Regina was already driving towards the town when she realised she had no idea where Emma actually was. She knew the blonde well, but Regina had never seen Emma upset quite like this.
Regina parked her Mercedes to the side of the road, before un-buckling the seat belt. She didn't get out of the car however, but she leaned fully against her seat and closed her eyes. She needed to figure this out, she needed to find Emma.
Regina knew the blonde would not go to her own apartment since that would be just too obvious. Emma had found a nice apartment close to Main Street after things calmed down in town. It was close to everyone Emma held dear, but also spacey enough to accommodate both Emma and Henry, when it was Emma's week with him.
She wouldn't go into the loft either, because even after all this time, Snow and Charming could be... pushy, insensitive and especially if Emma was upset, rather smothering as well.
Regina ruled out most of Emma's favorite places, because all of them contained people. And since the savior was upset, she would want to be alone.
Regina sighed. There was a lot of places to be alone in Storybrooke. She had no idea which one Emma would pick to be her hiding place.
Regina glanced at her phone that she had thrown on the passenger seat on her haste to leave. She could call Emma, she could make this easier for both of them. Emma's pained face flashed in her mind and she closed her eyes to stop the ache in her heart. Maybe calling was not the best idea.
She couldn't just do nothing to reach Emma, so she send her a text before she started to second guess herself. She started the car and drove towards the town. Better to double check all the places anyway.
Emma, I want to talk to you. Please come home.
Emma could feel another sob making it's way out of her chest. She had long since stopped preventing them, and now the noises of her pain echoed inside her yellow bug.
Emma let out a last quiet howl before leaning her forehead tightly against the steering wheel. Her head was hurting from all the crying, but she also felt lighter, like a huge weight had been lifted off her shoulders.
She had been alone quite a while now, and that had given her time to think. Maybe she had overreacted this morning. She knew Regina, and this must have been equally hard for her too.
Emma was ashamed of running away. At the time it had felt like it was her only choose to keep from getting hurt. But now she realised that this had hurt them both far worse than any talk could've.
She needed to go to Regina and to make this right. She had already caused enough damage as it was.
Emma lifted her head from the steering wheel and started the car. She put in a gear and her yellow bug shot off and onto the road. Emma had managed to drive quite a far away into the woods, but with her speed she was back in town in no time.
That was when she nearly hit a traffic sign when her phone started ringing. It was the ringtone that belonged to her son. Their son.
Emma picked up the phone expertly while still driving and answered happily, always warmed when her their son called her.
"Hey kid."
"What did you do?" Henry's accusing voice could be heard through the phone.
"Henry? What are you talking about?" Emma was confused.
"You hurt my mom." Henry's voice was colder than it had been in years.
Emma could feel fresh tears burn behind her eyes as she parked the car in the side of the toad. Regina had spoken with Henry, and she had been upset.
"You spoke with Regina?" Emma asked quietly.
"Mom called me. She has no idea where you are. You ran away and left her. Emma, you know how that scares her!" Henry was fuming.
"Henry, I..." Emma didn't know what to say.
"Get your ass back home and fix it. I will not let you ruin this Ma. You told me you loved her, so go and do something about it!" Henry said coldly before hanging up.
Emma sat in her car, still holding a phone to her ear. She had lost count how many times her heart had cracked and nearly broken during this one day, but this was yet another harsh blow at the fragile organ inside her chest.
Henry was right, like most times. She had to go and fix this. With new determination she put the car on drive and drove towards Mifflin Street. She parked her car on the driveway to her usual spot.
The journey from the driveway to the front door had never felt this long. Emma ran it as fast as she could and she finally made it to the door.
She didn't hesitate to enter the house and soon she was standing in the middle of pristine foyer, panting out the labored breaths from her running.
"Regina?" she called to the quiet house.
"Well took you long enough." a voice said from somewhere on her left.
Emma whipped around only to see Zelena leaning on the kitchen door frame with a cup of tea in hand.
"Zelena? What are you doing here?" Emma asked confusedly.
"Oh my baby sister called me while sobbing her eyes out on her bedroom floor." Zelena narrowed her eyes at Emma.
Emma averted her eyes and stared hard at the floor. She had fucked up so majorly that it was beginning to be overwhelming.
At Emma's silence Zelena decided to go on.
"She could hardly even breath from all the sobbing."
Zelena had redeemed herself long time ago, but she would not let Emma just waltz back in here without knowing how broken Regina had been. Zelena knew that Emma had gone through her own suffering while being away, but she had to understand this. Zelena would not let Regina get hurt ever again.
"She was sobbing?" Emma asked with tiny voice.
"Yes. She basically flew towards me as soon as I got here." Zelena watched how her every word disarmed Emma more and more.
The blonde was standing before her with her back hunched and blonde hair hiding her face.
"Is she here? I need to talk with her." Emma whispered.
"Yes you sure as hell do, but no, she is not here." Zelena said and came closer to Emma.
She put a hand on her shoulder which made Emma's head shot up. Zelena could see the tears that kept leaking from her eyes and her face softened. These two were such morons that Zelena just wanted to scream.
"Emma, I need you to think this through long and hard. I need you to be sure. I cannot let you hurt my sister, she has been through enough." Zelena searched Emma's face for the truth.
"I love her. I love her so much and I could never hurt her... Not... Not after this. I know I fucked up, I just didn't want her to reject me." Emma whispered and averted her eyes under Zelena's searching gaze.
Zelena threw her head back and laughed. Oh my goodness what morons.
"What? Why are you laughing?" Emma looked on confused and slightly hurt. She had just opened up to the woman and she was laughing at her face.
"I'm laughing because you are such an idiot! Do you really think that woman would reject you? The only crush bigger than yours is the one she has on you! Her heart eyes are blinding sometimes and I just wanna smack her!" Zelena ranted.
Emma looked at her like a lost puppy; her eyes huge and her head slightly tilted. And she looked so hopeful, that it was nearly too painful to even witness.
"Do you really mean that?" Emma asked.
"I do. Now, you better pick up that phone and call her back." Zelena said and turned around to go to the kitchen.
Emma didn't miss a beat as she dialed the number she knew by heart. The phone rang once. Twice. Three times. When it got into six rings Emma ended the call frowning. Regina always answered her phone.
She walked into the kitchen to find Zelena preparing food for her tiny daughter. Emma had to admit that motherhood did fit these two Mills women wonderfully. Having children was the best thing that had ever happened to both Regina and Zelena.
"She's not answering." Emma said.
Zelena turned around with equal frown; Regina always answered her phone. Zelena reached for her own and dialed Regina. She waited til the call went on voice mail and her frown deepened.
Emma could see the worry on Zelena's face and she was sure it was the mirror image of her own face. A horrible feeling of something being wrong hit Emma like a wave and it made her sick to her stomach.
"Maybe she is with Henry." Emma tried to think positive and she called her son.
Henry answered in few rings.
"What Ma?"
"Henry, have you spoken with your mom?" Emma asked hurriedly.
"You know I have." Henry answered, clearly annoyed.
"No, kid, I mean after that? Have you heard anything from her?" Emma was getting desperate for the answer she wanted.
"No. What, why are you asking? Has something happened?" Henry lost all annoyance in his voice when it was filled with sudden worry.
"I don't know. She is not answering her cell, not to me or to Zelena." Emma told him.
Henry knew his mother needed to be alone sometimes, but she would always answer the phone.
"Let me try, I'll call you back." Henry said and hang up before Emma could get a word in.
"Well?" Zelena stopped her pacing long enough to look expectantly at Emma.
"Henry is gonna try." Emma said and held her phone tighter, waiting for Henry to call her back.
It rang again and Emma answered in seconds.
"Ma, she is not answering. What if something has happened? Ma, you have to find her." Henry sounded as he was in a verge of a panic attack.
"Henry, calm down, I'm gonna go find your mom. I promise." Emma promised.
"Please Ma." Henry whispered.
"I will kid. I love you Henry." Emma whispered.
"I love you too." Henry said and ended the call.
Emma turned to look at Zelena who was sitting on the kitchen table, leaning her head against her hands. Emma could see she was clearly upset and sick with worry, and at the moment she could not really blame her.
"I will go and find her." Emma said reassuringly even when her own mind was making up horrible scenarios.
"You have to poof to her." Zelena said trying to think fast.
"I don't know how. Regina said it's too dangerous for me to try, since I still have trouble concentrating."
"But you have to! It's the fastest way!" Zelena was losing her patience.
Suddenly the baby monitor on the table bubbled alive as loud cries pierced the air. Zelena rushed to the living room to gather her daughter in her arms. She carried Bella into the kitchen as she settled to feed her the food she just prepared.
"Emma please, you are the savior, you can do it." Zelena pleaded, clearly getting desperate.
Emma looked around, feeling so lost. She had not done it before, and Regina had told her all the ways this could go wrong.
She also knew that if something had happened and she couldn't get to Regina in time... She was not ready to lose her, not when things had just started to work out properly for them.
Emma nodded and at the same time her phone started to ring. What nearly stopped Emma's heart was the ringtone. She had chosen this one specifically for Regina, and whenever the older woman called her it made her smile. Frank Sinatra's Witchcraft filled the kitchen as both women stared at the phone dumbfounded.
Emma reacted first. She wiped at her iPhone screen so furiously that she nearly declined the call. Somehow she managed to answer it.
"Regina?! Oh thank god! Where are you?" Emma asked relieved.
"Emma." a tired whisper answered.
The breathlessness of Regina's voice made all the alarm bells go off in Emma's head. "Gina? Are you okay? Where are you?"
"It hurts... So much..." Regina whispered and that caused Emma to panic.
"Regina! What happened?! Where are you?!"
"Please... Emma..."
"No no no no! I'm coming to get you, just hang in there and don't you dare hang up the phone." Emma was nearly crying into the phone.
"Bossy..."
Emma let out a watery laugh as she tried to keep her feelings under control.
"I'm on my way, I will find you. I love you."
With that Emma closed her eyes and concentrated more than she had ever in her life. She thought of Regina with her wavy hair, those big chocolate eyes and scar on the upper lip. She thought of the way Regina's face lit up every time someone complimented her cooking, how she wore fluffy red socks while at home and how she listened ABBA while she cleaned her house.
She knew she had done it correctly when she felt her heart suddenly get impossibly warm.
She would be Regina's savior.