Regina wonders for a second whether Henry will be angry with her for using magic before deciding to take the chance and conjure up three bowls of ice cream. Henry had refused to eat the dinner that Snow prepared, and so he, Emma, and Regina are all sitting on the bed in Hook's small cabin.
"I thought you couldn't just make food appear out of nowhere," Emma comments, looking at her bowl of ice cream with suspicion.
"That's true in Harry Potter dear. Not in real life."
Regina hands Henry his bowl of chocolate chip cookie dough with whipped cream and about a dozen maraschino cherries – exactly what he had demanded growing up.
"I didn't know which flavor you prefer," Regina says, waving her spoon vaguely in the direction of Emma's ice cream. "So I gave you half and half."
Emma feels sick. She hasn't eaten anything in the three days since they found Henry. "This is good." She moves her spoon around in her ice cream wondering if Regina will be upset if she simply plays with her ice cream until it melts.
Regina dips her spoon into her bowl of coffee ice cream. She should have infused it with extra caffeine. She can hardly remember the last time that she's slept.
And then she hears it. "Thanks Mom." Regina's head whips to look at Henry, who shovels a second spoonful of ice cream into his mouth. She wonders if she imagined the sound until she sees Emma's equally stunned expression.
Regina leans over, one hand resting on the back of Henry's head as she presses a kiss to his temple. Tears are falling of their own accord. Falling faster and faster until she's gasping for air in an attempt not to start sobbing.
Emma moves forward and flings her arms around both of them. She is more grateful than she has been for any sound in her life. Regina reaches out and wraps an arm around Emma's waist, clutching desperately at her shirt.
It's their last night at sea. Emma is staring up into the darkness of the cabin, once again unable to sleep. Besides her Regina has her eyes closed, and Henry - cuddled against Regina's chest between them - is snoring softly. He's peaceful now, but Emma knows that it will only be a matter of time until his cries pierce the air. She wishes that she could get a few moments sleep during the silence.
Emma sighs and closes her eyes. Her leg brushes against Regina's and the warmth of it is comforting. Emma inches a little bit closer so that her leg can rest flush against Regina's. As she moves closer, Emma feels wetness soak through her pajama pants. She reaches down, patting the mattress. The dampness spreads out around Henry, and for a second Emma can't wrap her head around it. He's almost twelve. She doesn't know much about kids, but she knows that this isn't right.
"Regina," Emma whispers. Regina wakes with a start, looking around anxiously. "It's ok," Emma says. Regina looks down at Henry. He's still sleeping soundly, and she lets out a relieved breath. "Henry wet the bed."
Regina touches the mattress: soaked. She feels like crying. "He was five last time he wet the bed." She bites back the tears.
"Henry," Regina whispers, rubbing his arm to wake him. Henry looks around disoriented but less frightened than he has been on previous nights. "You had an accident, sweetheart."
"I'm sorry." Tears fill Henry's eyes.
"It's ok," Regina reassures him. "Nothing to be sorry about." His face looks so young, and he stares at her with pleading eyes. She wants to take it all away from him so badly. "Let's get you cleaned up."
Emma reaches out to pat Henry's back as he and Regina get out of bed. She tries not to let it sting that he can't bring himself to meet her eyes. She busies herself stripping the bed.
Regina takes Henry's hand and leads him down the hallway to the small bathing area. "Ok," Regina says, waving her hand over the bucket of water until it's warm. "Why don't you get cleaned up, and I'll help Emma remake the bed." Regina turns back to Henry, and when she does there are tears rolling down his cheeks. She gathers him up in her arms
"I'm sorry," he tells her again.
"You have nothing to apologize for Henry," Regina says looking him in the eyes. "Something terrible happened to you, and this is a perfectly natural reaction to that."
He says nothing but nods slightly. "I love you," Regina says leaning forward to kiss Henry's forehead. "I'll be right outside."
"No!" Henry won't let go of the front of Regina's pajamas. "Don't go."
"Ok," Regina says, cupping Henry's cheek in her palm. "I won't go anywhere, so you don't have to be afraid. Is it ok if I sit right over there while you wash?"
Henry nods, and Regina sits down on a stool in the corner of the room. She faces the wall, trying to give her son some privacy as he bathes. Her nearly twelve-year-old son. She presses a fist into her mouth to keep from sobbing.
The small cabin is claustrophobic for Emma. Clean dry sheets line the bed now. The bed in the room that Emma has spent nearly every minute in since they returned with Henry. A small room so filled with pain that sometimes she thinks it's palpable in the air.
Emma leaves the cabin, and seeing that the bathroom door is still shut she takes the free moment to walk up onto the deck. The cool breeze and the vastness of the sky calm Emma. She feels like she can finally breathe.
"Cold night," Hook's voice calls from behind Emma.
She looks down at her chest, wonders if he's making yet another inappropriate comment.
"Relax Swan. I was merely going to be chivalrous and offer you my jacket."
"I'm fine." She leans over the side of the boat and stares in the direction of Neverland. She hadn't known that she could hate any place so much. "You know Peter Pan, right?"
"Unfortunately I do."
Emma turns to face Hook. "Tell me what he did to my kid."
"At first he only took the ones without families. But then he learned how to get into the boys' heads. He makes them see things. Makes them believe that their families are dead or that they abandoned them. He shows them the images that they most fear over and over until they forget what's real. He breaks them all eventually."
Emma feels sick and wonders if she is about to throw up on Hook. She doesn't. Instead she stands with her mouth wide open, gaping in horror.
"That's why he won't let go of Regina."
Hook nods. Emma needs to be with Henry right now.
Emma races back to the cabin, and as she approaches she hears Regina singing You Are My Sunshine. Emma opens the door to find Henry sitting on Regina's lap while she sings to him. Regina's eyes are red and she looks like she is barely hanging on right now. She's holding onto Henry so tightly and Emma knows that is as much for Regina's benefit as it is for Henry's.
Emma sits down on the bed next to them. She's about to throw her arms around Henry when she notices that his eyes are closed. "I think he's asleep," she whispers to Regina.
The singing stops and Emma misses it immediately. She hadn't realized how much Regina's voice was calming her until the silence settled over them again. Regina looks down at Henry; he's asleep with his face pressed into her neck and his arms around her waist. All she has wanted for so long was to have her son show her affection again. But not like this. Never like this.
A sob escapes from Regina's lips and she looks at Henry to make sure she hasn't woken him. He continues sleeping soundly against her as she tries to keep from shaking too hard with the sobs that she is suddenly unable to contain. And then the sound of Emma's cries join her own, and Regina turns to look at Emma's tear stained face. Regina reaches out and grasps Emma's hand. Their fingers weave together, and the tears begin to fall harder as they stare at their son and hold on tightly to each other's hands.
