CHAPTER 5
Henry and Emma did a final sweep of the mansion. Henry was sure that they'd gotten everything in perfect order.
When they walked into Regina's hospital room she saw Archie sitting beside Regina's bed. Emma began to get angry. She took Henry to therapy with him because he desperately needed it. But she hadn't been able to stand looking at him since his return from the dead. As far as she was concerned, Archie was at the center of all that had gone wrong in her life.
Emma came to blinking and cursing at the sunlight flooding her eyes. She looked around and began cursing some more. She was still parked outside of Regina's. She had apparently fallen asleep in her car after spending the night crying.
She remembered running to her car and then sitting there stunned over what had just happened. She had raped Regina. All she could hear were Regina's sobs echoing around in her head. She stared down at her hands hating herself and them. There was some blood on her fingers. She was horrified. She anxiously searched around the littered car and found some napkins from Granny's. She used the napkins and some bottled water to clean them as best she could. She tossed the filthy napkins out the window not caring about the litter. She just knew she had to get out of there.
She put the car in drive and took off for home. When she got there everyone was still in bed. Which was great for her. She was able to sneak in and jump into the shower. By the time she got out, everyone was getting up.
Henry ran to her and wrapped his arms around her. Today was Archie's funeral. They had to leave in the next hour or so to get there. She at first reveled in his embrace. Then she put him away from her. She didn't deserve to feel comfort after what she'd just done.
She escaped upstairs so that she wouldn't have to deal with any of her family. She felt a weird numbness on the inside. She got dressed and lay down on the bed until her parents called upstairs that it was time to go.
She endured the funeral. But the tears she'd cried weren't for Archie. They were for Regina and the situation they were in the midst of.
Marco had been Archie's best friend. Before the funeral, he had let the Charming's know that he felt that Henry should have Pongo. The family stood around to greet and commiserate with the guests for a while. Then the small family went home. Snow had prepared a small quick meal even though no one was up for eating when there was a knock on the door.
Pongo's head instantly went up. Emma jumped up to answer it thrilled for the break. Her parents and Henry had only been going on and on about what they should do about Regina. She was sickened having to listen to them. She wanted to yell at them all but knew it would do no good.
When she opened the door and saw a breathless panicked Archie, her first response was to reach out and choke him. Thankfully her parents and Henry rushed to the door to find out how this could be. Henry being Henry, his first response was that he was sure that Regina was playing an elaborate trick on them.
It was the first time Emma took a long look at her son and hated what she saw. She realized that he had been doing that practically since she'd known him. For him, Regina was only the Evil Queen. The sad part about her Evil Queen days being over long before she had ever even met him was not lost on Emma.
Archie came inside and explained Cora's kidnapping him to them all. Emma listened in stunned silence. She should've felt relief but she didn't. All she felt was that same anger flaring up in her again. She wanted to reach out and strangle Archie herself. So when Henry made his next Henry comment about Regina she turned on him and unleashed.
"Stop talking about your Mother like that! What is wrong with you?! Haven't you been wrong enough lately or do you still need more?!"
The room sat in stunned silence. Henry looked as if he'd been slapped and Emma found she could care less. She had never talked to him like that before. She'd never even disciplined him before. But she was tired of his behavior and mouthing off about the woman who'd taken care of him his entire life.
"Emma! What's gotten into you?" Snow was completely aghast.
Emma jumped up angrier than before. "What's gotten into me? What's gotten into him? He just found out that he was a total jerk to his own Mother for no reason and his response is he's sure she did something to deserve it. This is how we're raising him to act?" She threw him a disgusted look which he shrunk away from. She turned and stomped out of the room.
Archie pushed his glasses upon his nose higher in his nervousness. Pongo barked. David and Snow stared slack jawed.
They didn't speak of the incident after that. They all had more important things to move onto. And Emma hadn't been sorry in the least. It wasn't these people that she owed the apology to.