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Ch. 4 – Goodbyes
Regina walked from the kitchen into the foyer and called up the stairs, "Henry, would you come down please?"
She turned and slowly paced across the hardwood, a hand on her chin in contemplation.
Emma would be here soon to say goodbye to Henry, not for the last time but her and the blonde hadn't worked out visiting times yet. Emma seemed adamant about leaving as soon as possible; they could always work out when she would see Henry over the phone.
Soon enough she heard his little feed thundering down the stairs, she had the scolding remark about him not running in the house on the tip of her tongue but bit it back, thinking now was not the time to put him in a bad mood. That would happen soon enough.
"What's up mom?"
Regina turned and looked at her son with a sad smile on her face, lately he had more often taken to calling her 'mom' and she would never get tired of it. Too much time had passed when he wouldn't even acknowledge her presence.
She kneeled down and placed her hands on his arms, "Miss Swan is coming over."
"Really?" His face lit up like a Christmas tree at the mention of his other mother. For some reason Regina found that it didn't bother her as much as it used to.
"Yes, she'll be here soon." Regina looked down and took a deep breath, she knew no matter what she told her son, he would be upset that Emma was leaving. "Henry, she has something to tell you, but I don't want you to be upset okay?"
The young boy looked at her curiously, his mom actually looked almost, well, sad.
"Why would I be upset, did something happen?"
"No- no, nothing happened, but Henry –"
A knock interrupted Regina as Henry turned from her hold to open the door.
"Emma!"
"Hey kid." Emma greeted, stepping through the door.
"Mom said you have something to tell me." His smile was still wide as if expecting good news.
Emma turned her head to look at Regina, but the brunette had drifted to the back of the room, her attempt to give them some space.
Looking back down, Emma knelt to her knees, "Yes Henry, there is something I need to tell you. I–" Emma faltered, closing her eyes against the tears she felt starting to build. She had to keep it together, she couldn't let Henry know how upset she was even if she knew she would see him again, she just didn't know when.
This had to be a clean break, no tears, she would see him again. That is, as long as Regina kept her word.
She tried again, "Henry, I'm leaving."
Almost immediately his face fell.
"Leaving where?"
God, why was this so hard?
"I'm leaving town Henry, this just, it isn't working for me. But please don't think it has anything to do with you, I will still see you, I promise."
"But Emma…"
"No listen, your mom has agreed that I can still see you, I can come and visit and everything will be fine."
But clearly in Henry's mind, Emma noted, everything wasn't fine. He had started to shake.
"No, Emma, you can't leave, you can't!" He gripped her hands trying to emphasize his words.
The blonde put on her best smile, "Kid, it'll be fine, trust me. We can still go for ice cream, get burgers, and you can tell me all about school. You won't even miss me."
Panic seemed to overtake Henry as his words got louder and higher pitched.
"Emma, listen, you can't leave! What about the curse? You still have to break it, you're the Savior!"
"Kid…" Emma trailed off as she looked up to Regina once again, to see the brunette was now watching them. Her hands were clasped in front of her and she was standing completely still but Emma would swear she could see unshed tears in the mayor's eyes.
Opening her mouth to speak Emma turned back to her son, squeezing his hands tighter, pleading with him, "Henry, come on, there is no curse. That book is simply that; a book. Filled with made up stories, I thought you were getting over this." She hated lying to him, but it had to be done.
Ripping his hands from her grasp he took a step back, "Don't do this Emma, don't run."
She had been trying to take his hands back in her own but stopped at his words. Her face went blank, "What?"
"I said don't run. Stop running."
"I, I…" she stuttered, having a hard time getting any real words out.
"You told me you were always running, never staying in one place for too long, but you also told me you liked it here! You told me as crazy as this town is, you felt like you belonged here. So stop running, maybe you were looking for me all along and you just didn't know it, but you finally found me!"
At that he paused, "Well actually, I found you…" then shaking his head his face went back to being serious, "But it doesn't matter because we have each other now, I don't know why you want to leave, but it doesn't matter, all you need is here. I'm here, and the other people you've been searching for your whole life are here; Mary Margaret and David. They're your parents, they just don't know it yet, that's why you have to stay and break the curse!"
As hard as she had tried, Emma couldn't stop the one lone tear that slid down her cheek. She was so close to breaking, so close to giving up the façade that this was all a lie and she wanted more than anything to stay with him and tell him he had been right. Once again she looked over to Regina, why, she didn't know. For support, for guidance, for permission?
But Regina stayed silent and just ever so slightly shook her head.
She spoke no words, but Emma understood loud and clear. Regina had done terrible things, the Evil Queen had done unspeakable things back in the old world and the mayor had committed some terrible acts in this one. Emma understood that with this curse, it had been Regina who had ripped her away from a childhood with a loving family, it was her fault she had grown up in the system, her fault that she had to go through so much hell, praying her parents would come to find her.
But without the curse, Emma never would have had Henry and she wouldn't trade him for anything in the world.
"I'm sorry Henry." She quickly wiped at the tear and pulled him to her, hugging him as tight as she could, "I'm so sorry. Be good, I will see you soon."
With that she stood up and walked to the door. She opened it and even as her brain screamed at her to not look back she did anyway, but instead of looking at her son, her eyes had traveled to his step-mother. Regina had moved from her spot and was closer than before. Maybe she had moved to be closer to Henry, to try to console him after she left, or maybe she had moved forward to be nearer to Emma herself, she seemed to be reaching out as if not wanting her to go, but it was a wistful thought that the soon to be ex-sheriff quickly dismissed.
Her feelings had grown from cold, to cool, to warm towards the brunette the past couple months and she suddenly realized she would miss seeing the woman almost as much as Henry. It was a shock to her to recognize how much she had come to enjoy the woman's presence; she would actually look forward to seeing her and had found herself thrilled when they shared a hobby. She honestly had no idea how the mayor felt towards her, but it didn't matter, her realization made it just that much harder to leave not only Henry, but two people who had become important to her.
With a fleeting smile, she looked into those deep brown eyes, and whispered a simple, "Goodbye."
She would miss those eyes.
XxXxX
It was silent in the mansion as the two people left in it didn't speak. Regina honestly didn't know what to say, she could tell Henry was very upset, he hadn't looked away from the door and though she would never admit it, her own emotions were all over the place as well.
After a few more moments, she couldn't take it, "Henry?"
He didn't respond. His hands were balled into fists and he wouldn't take his eyes off the door as if willing for Emma to walk back in saying this was all a big joke.
She tried again, "Henry, dear?"
Regina walked over to her son and put a hand on his shoulder but as soon as she made contact he shrugged her off and stepped back.
"Leave me alone."
His words cut through her like a knife. She reached out again, desperately wanting to comfort him.
"I said leave me alone!" He shouted, turning to glare at her.
She recoiled slightly but held firm, "Henry, I know you're upset."
"This is your fault!" He shouted again, tears leaking from his eyes, "I thought you had changed, what did you do, why did Emma really leave?"
Regina's own tears were starting to make an appearance but she forced them back, "Henry, please…"
Henry took a few deep breaths; he was trying so hard to not act like a little kid throwing some tantrum. He knew acting like a child would not help his case against being treated like one. But his emotions were going haywire; he didn't understand why Emma left. No one would ever tell him anything, he knew he was still young, still a kid, but they didn't need to treat him like an infant, especially not his moms.
Lowering his voice, he spoke again, "I know you had something to do with this, so what happened, Mom?"
"Henry, Miss Swan made decision to leave town because she wanted to."
"No," Henry shook his head, "I don't believe you. Maybe she chose to leave, but not because she wanted to, something happened. I know she was happy here, she wouldn't just leave town without a good reason," he trailed off then added, "she wouldn't just leave me."
Regina knelt down to his eye level hoping he wouldn't withdraw from her again, "You'll see her again, this isn't goodbye forever Henry, I agreed that she could still see you."
"That's not the point!" His attempt to be calm was wearing thin. "You were happy too, you know."
Regina blinked and furrowed her brow, confused. "What do you mean?"
"You might not want to admit it, but I could tell you were happier, happier than I've seen you in a long time. Emma changed that. She's the Savior of everyone, maybe especially you."
The brunette almost laughed, "Henry just because Miss Swan and I share a hobby does not mean that –"
Henry just shook his head again, "I know I'm a kid but I'm not blind, ever since we all started riding and hanging out more, we were like a family. As soon as we would meet up with Emma, you both changed. You guys would smile more, talk more, and fight less. You were happy."
The mayor was flabbergasted, was what Henry said really true? Had she been unhappy for so long that when she finally found some joy in her life she couldn't even recognize it? More importantly, could Emma Swan really be the cause of that happiness? She found the thought ridiculous, but looking back, thinking of the times she spent with Emma and her son over the past few months, maybe the idea wasn't so hard to believe. She had never been good with emotions and feelings, always staying closed off to better protect herself but besides Henry, Emma seemed to be the only person who could crack her defenses and slip past her walls.
When Regina cleared her head and focused back on her son, he was already racing up the stairs to his room. She closed her eyes and let the hot tears fall down her cheeks. She hardly ever cried, yet it seemed like today that is all she had been doing.
Just as she was getting to her feet to head to her study for a drink she heard Henry's feet thundering down the stairs again. She turned and looked at him to find he had his shoes and coat on and was holding his Fairytale book in both arms.
"I have to give this to Emma before she leaves."
"What?" God, her brain really wasn't working today, it was very unbecoming.
Henry gave her an exasperated look, "We have to catch her before she crosses the town line. If she's leaving Storybrooke, I want her to keep this so she won't forget who she really is."
Regina sighed, running a hand through her hair, she really just wanted a drink, "Henry, she was leaving as soon as she said goodbye to you, we won't be able to catch up to her."
"Drive fast."
"Henry…"
"Please Mom, I have to give this to her, please."
After a brief internal battle, the mayor grumbled, roughly wiped the tears from her face and stalked over to the closet. She put on her coat and grabbed her keys as Henry was already flying out the door to her car.