Chapter 2

Emma wakes with an unmistakable smile on her face, she lays there for a second her eyes still closed, she just wants to revel in this moment. Everything she has thought about for months has finally happened. And okay maybe it's not how she pictured things going. If she's being honest with herself she kind of hoped their first time wouldn't have involved alcohol, and not because for her that added to her impulse but simply because of her biggest fear. The fear that's keeping her lying on the floor with her eyes still closed so Regina won't know she's awake. The regret. Not on her part, there isn't a chance in this world or any other Emma could regret what happened between them, but she has the feeling Regina will, and honestly it scares the shit out of her.

Finally daring to be brave, she opens her eyes. And just like that it crashes down on her, she wishes she never opened them, so she wasn't met with the reality she currently is. Nothing.

She looks around and she's alone. She's always alone.

The spot beside her where Regina had been now stone cold. So she clearly left quite some time ago.

Emma sits there a little longer, willing her self to be composed, keeping that small part of hope that says maybe Regina is in the kitchen making breakfast. So instead she pulls herself together, she puts aside the sickening feeling in her stomach weighing her down, and instead plays scavenger hunt with her clothes, until she's fully dressed and semi approachable, ready for whatever she's about to face.

It doesn't take long, to scan the whole house and figure out what Emma already knew to be true the moment she opened her eyes. Regina wasn't here.

She left.

When Emma finally walks through the loft that morning no one is there, which doesn't really help her abandonment issues she's currently going through, but at the same time she's also glad as she really couldn't face walking through the door very clearly looking like she had in fact been crying, to then receive the first degree from her parents and Henry. She needed to gather herself together. So the best place is to wash it all away, wash away the mess and the horrendous nerves, is in a steaming shower, not that you could say she was really cleaning herself more like just standing under the water, feeling it run down her body, and masking her tears.

When Emma finally pulls herself out from under the hot water she sees her phone lit up. She tries not to get her hopes up, she really does. But she just can't help hoping that its from Regina, and for the second time that morning she's left with disappointment. It's a text from her mother instead saying they're all grabbing breakfast from Granny's and to come join them.

Not that she really wants to, but if she doesn't it will raise questions, after all when does Emma Swan ever turn down food, especially from Granny's. So she pulls on some fresh clothes to at least give the illusion that she's okay, sends a text to Regina against her better judgment asking if she's okay, and where she went this morning and leaves the apartment.

When Emma finally arrives at Granny's it's like the air got knocked out of her. There sat at the table with Henry and her parents is Regina. She doesn't even seem fazed, she's laughing at some goofy thing Henry said.

Realising she's been stood there a little too long when everyone starts looking in her direction, she makes a move in their direction and her mother gets up from the booth to ask her if she's feeling okay.

"Yeah, sorry I'm fine" she plants on the fakest smile she's ever had to do, to the point that she cringes as she can feel how false it looks.

Once sat at the table, she's so confused, everything is completely normal, in fact more normal than its probably ever been.

"Emma!"

"Hmm?"

"I said what would you like to eat?" Snow's starting to look a little concerned.

"Um, actually I'm not hungry" That seems to grab everyone's attention, well everyone except Regina of course who hasn't once even looked in Emma's direction.

"Sweetie are you sure you're feeling okay?"

"Yeah Ma you don't look so good"

"You know what you're right, I'm not feeling too good, I think I'm just gonna head home, and get some sleep"

"Of course kiddo, I'll take the morning shift at the station kay?"

"Thanks Dad, I'll see you all later" she doesn't really direct that at anyone as right now she really doesn't want to see anyone later, so she makes her quick escape out Granny's not paying attention to anything around her. The only thing noticeable right now is her heart beating at an extreme rate in her chest. It's deafening.

Somehow Emma makes it back to the apartment, not sure of the route she took home, or even how long it took her. The main thing was she was safe, she was here and they were there and she could breathe.

In one last attempt she tries calling Regina, to which no surprise Regina doesn't answer.

That seems to be the last straw, finally Emma lets go of all the resolve she has left and breaks down, her legs buckle underneath her as she slides down her bedroom wall holding onto her self with dear life as she tries to regain her breath. The sobs that she can hear leave her mouth don't even sound like hers. The tears keep going until finally she passes out on her bed, hoping when she wakes it will be better than the first time she woke that day.

Unfortunately, that wasn't the case.

When Emma woke up for the second time that day, she could hear her parent's downstairs, with Neal, but she couldn't hear Henry, maybe he went back to Regina's.

She decides to stop guessing what's waiting for her and just go down stairs and deal with whatever awaits her.

"Hey sleepy head, we were starting to get worried" She can tell her dad is trying to lighten the mood, as she's sure they can all see her red rimmed eyes and know she cried herself to sleep. Yet even though she knows they're worried she can't even fake a smile right now, so she knows she has no chance of reassuring them that she's okay as honestly, she really is not okay.

"Where's Henry?"

"He decided to spend the day with Regina, let you get some sleep"

All she can manage is a nod, the only action to show she understands what they're saying to her.

"Sweetie, you sure you're okay?" she's aware they all know that's a futile question as she very clearly isn't okay, yet she knows her mother is just trying to get it out of her. Because that's what they do, they try their best to help and to fix everything but they can't fix this one, hell if they knew what was wrong with her would they even want to help, or would they want nothing to do with her?

She's brought out of her thoughts when David's phone beeps. It's Henry saying he's at Regina's, and that he needs picking up as its raining and he would ask Regina to bring him back but Robins there and he feels he really shouldn't be.

Despite that when her father reads that message out all she wants to do is throw up, she manages to somehow keep herself put together enough.

"I'll get him" that seems to surprise both of her parents.

"Emma you sure sweetie as your father can go get Henry, it really isn't a problem"

"I can get my own kid" and with that she makes a rather hasty exit out the apartment, left with the agonising thought of that she hopes Henry comes out to the car so she doesn't have to go in the house, she really couldn't handle that right now.

But once again, today is a never ending shit storm on her life. Henry doesn't come out, leaving Emma stood knocking at 108 Mifflin once again. This time however Regina doesn't answer the door thankfully. Well she would be thankful except its Robin stood in front of her instead.

"Hey Emma, come in Henry's just grabbing his backpack"

How is it that Robin Hood is inviting her in like he lives there. Then again what does she know, seeing how todays been going, he probably has moved in.

"Right, thanks" God was that her voice that said that? Her voice sounds so hoarse.

"Hey Ma!"

"Hey Kid, you ready?"

"Yeah, sorry I didn't call you to come get me I didn't want to wake you"

"Its kay" she tries to reassure him with a small smile but he's her kid, well hers and Regina's so of course he cans see right through it.

"Emma" and god if that one word didn't cut right through her.

"Hi" it isn't accompanied by a smile, actually she doesn't even manage to look Regina in the face, but then again Regina never expected she would.

"You ready kid?" she completely cuts right past Regina and everyone notices it, they can also clearly see how uncomfortable she is right now in this house, so Henry decides to save her from quite possibly the most uncomfortable he has ever seen Emma act.

"Yeah sure, bye mom"

"Bye sweetheart, I will see you for lunch tomorrow"

Regina watches as Emma speeds off to the car not even bothering to say goodbye, but then again she really couldn't blame her.

The silence is a little too much for Henry to bare in the car on the journey home, so being the innocent boy he is, he tries to uplift the moment with good news, at least he thought it would be good news.

"They woke up Marian today, Belle found a spell and mom did it. She's awake, and Roland is really happy"

"that's great kid, really"

"She's actually pretty cool, she came over to the house and her and mom talked, she said she wont get in the way of mom and Robin, as she would never stand in the way of true love, she said that mom deserves her happy ending, and thanked her for saving her"

That's pretty much all it took to completely destroy anything Emma had left inside her. Luckily they had pulled up to the apartment by the point that Emma slammed on her breaks, and completely fell to pieces in front on her son. The one thing she prayed she would never do.

And in the moment Henry wasn't a boy anymore, he completely understood now why, and why what he had just said was possibly the worst thing he could have ever said to his mom, in that moment he just acted, he pulled his mom to him, not caring that she would hate how weak she looked, because he never looked at her like she was weak and nothing will ever change that. He just held her whilst she fell apart in his arms, he wasn't quite sure how he had been so blind when he claims to see everything, he never saw this. Now he had to do everything he possibly could to be there for his mom, no matter what it meant for either of them.