answers you seek. Would you like sight?"
"Yes." Henry said and in an instant he felt the sensation that he was falling, there was no time to scream and he was sitting in a plum colored leather chair. Sinking into the chair, his eyes darted around for the sensation of vision was overwhelming, also he had no idea where he was.
He was in a trolley, suspended high in the sky over seemingly endless miles of trees. This cart however, seemed to be converted into a home, warmly decorated with antiquities and such.
"Hello?" Henry spoke. "Where are you?"
"Here." Came the voice from behind, Henry turned and was face to.. beak with a large aerial, Henry jumped back. "Don't be frightened, I am Aerie." Henry's eyes widened when he spoke.
"Wh-wh How can you talk?" He stuttered.
"Just as you do, only I can speak universally." He told.
"I don't understand." Henry managed. "Why did you bring me here?"
"I know, but you will." His piercing eyes glowed, not singular in color but ranging from blue to red. "You came here on your own, I only found you."
"I didn't want to come here, I just want to go home." Henry pouted.
"None of that. Your home is here now, you've been unhinged from mortality." Aerie gave, then he turned, his midnight feathers shimmering in the moonlight.
"I'm dead?" Henry's world stopped.
"No, not yet. You're no more than energy now, this happens when your body fails to contain you."
"Show me." Henry demanded.
"I can't give you mortality again, young Henry." Aerie told, giving him a sorry look.
"I don't care, I need to know my mom is okay, she needs to know I'm okay." He glanced sorrowfully at the rug beneath him.
"I can bring you to your realm, but you will not be able to communicate." Aerie told him.
"I don't care, let's go." Henry countered, and stood straight and ready for travel.
Aerie gave a strained glance to the moon before spreading his wings and enflufing the small boy into parallels with a puff of black glittering smoke.
Henry felt as though he was rushing through a tunnel at high speeds, the air had been moving to quickly for him to breathe, instead it just filled his lungs when he left his mouth agape. A light could be made out, but how close or how far was a mystery to him, sounds came into play, but sounded as hasted and distorted as before.
Henry landed hard, so hard and fast that his lungs exuded all the air they'd collected and he was left gasping for a breath. His vision came to and he was sat on the floor of an unfamiliar room. The room was orange and bright, with a bed centering it, someone lay on the bed which he now realized was a hospital cot. Shakily, he stood and moved towards the figure, when he was close enough, nothing could prepare him for what he saw; Himself.
Henry choked on a cry, and fell back into the wall. He searched frantically for Aerie, or anyone, but he was alone. The steady beep of his heart rate monitor echoed in the growing silence, though he knew he was home, well in Storybrooke at least, he felt foreign. All around him light reflected impossibly bright, colors shined as never before. If he wasn't so petrified he might even enjoy the beauty.
Henry turned back to himself, he looked pale, he looked dead. Reaching out with a shaky hand, he touched his face. The monitor sped up and he yanked his hand away just as someone came into the room. Grace. Henry beamed, but his friend did not share his joy, she was alone when she sat in a chair on the other side of him.
"Hi Henry." She said in her small voice. "I hope you can hear me, I miss you so much, so does Patch and Bunny, even Cass." She wiped a tear. "I've been bored without you, no one gets me like you." She smiled weakly and grabbed his hand, he could feel it even in his form. "Please wake up, please." She began to cry. Henry made his way slowly to her side, placing a hand on her shoulder. Grace gasped and went rigid when he touched, she turned and looked straight through him. "Henry?" She asked.
"I'm here! I miss you, too." He whispered, but she didn't hear him, she gave a defeated look back to his body.
"I'm probably going crazy, it's almost like I can feel you here with me." She squeezed his had, he felt it again.
"Grace!" He yelled. "I'm right here, hear me!" He tried to call out to her.
"I have to go, school starts soon. I'll come see you soon, maybe you'll be awake then." She smiled before standing and kissing his cheek. Henry slid his hand up to his face when a warmth spread over it, only now did he allow himself to cry.
He cried loud and without care for anyone seeing him, he was invisible, a ghost.
"Aerie! I don't want this, please!" He sobbed, and searched for a sign of the aerial mystery, but he was nowhere. "Please, this isn't what I wanted." He continued to wail and sniffle until footsteps approached, he quieted himself in fear of being heard. A familiar form made way into the room, and he choked again. His mother.
She sat quietly by his side, placing something next to him. Henry stood to be closer to his mother, he wished she could feel his presence.
"Hi, baby. You're probably sick of me by now. It's been a couple of weeks and I have been doing this everyday. I saw Grace came in, she misses you a lot, Jefferson told me." She wiped her nose. "You'd be making fun of me right now for being such a sap." She laughed, so did he. "You know I miss you, I've ben saying enough for two lifetimes. I start work in a week, so I won't be able to spend as much time with you, but I'll still be here when I can. I've been staying with Regina, I wanted to tell you earlier but I don't know, I just didn't. She makes this easier, well not easier but better. I think I love her, no I do, I know it." Henry smiled, of course he knew his mom liked her, it was obvious whenever she was around how flustered she got.
Henry grabbed his mom's hand, and he knew she felt it because she stared right at it when he did so. "I'm here, I love you." He said.
"I know." She replied, and he was crying once more. "Wake up, baby, we're gonna have so much fun when you do." She said, and stood. "I can't stay, but I'll be back." She kissed his forehead softly. "Keep fighting." She whispered, and he nodded.
When she left, he took up the spot she had left, it was still warm with her residence. He cried into his knees when he felt a familiar rush, but he didn't look up.
"Do you understand now?" Aerie's voice tickled his ears.
"Yes." He croaked. "There has to be some way for me to go back, my body is still there."
"There is, but it is out of your control. If your body heals, it will call back to your soul, and you will be revived." Aerie told him as he moved to the ledge. "However, all will not be the same once you return. Due to your injuries, once you come to in our mortal self it will be the same as if you are reincarnated unto a new life, a fresh start. You will recall nothing of your old life, it will still exist, but you will be unable to recover the memories." Aerie said regretfully.
Henry didn't know what to say, so he just sank back into his chair until the words came to him. "So it's doesn't matter if I live or die?" He asked.
"Not entirely, it matters as much as before, you will start a new life with new memories."
"I don't want that, I want to remember my mom and my friends."
"I'm sorry, but this too is beyond my influence. You, however, have a choice." Henry glared at him to continue. "Should your body heal, you can choose not to enter it once more."
"Will it die then?" He asked.
"Not immediately, there will be a small window for another soul to enter, and they will live on in your old body until it dies."
"Oh." Henry let out and glared out to the wilderness beyond in thought.
"You have time to decide, Henry, make the choice that feels right." Aerie told him, placing a winged limb on his arm, the feather tickled. "I must leave you now, I have other who need me. You are in control of yourself now, if you wish to travel all you must do it will it." In a flash, he was gone. Henry was alone again.
"Miss Swan!" Doctor Picoult called as she entered Henry's room. "I have news."
"Okay." She stopped and crossed her arms.
"Yesterday, Henry's brain activity fluctuated to a high level, a functioning one. It lasted about an hour, beginning just before the young girl visited, and ending just after you left." He beamed at her, she stayed shocked. "This is hope, Miss Swan!" He shook her hand, she smiled. "We're going to run some tests, so he'll be out for a few hours doing so. When you return tomorrow, we'll have them ready."
"Thank you." She gave, at a loss for words. Her joy bubbled up as she ran for her bug. She pulled out her phone and told Regina she was on her way to her house.
Emma arrived minutes later, barely turning off the car before she barreled her way to the front door where she knocked loudly and excitedly. An answer came, and Emma threw herself around the woman.
"Oh-" She exuded when Emma ambushed her. "What's happened?"
"Henry!" She cried the first happy tears in weeks. "They are going to run some tests, but his brain was working at a functioning level for over an hour! They have hope, Regina!" She let go of the woman and faced her with pure joy rimming her eyes. "Hope." She cried.
Regina crashed their lips together passionately before pulling away. "This calls for celebration." She smiled and pulled Emma into the kitchen where they enjoyed a nice bottle of champagne. In a drunken blur they found themselves making way to the bedroom, only to fall short on the stair laughing.
"This is good enough to me." Emma slurred.
Regina growled, and pulled the woman on top of her, Emma's hips were equal to the brunette's groin where they lay. She pushed down, only to yell out an 'ouch' when their bones collided, Regina replied with a laugh before righting them. Just as they took up where they left off there was a knock on the door.
"Ugh." Emma groaned.
"Bedroom I'll be there in five." Regina ordered, sending Emma stumbling up the stairs as fast as she could.
Regina fixed herself before pulling open the door, revealing a shocking arrival.
"Hello, sister, dear." Zelena's accent swept around her.
"Zelena, what are you doing her." She said agitated.
"What can't a gal come and visit her favorite little sister?" She asked, pushing her way past Regina. "Leave it open, I have my bags." She threw before moving to the kitchen. "It looks nice in here, different than when we were growing up."
"Yes, I remodeled not too long ago." Regina said falling into step behind her.
"Hm." Zelena gave a quizzical look as she picked up the empty bottle of bubbly. "Did I interrupt something?" She asked.
"Yes, in fact you did." Regina sighed as she thought of Emma upstair waiting for her.
"Well I'd love to meet him, where is he?" She asked, Regina looked to the floor. "She?" An eyebrow was raised.
"Upstairs, and no, not yet." Regina told her just as a new addition sauntered into the room. "Robin!" Regina greeted, hugging the man who she'd known since high school. They had been together for some time, until she discovered her sexuality and let him go, but they remained close friends as she enjoyed his company. He and Zelena had always had eyes for one another and got together in college, Regina approved and was surprised it hadn't happened sooner.
"Regina, you look great! How are you?" He asked, he'd developed an accent in the years they'd lived in parts of Europe, mostly Ireland and Scotland.
"I'm great, I see you are, as well?" She eyed the wedding bands decorating both parties ring fingers.
"That's why we're here!" Zelena told her, flashing the diamond band with jazz hands. "We wanted you to be the first to know, and of course we weren't going to tell you over the phone."
"I'm sp happy for you guys!" Regina pulled them both into a tight hug, before clapping her hands together. "When's the wedding?"
"That's something else we hoped you could help us with. You planned Kathryn's wedding, and it was beautiful."
"It'd be my pleasure!" Regina was truly pleased, she loved organizing weddings, and she was good at it.
"We were thinking about having it here, would that be something we could arrange?" Robin asked.
"Of course, that makes my job even easier. Let's talk plans tomorrow, I can show you to your room, or you can take up the guest house." Regina suggested.
"I moved everything in here already, but the guest house would be good."
"We can always go down tomorrow, I haven't seen you in two years!" Zelena hugged Regina again. "Now, I have someone to meet." Zelena winked and raced up to the stairs.
She burst into the bedroom to find the blonde passed out on the bed with her shirt off and bra unhinged.
"Seems you tuckered her out." Zelena laughed when Regina was by her side.
Regina gave a chuckle before slipping to the room, and covering Emma with an extra blanket. "She's been having a rough time, we were in the middle of something when you arrived." Regina mock scolded. "This is better, she rarely sleeps through the night. Let's go downstairs, you can interrogate later."
"She's a cutie." Zelena rewarded.
"Yeah," Regina laughed as they reached the last stair. "You can take your room, there's an awesome bed in there, plus a T.V. so it'll work."
Zelena nodded as they sat on the couch where Robin had been reading one of the magazines. The three made conversation catching up on all they've missed in eachother's lives, and before long it was time for dinner. Everyone helped out in making chicken dumpling and vegetables, and it was ready in no time. Emma had roused sometime between putting food in the oven, and it being removed, she came down to see a full house.
"Emma!" Regina greeted, moving over to kiss her on the cheek. "This is Zelena, my sister, and Robin, common idiot." She joked.
"Hey, I am not common!" He laughed. "Nice to meet you." Robin said, shaking a confused Emma's hand with a strong grip.
"I saw you sleeping, you look quite nice without a shirt on." Zelena winked her way, and Emma flustered.
"Uh, nice to meet you guys, Regina." She nodded her way. "I'm just going to go."
"Nonsense!" Zelena cut in. "You will sit and you will like it." She pointed sternly towards and empty chair. Emma looked to Regina for help.
"You better sit, dear, my sister has quite the wrath." She chided, and Emma sat pensively.
"So, Emma what do you do?" Robin asked from where he sat across from her.
"Well, I moved here a couple of months ago with my son, but I don't start work at the sheriff's office until September." She nodded, sipping the water that was placed next to her plate.
"You have a son! I love children, how old is he?" Zelena asked as se stirred a pot of something.
"He's seven, he'll be eight next month."
"Well I'd love to meet him." She said, Regina gave a strained look to Emma who just smiled weakly.
"I hope so." She said quietly. Regina sensed the dampening mood, and let out a contented sigh.
"Let's eat!" She said, everyone clapped and agreed. Soon food was dished, and conversation flowed nicely and playfully. Emma was surprised to find herself feeling incredibly welcome and enjoying the company of Regina's family.
They played a few rounds of scrabble after dinner along with a few drinks to add some spice, but everyone was tired from a long day. The four trailed up the stairs, said goodnight, and went to their respective rooms to cuddle up and snooze the night away.
This was a weird chapter to write, I'd really like to know what people think on this one. I literally threw Zelena and Robin in out of nowhere, I lost myself a bit, but I think it could work. (:
