"Well," Kathryn laughs, "I was going to ask if you were ready to blow this joint, but I can see that you are."
Emma looks up with a scowl from her seat in the wheelchair that she's already had pushed to the sidewalk outside the hospital. "Took you long enough to get here," she grouses as she pushes herself up.
"Don't forget your crutches, Madam Mayor," the nurse reminds her. Emma's scowl only deepens.
"I'll take those, thank you." Kathryn offers with a smile as she grabs the crutches and watches as Emma hobbles to her waiting car. "Stubborn." She mumbles as she places the crutches in the backseat.
"Was it really that bad?" She asks once she's behind the wheel and ready to go.
"I had to deal with Dr. Whale for twelve hours. You tell me if it was that bad."
Kathryn laughs at that. She's well aware of the doctor's affinity for flirting and can't say she blames Emma for her reaction. "Well, we'll get you home so you can rest without having to worry about the good doctor."
"Actually," Emma says, glancing out the window, "I was wondering if maybe we could make a quick stop first?"
Kathryn notices that the mayor is chewing her lip. "Sure. Where do you want to go?"
"The B&B. I know that Regina and Henry are probably already gone but -" Her voice trails off, the rest of the sentence dying on her lips.
"I'll make you deal. We'll stop by the B&B if we can go to Granny's for breakfast after."
Emma shoots a knowing - and thankful - look at Kathryn. "Deal."
Kathryn flicks the turn signal to head in the direction of the B&B. They drive along in silence, with Emma staring out the window, lost in thought, until they pass the area by the old mines. It's then that the road seems to shudder and Kathryn slams on the brakes in surprise.
"What was that?"
"I don't know, but we need to find out." Emma says, already unbuckling her seat belt.
"Emma, I don't think you should -"
"I'm the mayor, remember? My town, my responsibility." Is Emma's response as she climbs out of the car and hobbles down the embankment toward the mines.
"Emma!" Kathryn calls, climbing out after her.
"It looks like something collapsed." Emma calls up to the lawyer. "We need to call Graham to set up a police perimeter. And maybe the fire department too. Get this place closed off before someone gets hurt."
"Okay. But once they get here, I'm taking you home. You need to be off that leg." Kathryn scolds, already pulling out her cell phone.
Emma ignores Kathryn's worries and moves closer to the entrance to the old mines. Whatever had collapsed was probably in pretty deep, but if things were starting to fall apart, it wouldn't be long before the whole mining infrastructure could cave. She'd need to take precautions before that happened. Maybe bulldoze the whole thing and pave over it.
Kathryn's voice interrupts Emma's thoughts. "Graham is on his way, as are the fire department, so we can go and let them take care of this."
"Kath, you know as well as I do that I can't -" Emma starts, turning back to look at Kathryn when something catches her eye. "No." She whispers, moving closer, her heart climbing into her throat.
"Emma? What's wrong?"
"No. Oh no." Emma crouches down in the dirt, ignoring the pain in her ankle as she reaches out to pick up the crumpled Apollo bar wrapping paper and - even worse - the Avengers vs. X-Men comic book laying beside it. Emma's seen this comic book before - Henry had been reading it the day he showed up in her office a week ago.
Scrambling to her feet, Emma rushes for the entrance to the mine. "Henry! Henry! Are you in there? Henry!"
"Emma?" Kathryn calls, rushing down the embankment, realizing that something is wrong.
"Henry!" Emma continues to scream for the little boy as she heads into the mouth of the mine.
"Emma?" A voice echoes out at her. It's small and sounds far away, but it's Henry's voice. She's sure of it.
"Henry! You need to get out of the mine. It isn't safe!"
"Emma, where are you?" Henry calls back to her.
"I'm at the opening of the mine. You need to get out of there. Follow my voice. I'll come in and meet you."
"Emma, what are you doing?" Kathryn grabs Emma's arm when she reaches her. "You can't go in there, it's dangerous."
"Henry is in there!" Emma flings the comic book up for Kathryn to see. "I have to go get him out."
"Oh god." Kathryn sighs, her eyes searching through the darkness of the mine. "Emma -"
"He's my kid, Kath."
"Emma?" Henry's voice is closer now and Emma turns to take in the sight of a flashlight beam coming out of the tunnel. At least the kid had been smart enough to take that with him.
"Henry! You need to hurry up and get out of there!" She calls, moving again toward the entrance.
And then Henry appears in the mouth of the mine shaft and Emma feels like she can finally exhale. She'll worry about why Henry is running around in an abandoned mine shaft in his pajamas with his mother no where in sight later. Right now, she just wants to hug him tightly and maybe never let him go.
"Oh!" Henry exclaims suddenly, turning back towards the shaft, "My Space Paranoids game! I left it further back in the mine. I have to go get it."
"No! I'll buy you a new one, or we'll get it later but -"
Her words fall on deaf ears as Henry turns to run back the way he came.
"Henry! It's not safe!" Emma calls, but the ground shakes again and debris begins to fall as the mouth of the mines collapses. "Henry! No! Henry!"
Kathryn holds tightly to Emma to keep her back from the falling rubble.
By the time Graham gets the police perimeter set up and the fire and rescue vehicles arrive, nearly all of Storybrooke is at the site. News travels fast in a small town, especially when that news involves a son that most people didn't know the mayor had being trapped in a mine.
It's just like she'd said the night before - Storybrooke is a small town and things do get boring, so when something happens, everyone gets over excited. And with a fire the night before and the mine shaft collapsing now - not to mention the apparent arrival of the son they never knew their mayor had - the entire town has been worked into quite a lather.
Emma's eyes are red rimmed and her throat is nearly raw from screaming for Henry when she stands up to address the citizens of her town.
"People of Storybrooke," she looks across at the faces of all her citizens, all who expect her to lead them, and she swallows hard. She's never wanted to disappoint them. "Yes. The rumors are true and there is a child - a little boy - trapped in the mine. His name is Henry. He's ten. And… he's my son."
A murmur goes up through the crowd as Emma fights off the sobs that are working their way up her throat. "I know you all have questions and I will answer them, I promise. But right now, I need to focus on getting Henry out of this alive. I'm standing here as your mayor and as Henry's mother. This is who I am. And I need your help. Please."
David steps forward from the crowd, a friendly face at the moment she really needs one. "What do you need from us, Madam Mayor?"
"I need -" Emma's throat catches. She needs to get her son out, but how? "I need a way to get down to Henry - to get through the debris or an alternate entrance. Something to punch through the ground. Something big."
"Like what?" Sean asks, his mind turning over various scenarios.
"Explosives." Marco offers.
Emma paces nervously as the workers set up explosives. Granny and Ruby have already made a trip to the diner and come back with coffee and water for everyone helping. It's the little things like that that make her smile, even as her stomach continues to churn.
Her eyes take in the crowd, and it's then, as she glances over the faces, that she realizes who is missing. Regina. Oh shit.
"Graham!" She calls out for him, but Archie interrupts her thoughts.
"We're all clear, Madam Mayor."
Emma knows she needs to find Regina, but she also needs to get Henry out of the mine as soon as possible. She's already well aware of what Regina would say if she was here.
"Blow it."
The explosion rocks the ground, and Emma's skidding down the embankment on an ankle that's ready to give out before the smoke has even cleared. She's praying that there will be an opening, that she'll be able to go in and get Henry and his video game. But when the smoke clears enough for her to see, it's obvious that it didn't work. If anything, the explosion just brought down more rubble.
"Did it work?" Someone calls down to her.
She can only shake her head and clutch tighter to the rumpled comic book in her grasp. "It didn't open."
"Then what did it do?"
"Fuck!" She breaks when she gets back up to the top of the embankment, throwing the comic book and allowing the tears to fall.
"Emma." David grips her shoulders, looking at her with all the strength she's come to admire in him. "We're going to get him out. We're going to find another way."
"How?" She's practically pleading now. "How am I supposed to get him out when I don't have any idea where any he is, let alone how to get down to him? He could be -"
"Hey, sister, calm down." Leroy says as he comes over. "As far as Walter and I can remember, there used to be maps of all the underground mines, including entrances, back when the mines were still in use. We just need to get them and we'll be able to figure out a way down."
"Maps." Emma clings to the hope of that word. "Okay. Okay. So who's got the maps?"
Another voice cuts through the crowd and Emma feels her blood run cold. "Well, that would be me, dearie."
"It's Gold. Do you really want to trust him?" David asks as they huddle together.
"I don't have a choice at the moment." Emma huffs. "He's got the maps and I need them."
"And you think he's just going to give them to you? Everything comes with a price with him, Madam Mayor. You know that." Graham cautions.
"I don't care!" Emma hisses. "Henry is trapped in that mine. I'm not going to stand here and argue with you while his oxygen runs out! I don't care what Gold's price is! He's my son. I'll pay it!"
"So lovely to hear, dearie." Gold smirks, coming closer to the little group. "Although I am a little hurt that you think I'd ask for something in exchange for the maps when a child's life is in danger."
"So you'll give me the maps without a price?" Emma turns to face him.
"Now, I didn't say that, did I?"
"What do you want?" Emma snaps. She doesn't have time for these games.
"Hmm." Gold appears to be considering things before he holds the maps out to her. "I don't know just yet. You'll owe me a favor."
"Deal." Emma grabs the maps, damning the consequences as she rushes for the hood of Michael's tow truck. She spreads the maps out and starts reading, David and Sean looking over her shoulders. It's only as she's trying to make sense of what she's seeing that her earlier thoughts come back to her.
"Can you guys look at these and try to find a way in for me?" Emma asks and David and Sean both nod.
"We'll get Leroy and Walter to look at them with us. Maybe they'll remember something."
"Thanks, guys." She offers them a weak smile as she turns and heads for the sheriff.
"You need to go find Regina." She tells Graham once she reaches his side. "Check the B&B first. Maybe Henry ran off without her knowing again. I don't know. But you need to find her. She needs to be here. He's her kid."
"I thought he was your kid?" Kathryn points out her earlier claim, not unkindly.
"He's both our kid, okay?" Emma snaps, the truth of that statement suddenly settling over her. Henry is her son and he's Regina's son. And right now, it isn't about who his real mother is. It's about saving their son. For both of them.
"Go, Graham!"
"Don't do anything until I get back." Graham insists. Emma just turns back towards the guys looking over the maps. She'll make no promises.
"Madam Mayor, I think we found something!" Sean calls out.
Emma rushes to the truck, while Graham climbs into the cruiser to go find Regina.
"What is that?" Emma asks as she stares at the marking on the map that is being pointed out to her.
"It's an air shaft." Leroy explains. "And based on these maps, it should be right around here."
"Over here!" Walter calls, standing over a grate.
Emma takes in the grate and turns. "Michael?" It's then that she notices that the mechanic is already in the truck, turning on the engine. David grabs the maps off the hood and Michael moves to truck into position, lowering the hook attached to it. Marco attaches the hook and then nods.
"Gun it." Emma says and watches as the grate is pulled away. She rushes over as soon as it's clear. "Henry? Henry! Can you hear me?"
There's no sound, but the shaft descends down deep into the ground. Emma prays that Henry is just too far down to hear her.
"What now?" She looks up at the assembled group, no longer their mayor, but just a worried mother who doesn't know what to do.
"Best bet is to lower someone down to try to find the kid. Then we'll pull 'em both back up." Leroy offers.
"You'll need to lower them straight down, or the line will collapse the side of the shaft."
"I've got a harness." Michael offers, holding it out to her.
"Can you do it? Can you lower someone straight down?"
Michael looks at her and sees the desperation in her eyes. He understands how she's feeling, thinking of what it would be like if Ava or Nicholas were trapped. "Yes, Ma'am."
"Good." Emma grabs the harness. "Then lower me down."
"Oh, no way!" Kathryn exclaims, coming over to her. "You're injured. You can't do this."
"No one else can." Emma swings her arms to encompass the assembled people around the grate. "We have to make sure the line can hold the weight of the person lowered down and Henry. I'm the lightest one here."
"And you're already hurt. I'm going." Kathryn says, reaching for the harness.
"He's my son." Emma says, holding the harness away.
"Emma."
"He's my son, Kath." She says, quieter this time, and Kathryn understands everything she isn't saying. "Besides, you've been sitting behind a desk for the last five years."
"Oh and you haven't?" Kathryn snarks back, even as she helps Emma step into the harness.
"At least I still run every morning." Emma smirks as Kathryn pulls the harness tight.
Kathryn puts her hands on Emma's shoulders. "Graham went to get Regina. Maybe we can -"
Emma shakes her head. "We don't have time to waste. Besides, something tells me that after everything that's happened, this could send Regina over the edge. I want Henry to be out of that mine before she ever gets here."
"You gonna be okay?"
"I can do this."
"I know you can." Kathryn smiles. "That's not what I asked."
Emma nods. "I'll need to freak out about all of this and what it means later over booze. Lots of booze."
"You got it. Now come on. Let's go save your kid."
Graham's hand instantly goes to the gun at his side when he takes in door to Regina and Henry's room hanging wide open. He approaches quietly, and glances around the doorframe, surprised to see Regina crumpled on the floor and staring blankly at the wall.
"Regina?" He says cautiously as he steps into the room, but his deputy doesn't seem to hear him. "Regina? It's Graham."
He moves closer, but she still doesn't acknowledge his presence. He frowns as he glances around the room. Besides the covers on one of the beds being tossed back, nothing looks out of place and there's no sign of a struggle.
"Regina, are you hurt?" He tries again, but there's still no reply from her.
Finally he kneels down next to her and gently puts his hand on her shoulder. She reacts instantly, lashing out and hitting him in the throat with the side of her hand. He instantly falls back, coughing and spluttering, and Regina finally comes out of her trance.
"Graham?" She asks, when she realizes who it is next to her. "What are you - oh, god, are you okay?" She helps him sit up and looks him over.
He continues to cough until he finally finds his voice. "Well, besides being karate chopped in the trachea, I'm fine."
"I'm sorry!" Regina says instantly. "I didn't realize - I'm sorry."
"It's fine." Graham shakes her off.
"What are you doing here?" Regina asks, still trying to process everything. She's not sure when Graham got here, the last thing she remembers is - "Oh god, Henry!"
She jumps up and Graham catches her arm. "That's why I'm here, Regina."
She spins back to him, the same panic in her eyes as he saw in Emma's at the mine. "Where is he? Where is my son? What's happened?"
"I don't know all the details. I don't think anyone really does, although Emma and Kathryn were there when it happened."
"When what happened?" Regina demands, suddenly grabbing his arm and squeezing tight enough that her fingernails dig into his skin.
"Henry was down at the old mines, playing in one of the shafts. The shaft wasn't stable and… well, it collapsed."
"What?" The world spins around Regina and she has to hold enough tighter to Graham to keep standing.
"The mine collapsed with Henry inside. He's trapped. But Emma's there now, working on a way to get him out. She wanted me to come get you, to let you know." Graham explains, but Regina doesn't hear anything after the word trapped.
Her whole world crumbles then and her knees give way, sending her crashing to the floor, her fingernails dragging along Graham's skin and drawing blood on their way down.
This cannot be happening. Not after everything else. Not after she'd nearly lost him once. She cannot lose him. She cannot survive without him.
She thinks back to their fight, to the determination in Henry's eyes, to his pleading for them to stay. But she'd been so trapped in the past, so afraid of somehow defiling Daniel's memory that she'd pushed everyone away who'd tried to help her, to make her see. She thinks of Emma's hands closing around her own in the hospital room and the way she had pulled away from her and left. And she thinks of the way she had finally snapped and grabbed Henry, frightening him enough that he ran away. To the mines.
Oh god.
This is all her fault. Her son is trapped in a mine, possibly dead, and it's all her fault.
"Regina?" Graham's voice is tentative, as though he has no idea what to do in this situation. And suddenly, in that moment, she hates him. She hates him with everything she has.
"Take me to him." She demands, forcing herself back up. She will go and she will get her son back, because she's the only one who can. It's all on her shoulders, as it always has been.
"Regina -"
"Now." Is all she says as she runs past him and out the door.