The week goes by quickly for Henry, who loves every minute of his time in Storybrooke - a fact that he is quick to point out to his mother at every opportunity. He's determined to make her want to stay and he figures the best way to do that is to show her just how great the town is.
For Regina, the week drags on. Henry may love that she's got a job where she's home for dinner every night (and it is a nice perk, she has to admit) but she finds herself more concerned about their money situation and how they're going to pay their bills when they go back to Boston. Plus, as Emma had pointed out, being a deputy in a small town is 'much calmer' than her former job. She misses the thrill of it all, even if she doesn't miss the aches and pains.
But Henry seems to be thriving here, a fact that she can't overlook. On Tuesday, Mrs. Nolan offers for Henry to come with her to school and visit with her class to see what it would be like if he started up there. Henry is quick to agree and when he comes home, he is filled to the brim with things to tell her.
He talks the whole way through dinner, dessert, and his allotted television time about how great school was and how they had made birdhouses with Mrs. Nolan and next week they were going to be making a volcano and wasn't that so cool? He also chatters on endlessly about his new friends, Ava and Nicholas who are twins and have invited him to come play with them after school tomorrow at the awesome playground Emma had installed for the children last year, and Paige who has invited him over to join her and her father for tea. It's the first time Regina ever remembers Henry talking about having friends.
He also talks endlessly about how nice everyone in town is and how he loves eating at Granny's because Ruby usually slips him a piece of pie or a cookie on the house. He shares his excitement about how Storybrooke has great traditions like fairs in the summer and a carnival for Halloween and something called Miners' Day that Regina doesn't understand in the least.
He steers away from the topic of Emma, but can't hide his joy when Regina agrees to have dinner at the mayor's home on Thursday. He smiles the entire way through as he regales Emma with stories of his time at school and his new friends and Emma listens with rapt attention. She also questions Regina about her job, to which the new deputy answers as best she can. It isn't a bad job, by any means. But when the highlight of her day is chasing Pongo away from the dumpsters at Granny's, she finds it hard to get excited.
Storybrooke is, she has to admit, an idyllic little town. The perfect place to raise a child and have a family, but in spite of that reason - or perhaps because of it - Regina cannot bring herself to like the place and much to Henry's dismay, she informs him that they'll be going back to Boston at the end of the week.
He begs her to reconsider, but she is resolute, and on Friday evening, she heads to Town Hall to inform Emma of her decision.
Ashley isn't at her desk when Regina arrives and for a moment, she wonders if she hadn't missed the mayor at work and will have to go to her home to speak with her. But then she catches sight of the light under the mayor's office door and realizes that the woman is still there. Good. It'll be easier to do this here, in a more formal setting than it would be to do it in the house where she'd already revealed far too much of herself.
Regina strides over to the door and knocks, waiting until she hears the mayor's call of "come in" before opening it.
"Burning the midnight oil, Madam Mayor?" She asks as she ventures into the office, a place she hasn't been yet.
Emma looks up from a stack of paperwork and offers a tired smile. "Something like that. Although it is only just after six, so I still have a ways to go before I turn into a pumpkin. But, what can I do for you, Miss Mills?"
"I just wanted to let you know that Henry and I are leaving tomorrow. We stayed the week but it just isn't working out."
Emma opens her mouth, then closes it with a frown. She had done what she'd promised Henry she'd do - she'd tried to help. She'd given Regina a chance for something different, but the other woman obviously wasn't content in the small town. Emma didn't blame her for that. It hadn't been her cup of tea at first either. She couldn't argue or fight with her about the decision. She had no rights when it came to Henry and she'd promised Regina that once the week was up, she could take Henry and she wouldn't try to stop her.
"Right." Emma's voice breaks just the tiniest bit on the word. "Well then," She spins her chair away from Regina to hide the tears that are forming in her eyes and focuses on the filing cabinet behind her desk. She rummages through the top drawer for a moment to calm her nerves before pulling out a folder. She shuffles through the papers in the folder, checking things over before giving a small nod and spinning back to face Regina. "You'll probably want this."
Regina takes the folder from Emma's outstretched hand and looks over the papers inside, trying her best to ignore the haunted and heartbroken look on the mayor's face. It's a legal document, reoutlining the terms of the adoption and assuring that Emma will not try to have any contact with Henry. It is signed by Emma and her lawyer, as well as a notary.
"There's one on file here at Town Hall and then I figured you'd want to file that one yourself in Boston or wherever it is you're going."
Regina looks up at her. "Thank you, Madam Mayor."
Emma nods and stands, moving around the desk to walk Regina out of the building. "I'm sorry that Storybrooke wasn't what you were looking for," she says softly as she takes the lead, walking down the stairs.
"It's a nice little town. It's just - not for me."
Emma bites her lip to stop from asking if it's for Henry. She cannot go there. Instead she swallows as her fingers close around the doorknob at the bottom of the steps. "Would you mind if I came with you to tell Henry goodb -"
She doesn't get to finish the question, let alone hear Regina's response, because as she pulls the door open, a fireball explodes, throwing both women backwards. She feels her body slam into the steps, Regina's just above hers on the landing.
Smoke and heat begin to pour into the stairwell, flames licking the door and inching towards them. She coughs and pushes herself up, trying to move, but it's then that she realizes that there's something trapping her legs. She can't quite make it out through the smoke, but it's debris of some kind - maybe from the door - and it's got her legs pinned quite nicely. "Shit. Miss Mills, are you okay?"
There's no answer and Emma spins quickly, taking in Regina on the landing. She's sprawled in the same position she was no doubt thrown in, but she's managed to push herself up. She's not moving though, instead, she's staring at the flames with wide eyes. It's like she's a statute, frozen in time.
"Miss Mills! Miss Mills!" Emma calls as she continues to try and wiggle her legs out, but nothing is working. "Regina!" She finally calls, straining her throat as she yells.
That seems to snap Regina out of her haze, at least a little, as her eyes fly down to Emma. "Oh god."
"Are you alright?"
"I - I -"
"Regina, I can't move." Emma says, glancing back at the fire that is getting closer with each second. The smoke is already stealing oxygen from the air. She can't move and Regina is still frozen in fear or something else that Emma doesn't understand. "You have to get out of here. Regina, you have to go! Get out of here!"
She will not allow them both to burn to death. She won't allow Henry's fears to come true. He needs his mother, so she needs to get Regina out of this damn building. The fire station is just across from Town Hall. Hopefully they've already seen the fire and are on their way, but if not, Regina needs to get out now, while she still can.
Regina moves then, her eyes still impossibly wide, pulling the debris off of Emma's legs. Even with the piece gone, Emma knows she won't be able to stand on her leg. There's a shooting pain coming up from her ankle that tells her as much. She grabs Regina's arm. "Forget it. Regina, you need to leave me. You need to go. Now!"
Regina looks ready to protest but Emma shakes her head. "For Henry. Go."
"Henry." Regina whispers and then quickly pulls out of Emma's hold, jumping through the flames.
Emma watches her go with a sinking feeling in her stomach. She fights against the part of her brain that tells her that she'll never get to say goodbye to Henry now, as she tries to crawl up the stairs. If she can get away from the flames, maybe the firefighters will be able to put out the fire and get her, or pull her from a window or something.
She's nearly at the landing when she hears the sound of a fire extinguisher and turns to see Regina, moving back through the cloud of fumes and smoke. Her heat skips a beat at the sight.
"Come on." Regina mumbles as she wraps a strong arm around Emma's waist, hauling her up and holding her tightly against her body. Emma is amazed at the strength of the woman, although she guesses she shouldn't be - not with what Henry has told her of Regina's job.
They're both coughing heavily by the time they make it outside, and Emma's hobbling on one foot, sagging against Regina. Flashes burst in their faces and Emma growls at the photographer. "Not now, Sidney."
"But Madam Mayor -"
"Go, Sidney!" She barks, trying to stay upright as Regina lets go of her. As she'd suspected, firefighters are already on the scene, doing their best to control the blaze.
"Madam Mayor, are you alright?" Graham asks as he jogs over to the two women, a paramedic in tow.
Emma shrugs them off, even through her coughing. "I'm fine. Really. Thanks to you." She turns to look at Regina, who is still staring at the burning building with a look Emma can't understand.
Graham seems to notice it as well. "I'm going to need to get statements from both of you. Why don't I take yours, Regina, while the paramedic looks over Emma?"
"Oh. Uh. Yes." Regina nods, tearing her eyes away from the building and moving away with Graham.
Emma waves the paramedic away. "I'm fine. I'm fine."
"Madam Mayor, you need to get to the hospital to get your leg looked at. Not to mention that you need oxygen. Please, come with me over to the ambulance so we can get started checking you out."
"I will go to the hospital on my own. I am fine." Emma says and her tone leaves no room for argument. She will not be fussed over. She just needs a moment to catch her breath.
The paramedic walks away shaking his head and Emma closes her eyes, taking in deep breaths, fighting off nausea at the smell of smoke permeating the air.
"Emma!"
She turns at the sound of the scream to see Henry pushing through the crowd and scrambling under the barricade before anyone can stop him.
"Whoa. Henry." She stumbles back from the force of him slamming into her. "It's okay."
"Where's my mom? Emma, where's my mom?"
It's then, in the glow of the flames and the lights from the rescue vehicles, that she sees how ghostly white and streaked with tears his face is.
She drops to her knees, ignoring the shooting pain in her leg, and puts her hands on his shoulders. "She's over giving a statement to Sheriff Graham. She's right there." Emma points to the spot where Regina is talking to the sheriff.
At the sight of his mother, the little boy begins to sob, great gasping sobs that wrench Emma's heart.
"Henry. Oh, Henry. Shh. Hey, it's okay." She pulls him against her, holding his tiny shaking body.
"She's okay? You're sure she's okay?" He keeps mumbling between sobs, clinging tightly to her.
"Yeah. She's fine. She's fine."
Henry pulls back then, his eyes wild as he looks at her. "And you're okay?"
"I hurt my leg a little, but other than that, I'm fine."
"Emma." He sobs again, clinging tightly to her. "Please don't die, Emma. Please don't die."
"Don't - Henry?" She pulls back, searching his face. "Why would you think that I'm going to die?"
"Because my dad did."