A/N: So here's the next installment :D Thank you so much for all of the follows/favourites! It's always so appreciated.
I still don't own anything, despite all of my wishes to the contrary... *sigh* That's why this chapter. Because these two.

This, I Find In You

Chapter 2: An Escape

"And what do you want for this… 'peace offering'?"

"I want my daughter. And I want you to keep the Saviour out of my way."

Emma had returned from Manhattan to a town in chaos. Gold's Rolls Royce crawled down Main Street and she gawked at the devastation – power poles were down, windows were boarded up and there was a still smouldering wreck in front of the diner.

A small voice piped up from behind her.

"…Is that my mom's ca-"

It was.

The blonde swallowed hard against the lump in her throat.

"I don't know, Henry." – she glared across at the driver, her voice a low growl – "We were only gone a week. What the hell happened here?"

Gold's only response was an enigmatic smirk as he pulled up out the front of Mary Mar- Snow's apartment.

"I have no idea."

Of course he did.

The bastard.

Twenty minutes later, Emma 'excused' herself from the warmth of the tiny apartment. She patrolled the streets by foot – apparently Regina's Benz wasn't the only burnt-out wreck in town. She cursed against the cold, and pulled the zipper on her jacket a little higher – the hurried conversation she'd shared with Snow replaying in her mind.

Archie's death. The mob. The mansion. The trial by fire.

She shuddered, though that had less to do with the cold and more to do with the fact that the citizens of this sleepy little town had tried to lynch the Evil Queen.

Not the Evil Queen. – She corrected herself – …Just Regina.

She'd uttered a word of thanks to Whoever was listening when her mother had revealed to her that the maddening woman was still alive. Wherever she was. Snow had tried to call her back as she'd pushed her way out the door. Emma scoffed – it wasn't 'safe'?

No shit.

There had been no witty retort forthcoming. Just the urgent drive to find her son's other mother …hence her presence on the wild streets tonight – gun at her hip, flashlight in hand.

Goddammit, Regina - where the hell are you?

Emma rounded the corner, taking the alley by the diner. She was vaguely aware of a swirl of purple smoke behind her, but before she could think a vice-like hand was wrapped around her neck, pressing her against the wall. She blinked – once, twice – taking in the woman standing before her… the mayoral façade twisted by rage, the eyes…

God, those eyes…

"R'gina."

The brunette pulled her hand away and stepped in close, snarling in her face.

"You… You said you wouldn't take him away from me. You promised me. You. Lied." – You left me here alone. After all the things that you said – "…I should kill you where you stand."

"God, Regina – just let me explain. Please."

Emma's 'please' wasn't magical, not by any means, but it still managed to stop Regina in her tracks.

Saviours don't explain themselves to Evil Queens.

"…I owed Gold a favour, and he called it in. I had no choice in the matter, and I can hardly be blamed for the fact that Henry thought it'd be a great idea to stow himself away under the back seat. It seems that… 'Persons Unknown' had been planting ideas in his head about a grand quest. We were hours out of town before I even knew he was there, and Gold was not about to turn the car around. I should've called you, and… and I didn't and… and I am sorry. Really. Truly. Deeply. Sorry."

The other woman took a half-step back, searching the green eyes for the slightest hint of guile, the façade cracking at the realisation that there was none to be found. She cleared her throat, apparently flailing to regain her composure – determined not to give in so easily to the blonde menace.

"…And I suppose the fact that you disappear with my son one day, and I'm being accused of murder, torn out of my house by a raging mob the next… is just one big coincidence?"

Emma tilted her chin up, cognizance settling in her gaze.

"You tell me."

Regina swallowed hard, lowering her eyes – not liking one bit the thought that had occurred to the blonde, not liking one bit that it was entirely correct.

"In your absence… my mother came to my rescue. She said she can help me get Henry back."

Emma's blood ran cold.

"Take Henry back? Or win Henry back? Believe me – there's a big difference." – she locked eyes with Regina and stepped back into her personal space – "Do you really think that you can just unleash your mother on Storybrooke, and he'll come out unscathed? It's your plan, but I don't even think you believe it could ever work. Look…" – her voice lowered, softened and the brunette squirmed at the sympathetic tone – "I don't know all the things that your mom did to you. But I'm going to take a wild guess and say that they were things that no one should ever do to a child. Ever. And I'll be damned if I let Henry anywhere near that. I'm not worried about you." – Regina's eyes widened in shock, but Emma smiled and placed a reassuring hand at her elbow – "…For you? Yes. About you? No. I know you wouldn't let Henry get hurt, not like she hurt you. But" – now the green eyes cooled with resolve – "forgive me if I'm not exactly trusting of the woman who tried to rip my heart out."

The brunette gasped.

"She… what?"

"…Tried. To. Rip. My. Heart. Out." – Emma waved the detail aside – "…But that's beside the point right now. I know I can't force your hand, but I am asking you to choose. Choose Henry. Cora's not good for you, and he knows that. He's worried sick about you… He wants you to come home."

Regina steeled herself. It was impossible. It was too good to be true.

"I am home."

Green eyes narrowed – the blonde was by no means convinced.

"Bullshit. I know as well as you do that home is where Henry is."

"But my mother-"

Her mother was waiting for her. Her mother was expecting the blonde's head on a platter. Her mother would mete out punishment for her failure. Her mo-

"…To hell with you mother! Listen to me. I've had foster parents that were one spell book shy of passing for your mother's evil twin. I was able to protect the other kids from them – I'll be able to protect you from her. All you need to do is let me. Come home." – To us – "…To Henry."

Henry.

Her greatest weakness.

The last remnants of façade crumbled and fell away, and she allowed the hope that swelled in her chest to rise, flooding her features.

"…so you'll let me see him?"

The question was a choked whisper, barely audible, but Emma heard it. She grinned in relief, the tension in her chest dissipating.

"Oh, I'll do so much more than just that."

A/N: So, what did you think? Let me know in the reviews! Love to you all!