Chapter 4

Henry and Emma were given a lovely and quaint twin bed room with their own en suite. Ruby had packed their half eaten breakfasts for them and Emma left them on the dressing table. Ruby had also gave them a couple of bottles of water and orange for their room.

Henry sat on the end of his chosen bed and bounced. "This is so comfy!" He said in awe. Emma chuckled at his reaction and got into some comfy clothes that she could sleep in. Her jeans were far to tight sleep well in.

"That it is, Bud. Now Henry," Emma knelt down in front of him so that they were the same height. She gently rubbed the top of his arms as she spoke, "Now Henry, do not leave this room while I take a nap. And especially under no circumstances do you open that front door to anyone. Wake me up and I'll answer the door. Do you understand?"

"I do Ma. I promise I will wake you up if anyone knocks on the door." Emma stroked his mop of brown hair that desperately needed a cut then kissed his forehead.

"You are my perfect boy. I love you so, so much."

"I love you too, Ma." Henry smiled at his mother.

Pretty much as soon as her head hit the memory foam pillow she was asleep.

Emma is in a dark tunnel, she can feel the stony pathway under her bare feet as they rip the skin. But she needs to keep running as fast as she can. Killian's menacing voice is echoing around the pitch black tunnel that had no end in sight as she tries to escape him.

"You stupid bitch!"

"Useless fucking whore.."

"You've never been anything and you never will be."

"I wouldn't have to hurt you if you just did as I fucking said..."

"It's your fault I drink."

"You wont survive without me...no one is going to love you like I do.."

His voice gets louder and louder and she can't run fast enough. Emma feels a rough hand on her shoulder as she feels him catch up to her.

Emma wakes up with a loud gasp to see Henry hovering over her, shaking her shoulder.

"Ma! Ma! Wake up, you're having another nightmare." He pleads to her. Emma was drenched in sweat and gasping for breath. She felt her heart beat as if it was going to burst out of her chest. She shot up and frantically looked around the room in fear and confusion until she remembered that she was in the B & B.

Jumping out of bed she threw herself at the door to made sure it was locked and secure.

She did the same with the window and also checked the bathroom in a panicked state. "Ma! You're scaring me, there's no one here." Emma dropped to her knees and looked under the beds and once she realised Killian hadn't found them, she could let out a sigh of relief. Her heart was still beating hard against her chest but she was beginning to become calmer.

Emma pulled Henry into a crushing hug, "I'm sorry Henry, it was just a bad dream I'm alright now." She told him trying to keep as calm as possible.

"It's okay, Ma." He tried to be strong for his mum and hugged her back even if it was crushing him. "I will protect you, Ma. I will always protect you." The ten year old promised. She let out a bitter sweet laugh at that. Her son should not be the one to protect her she thought.

"You are my hero, Hen. We will protect each other." They continued to hug each other for a few minutes before Henry scrunched his nose up.

"Ma, you really need a shower, you stink." Henry pulled away from his mother and wafted the air in front of his nose.

His mother laughed and looked down to see her clothes were drenched in sweat. "You're right Hen. I won't be long." She gave his head a kiss then grabbed her stuff for a shower.

One long and scalding shower later, Emma walked back into the bedroom feeling a bit more normal. Henry was dancing to the Foo Fighters that he had playing on his tablet. Emma smiled fondly at her son and took his hand to dance along with him.

Dancing was one of his favourite activities since over the past five years. She wished she could have afforded lessons for him but the bounty hunting job was never stable enough to have much extra cash. And what she did have spare she hid away in a secret bank account to be able to finally escape her now ex boyfriend. Plus Killian always thought it was too 'faggy' for a boy to do over the years they were together. Emma swore to herself that once they were somewhere safe and stable, Henry would go to regular dance lessons.

They danced for a few more songs before Henry turned the music off. "Can we explore the town, Ma?" Henry asked with a wide eyed eagerness. Emma hesitated about what she wanted to do, whether to stay for a bit or to keep moving, making sure she was as far as possible from Boston.

However Henry's expression broke her, "Sure we can, Hen. It looks like a nice day, grab your coat and your shoes. Then we can go see if Ruby is still working for any suggestions on where to go."

Henry used his cane to guide him back to the chair where he left his coat and shoes. It was three in the afternoon but they were still full from breakfast.

The diner was busier now than it was when they were last there first thing in the morning. Ruby smiled as she noticed the new people return. "Hi guys, how is the room for you, did you get any sleep?"

"The room is great thanks and I managed to get some sleep luckily."

"The beds are the best and so bouncy." Henry giggled.

Ruby laughed at his description, "Yeah we have just replaced all the beds recently so they are all fresh. Are you guys hungry?"

Emma shook her head, "Hell no, we are still so full, even the human dustbin over there. We were hoping to explore the town and wondering if you had any suggestions?"

"Well to be honest, not much." Ruby chuckled and shrugged at the pair. "But if you guys hang fire a few minutes, I finish my shift so I can show you around if you want?"

"Yes please, Red!" Henry said with an excited yelp, his grin getting even bigger.

Emma smiled as she watched her son get so excited. Ruby didn't give off a bad vibe so she decided to throw caution to the wind and agreed to the tour.

The friendly brunette supplied them all with a free milkshake and started their tour on the main street. She gave a brief overview of all the independent stores they had on offer and a bit about the history of Storybrooke Granny had told her growing up.

After about an hour Ruby walked them to the beach. Henry gasped as he heard that they were at a beach. "Ma! Please can I paddle in the sea. Oh please, please, please!" He begged her.

"Hen, it's going to be freezing." She said with a disbelieving laugh.

"But I've never been to the beach before, oh please Ma!" Henry pleaded to his mum.

"Fine, fine but don't complain to me when your feet fall off from frostbite." She warned and tickled his sides. Henry squealed and wriggled away with a grin. Ruby laughed at the pair, she loved that little boy's positive energy.

"My two best friends and I used to go swimming regularly in there. We would have regular competitions between us about who could last the longest. Even in the summer it isn't that warm most of the time." Ruby explained to the pair with a fond smile on her lips.

Emma shook her head as she grinned, "You and your friends sound crazy. What are they called?"

"Regina and Kathryn. "

"Do they still live here?" Emma asked, noticing the bittersweet smile on her face.

"Yeah they both do." She nodded. "Regina used to always win."

"Well there is no way in hell you are going to see me get in that water." Emma answered with grin on her face.

"We will see, Emma. We will see." Ruby gave her a wink and the eager pair took their shoes and socks off. Ruby asked to take Henry's hand and they made their way to the water. Emma was a few feet away from the shore.

"Aghh! That's cold!" Henry squealed as he tiptoed into the sea, but he was laughing hysterically as he made loud noises while trying to get used to the cold.

"I warned you!" Emma called out as she took her phone out and recorded him. Ruby jumped a few times to splash themselves but didn't let go of his hand.

"Red!" The boy giggled and reached down to splash the water at her.

"Come on Ma, you quickly get used to the temperature." Henry tried to encourage his mum but with no luck.

"Yeah come in Emma." Red suggested with a smirk and signalled her to come over with her finger and a wink.

Emma smirked and shook her head. "Absolutely no way."

Henry gave her an exaggerated pout and the best puppy dog expression. "That's not going to work on me bud, not this time."

The ten year old's face cracked and he started to giggle. Henry gave up on trying to encourage Emma and concentrated on playing with Ruby in the water, never going high then his mid shin.

Twenty minutes was enough for Henry and they made their way back out and onto the sand to make sandcastles with their hands.

Emma took a few photos of Ruby and Henry playing as if they knew each other forever. She felt a tug in her heart and in that moment she decided they would stay at least a few more days and see where this took them.