"Really?" said an elated Henry. Esme looked at him with a mixture of sympathy and worry in her eyes; the nurse shouldn't have told him that, she thought.

"What? But you already tried that today and it didn't work." Esme said, running after the nurse who was walking swiftly around the hospital grabbing things Esme didn't recognise. She was concerned about the time escalation - usually the doctors tried once a week, so why twice in one day- and the nurses lack of reply didn't ease the pit in her stomach. As the nurse continued to ignore Esme's quizzical glares, Esme turned to look at Henry and Roland. They were peering through the window into the room their mom and dad shared, probably hoping they would wake up and everything would go back to normal. But would it? This was one of the many things that kept Esme awake on that lumpy couch; even when Regina and Robin did wake up, would they be the same? She didn't know for sure, but she had guessed that all of that pain that engulfed them was the arrival of a huge amount of emotion all at once; anger at losing their child, confusion because they didn't know how or why, guilt because a mere spell had made them forget the love that they had for each other and their child and other things Esme couldn't even fathom. All of that would have been hard to handle gradually through the years, let alone in mere seconds. Would they remember her? Would they even want to know her now? After-all, she wasn't a cute little kid anymore and they already had two great kids-

"Sissy?" Roland said, tugging on her coat; she had been daydreaming. Henry came walking over to her with a confused look on his face, but he seemed to be reassured when she smiled at him. Esme looked around and noticed it had now gone relatively quite in Robin and Regina's room; there were now only a handful of people. Esme looked at the clock and decided that she and her brothers had been without answers for long enough. She kissed Roland on the head, placed her arm around Henry and told them both to wait at the chairs in the waiting area of the reception. When she saw that they obeyed, she walked to the door of Robin and Regina's room and paused for a second. There didn't seem to be any change in either Robin or Regina, but their faces were obscured with the people crowded around them, so she couldn't be sure that they weren't already awake. She took a deep breath and entered the room.

"Hey! Hey!" said a very angry doctor; Esme's entrance had apparently disrupted his note taking.

"Can one of you please tell me exactly what is going on with them?"

"As i am sure the nurse has made you aware, we are not su-"

"She said they were waking up! Why are you waking them up again?"

"We aren't. They are showing signs of waking up on their own accord," the doctor said in an irritatingly calm and patronising tone.

"Their own accord? I thought their coma's were medically induced? They can't just fight the medicine?"

"You'd do well to put nothing past Regina Mills, Miss Esmerelda," joked the doctor.

"And Robin Hood?" She wasn't amused at the doctor's ill-timed humour.

"Following the previous failed attempts, we used weaker doses of the medicine each time we put them under. This morning, i decided a sedative would be used to ease the pain in their head, without hindering their waking up; it worked. As you have been made aware, they are showing signs of waking up and i'm sure they will make a full recovery."

"Showing signs?"

"Hand movements, groans and such." Prior to this, Esme respected the fact that he told her things as they were; in the six weeks prior to this, although sometimes harsh, he always told her the truth. However now, he seemed to be flippant and this agitated her.

"Can the boys see them now?"

"I see no reason that they couldn't," he said while looking at another chart and giving Esme the distinct impression that her questions were bothering him.

Esme paused to think about the effect this could have on the boys but she knew that she had to tell them something; they were peering in the window. She left the room and decided to tell them both the truth; honesty was the best policy and all that. She walked out to them and was greeted by two very hopeful faces.

"Is it true? Have they woken up?" Henry said. Esme knew it was inappropriate but she did giggle a little into herself when she saw he had his arm protectively around Roland's shoulder.

"Ummm, sort of. They haven't fully woken up right now, buddies, but the doctors said that they think they will soon." This seemed to appease them but they still looked at her, expecting something more.

"Soooo.. Can we see them?" Henry asked. He saw the worry in Esme's face, and he completely understood why, but he was desperate to see his mom. For weeks he had only been able to see her through that glass window and occasionally hold her hand; but he missed her voice, the way she stroked his head, the way her hugs felt.

"Please," he said, imploring her to say yes with his best, sad eyes.

"Umm, okay. But-" Esme should probably have led with 'when i say we leave, we leave' because the second she said 'okay' the boys ran straight into the room. Esme walked after them and was greeted by the hospital room that had become oh so familiar. It was a rectangular room, surrounded by windows. Robin and Regina's beds were in the centre of the small room, and were merely separated by a shared bedside cabinet, which, for some reason, made Esme feel better about leaving them here each day; she knew that she wasn't leaving them alone. She entered the room just in time as Roland was jumping all over his father.

"Roland! Roland! No sweetie, you can't do that here," Esme said as calmly as possible, lifting him off the bed and placing him in the chair beside it.

"But why? They said daddy was getting better." The genuine confusion in his little face made Esme laugh but broke her heart at the same time; this was a lot to take in for a kid, maybe she shouldn't have let them come .

"He is but he still isn't back to normal yet, thats all," Henry explained after Esme stayed silent. Esme looked over at Henry and mouthed 'thank you'. She was still thinking of what to say and how best to explain everything when Henry said this and it was all Roland needed; Henry was taking to this big brother business like a duck to water. But clearly his favourite role was the doting son and this, he never failed at. Esme knew that if Regina was going to wake up for anyone, it would be Henry and she hoped that this meeting would give them both what they need; Regina needed Henry, and would tell you so herself, but Henry needed his mom. Esme had been staring at Henry holding his mother's hand so gently for a moment or two but broke her focus from Regina and Henry when Roland started tugging at some of the tubes connected to Robin.

"No Roland! Daddy needs those," Esme explained.

"What do this one do?" was the popular question for around an hour. Roland pointed at various different tubes, needles, monitors and buttons and Esme tried to explain what they did and when she didn't know, she made it up. This kept him occupied for around an hour but he soon grew tired of the game and was frustrated that his father wasn't playing with him so asked to go get food, then to go get water, then to go home and watch a film; ultimately he wanted to leave the hospital and Esme couldn't blame him, it wasn't exactly a fun place for a 6 year old. But Roland leaving was never going to be the problem, and Esme knew it. The minute Roland began to complain, Henry cradled his mothers hand in both of his and made sure Esme knew he wasn't leaving.

"Okay kiddo, you sit there okay. No more playing with Daddy's machines," Esme said and placed Roland back into the chair he had already climbed out of 50 times. She slowly waked over to Henry and wrapped her arms around his neck, hugging him from the back so that he could remain looking at his mother.

"I'm sorry kiddo but we have to go. It's nearly Roland's bedtime and-"

"So you go, Ez. I'm staying."

"Wh- Henry i'm not leaving you here. I promise we will come back first thing tomorrow before scho-" Emse said, straightening up and trying to look as nice but stern as possible.

"And what if she wakes up tonight?"

This was a question Esme had no legitimate reply for.

"She's not waking up alone, Esme. We don't know what she remembers or how she'll be feeling and i'm not leaving her to deal with all of that alone." He was resolute and if there was one thing Esme had learned about her brother, it was that once he had made his mind up, very little would change it; this was ironic because although they weren't actually related, not by blood, this was definitely a trait they both shared. Esme looked at the young man in front of her and was astounded, yet again, at his selflessness; at a time where most teenagers wanted to be playing games or chasing girls, Henry wanted to be by his mothers side, on the off chance that she would wake up and need him. Esme put her arm around his shoulder and tried to reassure him.

"I'll tell you what. Why don't i get Will to baby- look after you two tonight, and i'll come back and stay with them both?" She knew how much Henry hated the word 'babysit' - it was often greeted with the typical response of 'i'm not a baby' - and so tried to correct her mistake before he noticed. She wasn't sure it had worked, however, as it took him longer than expected to answer but Esme was relieved when he finally agreed.

"But only if i can come here first thing tomorrow morning."

"Deal." Esme replied and hugged him as he stood up, hoping she could ease his pain, at least a little.

"Alright little knight," Esme said as she crouched down beside Roland who was beginning to doze in the armchair. He didn't respond, he merely put his arms up for Esme to carry him and that was that. Or at least it should have been.

"Re-Re-Re".

"Did you hear that?" Esme asked Henry, just as they were about to open the door. It sounded like a very faint, very silent cough.

"Yeah. Was it you?" He said, turning around to see that both Regina and Robin were still; they were.

"No, you?" She had also turned around and now stood perfectly still while grabbing Henry's arm, encouraging him to do the same.

"Re-gi-"

"It's Robin!" Esme said as quietly as possible so that she didn't alarm Roland. She couldn't quite make out what he was saying, but she could see that his brow was furrowed and his mouth did move, albeit slightly.

"Squirt, get the doctor?"

Henry immediately left and Esme placed Roland, who was sleepy, in the chair with her coat as a pillow. She immediately walked over to him and held his hand, unsure of what else to do but try and comfort him. He felt her touch and very slowly rolled his head slightly to look at her, and when their eyes met, Esme saw a tear gently roll down his cheek.