I don't own these characters; ABC/Disney does. I don't own DC comics, which get a mention here just because I don't want Disney owning everything used in this chapter.

4: A perfect storm

Emma was driving slowly, mostly because of the blinding rain, but also giving Regina a chance to scan for Lady. Thunder and lightning blared around them, but Regina did not move. She seemed to be in shock, staring out into the world that was blocked by sheets of pouring rain. Emma was not sure what to say or even do beyond drive and keep an eye out for a crazy puppy that thought it would be a good idea to dash onto an artic monsoon. She did not want to make things worse.

"This is Lady's favorite toy," Regina suddenly said in a low, subdued tone while holding up a yellow rubber ducky as if it held the answers to the universe. "She likes the squeak. She always comes running when she hears me squeeze it. She probably couldn't hear it over the thunder, right?"

Emma glanced at Regina. She thought the former mayor might be speaking to herself. Regina had the same dead stare that she had when Emma first found her and she spoke in a detached monotone that did not seem to address anyone. She was probably lost in her own head, but in case she was not, Emma decided to answer.

"She probably couldn't hear it or you calling her name. The rain's pretty loud and, like you said, there's the thunder. If we don't see her, we might need to wait until after the storm to find her," Emma replied.

Regina sniffled, tears shamelessly falling from her eyes. "After the storm?" her voice cracked as she said that. It was as if that was the worst thing she had ever heard.

"She'll be fine, Regina. We'll find her," Emma promised in a strong tone. She doubted that Regina believed her because the former mayor sat quietly again. Why the hell is this so goddamn heart breaking? I mean, this is Regina for crying out loud! Apparently, that did not mean anything, though.

The silence made Emma nervous. She was scared to take Regina back home and leave her alone. She was not sure what Regina would do, but she doubted that it would be good.

"Regina, I'm going to take you home, so you can dry off. I'll keep looking for Lady," Emma proposed.

Regina said nothing. She sat perfectly still for the entire ride and looked dead ahead, hardly blinking. When they pulled up to her house, it was clear that Regina needed help out because she just sat there, rod straight. Emma slipped out and got another taste of dense, piercing rain. She opened Regina's door and gently pried the older woman out. Regina paused as she stood upright and gazed up the street, as if she was expecting salvation to arrive. After a few seconds, when nothing happened beyond the rain, Regina moved on her own.

The former mayor walked with none of the elegance that she was known for, basically staggering to her door like a drunkard. Emma would not have been surprised if Regina fell on her face. She was right behind the former mayor as she entered her home, just in case she needed to catch Regina. Henry was on them within a few seconds.

"Mom!" Henry declared, but Regina moved past him as if she did not even see him, like he did not exist. Henry turned, moving with her. "Mom?" He sounded puzzled, and just a little heartbroken that she had gone right by him. He regarded her with sorrowful eyes and a slight frown.

Regina still did not react. She dropped on the couch as if she had stuck in the back and then curled up into a fetal position, not moving. Emma could hardly believe her eyes. She never thought that she would see the day when Regina ignored Henry. She ended up going over to the kid, putting a hand on his shoulder. She gave him a gentle rub, if only to rid him of doleful expression.

"Hey, go wait in the car. I have to talk to your mom for a second," Emma told him in as delicate a tone as she could manage.

"What's wrong with her?" Henry asked. Beyond the fact that she had ignored him, Emma was certain that Regina's sloppy, unkempt, and practically sheet-white appearance had to be alarming for the boy. Regina looked like a drenched corpse.

"She's just sad. She'll be fine," Emma vowed. Well, she hoped that Regina would be fine, but she was not going to hold her breath. She needed to do something for Regina or she knew that this would not be a story that ended with "lived happily ever after."

"Can I do something?" Henry requested almost tearfully, his eyes drifting back and forth between his mothers.

"Yeah, you can go wait in the car," Emma basically ordered.

The boy pouted, but did as he was told. Emma took a deep breath before she ventured into the living room. She stared at Regina for a moment, not sure what to do with the former mayor. Regina seemed like she was a million miles away, staring off into space and not moving an inch. It was difficult to tell if she was even breathing.

"Regina, you should get out of those clothes," Emma suggested since the smaller woman was completely soaked through and through.

Regina did not reply. The sheriff eyed Regina and then marched off into the house, looking for the linen closet. She figured that she could at least cover Regina with a blanket. She knew that things were bad because Regina was not yelling at her for roaming the house or even dripping on her floor. Regina had mentally checked out.

"I hope you don't mind this blanket getting wet," Emma said as she returned to the room with a thick comforter in her grip. She draped it over Regina, making sure to cover every inch of her small, thin body. "It's not the end of the world, Regina. I bet Lady comes back soon. I mean, no one wants to be out in this rain, right?" she forced out a laugh and was sure it sounded as awkward to Regina as it did to her.

Regina did not even move, did not blink. It was like she did not hear a word the sheriff said or even felt the blanket that was on her. Emma swallowed hard and bit the corner of her bottom lip for a second. She needed to do something, but she was not sure how the hell to talk anyone down, but especially Regina. How the hell do you make someone who was already broken to begin with not think the world is coming to an end around her when it damn sure looks that way?

"Regina, don't do anything crazy, you know? I'm not saying Lady's just a dog or anything, but you do have a son that needs you," Emma stated. She had to remind Regina that she had something to live for.

That got a reaction. Regina scoffed. "Needs me? He has you, his perfect family. He doesn't need me. He hates me." Her voice was low and grumbled, as if she had stones in her throat.

"He doesn't hate you," the blonde argued.

A dark laugh came from underneath the heavy cover. "Doesn't hate me? He purposely left the door open to allow the only thing in any world that loves me to leave. I'm fairly certain he hates me. Pure, unabashed hatred." She sounded so convinced, like she truly believed what she was saying.

"You don't mean that. You know Henry would never so something so cruel!" Emma objected. He's a good kid! A great kid, who is just confused from living in a goddamn crazy, fantasy world.

There was that laugh again. It cut through Emma like a freezing knife, chilling her to her core, and filling her with shards of dread. If Regina really did mean that, it was worse than Emma thought.

"He thought I put a spell on Lady, accused me of using her to hurt you, and basically said that I stole her. I'm sure he didn't think he was being cruel to Lady. He was saving her from me. He was being a hero," Regina replied.

Emma frowned. Damn, that makes so much sense it could be true. The thought made her stomach flip and Emma hoped that was not the case. Not only did it mean that he was trying to mimic her and her parents and doing a fairly rotten job if it, but also, he could actually be the last act that ended Regina.

Henry, despite how much distance he was trying to put between him and his adoptive mother, she was still his mother and had been his mother for ten years. If he purposely hurt her, even if he thought that he was saving a puppy, Emma knew that it would eventually catch up to him and plague him for the rest of his life, especially if this went extremely sideways. And, damn, did it have the huge potential to go sideways if Regina's crumbled form meant anything. Emma had to resist the urge to pace and just beg Regina to stay.

"Regina, I doubt he did it on purpose and Lady's gonna come back. This is her home," Emma pointed out gently.

"So? Henry never came back," Regina countered.

Emma shook briefly, caught off guard by that response. "Regina, you're…" Shit, say something! Something positive!

"The Evil Queen, I know. You can go now, Miss Swan." Her voice was dismissive, but final.

Dammit, you blew it, Swan! Emma decided to allow herself to be dismissed, even though the lifeless voice the order was given was a bit disconcerting. She did not want to chance saying something wrong. Instead, she would try to give Regina some hope and, with luck, that would sustain the former mayor.

"I'll keep looking for Lady," Emma vowed before leaving. She hoped that Regina would be all right for the rest of the day. She also hoped that Lady really did find her way back.

Emma got in the car and just sat there for a second. She stared straight ahead, trying to figure out how she should approach Henry on what happened. He eyed her, worry lines forming under his eyes, waiting for her to say something. He spoke up first, though, not that it surprised her.

"Is Mom okay?" he blurted out, reaching out, as if he was going to grab her, but he stopped midway and made a fist instead.

It seemed that he was getting frustrated with whatever was going on today and did not know what to do with himself. She imagined it was eating him alive just to not know what was going on. Henry was all about making sense of his world and figuring out where everything went. Today, stuff did not seem to be fitting into the holes he assigned them. With any luck, they could sort that out, so he did not come out any worse for wear.

"At the moment, no, not really. Henry, I need you to be honest with me. Did you let Lady out on purpose?" Emma inquired with a completely straight face. She was not sure what she was going to do if he confirmed that, but she would figure out her next move after he answered.

"What? No!" he shouted, his eyes wide with shock that she would dare suggest such a thing. She studied him briefly and his mouth dropped open. "Are you trying to use your super power on me? I'm not lying!" he proclaimed, putting his hand to his chest.

"Okay, I believe you, kid," Emma said as she started the car.

He clutched her arm and had a desperate look on his face. "Does Mom think I did it on purpose? Is that what she said?" His grip was much stronger than she expected.

Emma patted his hand to comfort him. It was more something that she suspected a mother would do than something that she normally did. It helped and he relaxed somewhat, but he did not let go of her. She took a moment to consider how she should put things to him to keep him informed, but to make sure she did not worry him more.

"Your mom is very upset right now. I think you might need to apologize to her, but not right now. She needs to some time." Regina probably did not want to see Henry right now and it was best to spare them both the heartache that would come along with having him apologize too soon. "But, you need to remember that your mom loves you, even if she's upset," she added, just in case he had doubts like Regina seemed to.

"Does she really think I let her dog out on purpose?" His voice cracked as he asked the question.

"Well, she said you accused her of some pretty bad things before you opened the door."

"But, I thought she might be up to something! I mean, she's the Evil Queen and out of the blue she got this puppy! I thought she might be using it to try to hurt you or Grandma! And where did she get the puppy? She might've hurt someone and stole their puppy!" His grip on her forearm tightened again as he clearly tried to convince her of his side of things.

Emma sighed. "Henry, I know this might be hard to understand, but I don't think everything Regina does is evil. I mean, yeah, she's done some messed up stuff, some evil stuff really, but I don't think this was on the list there. Your mom has just been sad for a long time."

"Emma, she tried to cast a spell on me."

"Because she misses you. She's had a lot of things happen to her."

"Well, we had a lot of things happen to us and we haven't gone around hurting people!"

Emma would argue that if only Henry was not ten years old. They had left some emotions and other things in their wake that she did not want to think about. Hell, not too long ago, she watched as the good people of Storybrooke debated over letting a man die to keep their secret and many of them voted death. Beyond that, they, as in her family, had done some damage to Regina, too, and she suspected Henry had done the most, which was why Regina thought he let Lady loose on purpose. She wished that she had not become so reflective, but she found out that these things tended to happen when she was stuck in one place. Thinking about stuff sucks. Thinking about how stuff affects other people sucks even more.

"You're missing the point, Henry. Regina wasn't hurting anybody. She was just staying in her house, taking care of a dog. You shouldn't have gone over there and accused her of anything. She wasn't doing anything."

"You don't know that!" he practically roared, tearing away from her now. His eyes were pleading with her to understand him, but the way that he reared back made him seem utterly furious. And then suddenly, he was glaring at her, as if she were the bad guy, as if he were Regina's son. "You don't know if she was going to hurt someone, hurt you, hurt Grandma! You don't know that!"

Something inside of her snapped at his tone and demeanor. "I do know that! I've been over there enough times and seen her enough to know that woman is beaten down and possibly not getting back up! She's not planning anything beyond what to do about her missing dog!" she shouted back and then realized that was not the best parenting move she had ever made as Henry hid behind his backpack a little. She took a calming breath and slowly exhaled. "Look, kid, I'm just saying we don't have to suspect Regina of doing more than watching Lady."

Henry was quiet for a second, probably not used to having someone actually yell at him. "Has she really been that bad, like beaten?"

Emma sighed again and ran her hands through her hair. "Yeah, kid, she's been pretty bad. She's picking herself up, but it's little by little." Of course, she was probably now back closer to the edge than ever before with her dog missing. What did Regina have beyond her big, dark, cold house now? Emma tried to shake that away because as Regina was losing things, she was gaining things and dealing with it only slightly better than Regina … and that was probably only because she was able to distract herself.

Well, most of the time she could distract herself. She thought about when she went to see Regina before and how Regina thought that she was there to take something else from her. While she refused to believe she took anything from the former mayor, she had not been very inclined to share. After Regina had saved her and Mary Margaret from the well and Regina had requested time with Henry, she probably could have offered up something. Instead, she had acted, well, somewhat like Regina. She usually thought of herself as bigger than Regina, but apparently not.

So, you basically helped walk her right to the ledge, huh? Why not scream "jump" while you're at it? Emma shook that away. She had done what she thought was best for her son. Regina would and could respect that if she stopped to understand it. Would she respect putting her mother's poisoned heart back in her body to save Gold of all people if she stopped to understand it? And, with that thought, Emma decided to mentally go through all of the places that she could check for a missing dog to make sure she did not think about that again.

Henry was quiet for the rest of the trip home and she could only wonder what was running wild through his mind. She let him go up on his own while she decided to drive around to see if she might spot Lady. She was certain that Henry was going to tell her parents as soon as they asked where he was and she was sure that they would cause a fuss about it when she came home. She just could not let it go. She made a promise. So, she hunted for Lady.

"Where the hell could a spoiled puppy go in this weather?" Emma asked herself. Now, if only she had an answer.

She knew driving around was not really going to solve anything, especially with visibility being so poor, but she had to try. Finding a dog was not like finding a wanted criminal, though. She did not even know where to begin. She returned home after almost an hour of aimless driving.

"Emma, where have you been?" Mary Margaret demanded to know the second that she walked through the door.

"Out being an idiot," Emma answered what she thought was obvious. She was soaking wet from her sprint from the car to the building door and freezing thanks to the rain. Wouldn't the motherly thing to do be hand me a blanket or at least a towel? The thought actually made her laugh on the inside. If she had openly laughed, she was certain the short-haired woman would explode.

"You don't owe Regina anything," Mary Margaret pointed out.

"If anything she owes you, us. She stole the life you should have had from you and stole you from us," David chimed in, marching over to present a united front with his wife.

Emma opened her mouth, about to say some things that had already been said and some things that probably needed to be said to keep herself sane and sober. But, she swallowed those words down because she did not want to mess up what she had. So, she took a deep breath. She needed to maintain her composure, even though that went against her very nature. You have a family. You don't wanna blow it like always, so stay calm.

"Look, this has nothing to do with who owes anyone what. This has to do with doing the decent thing. Regina hasn't bothered anyone in over a month. She's done nothing but sit in her house and take care of her dog. For all we know, Lady might have been the only thing in between Regina blowing up the whole town. So, maybe not only is it the decent thing to do, but the smart thing to do," Emma pointed out.

"Do you really think Regina would destroy the town just for a dog?" Mary Margaret sounded incredulous.

"This is Regina we're talking about. She's done worse when a dog wasn't involved," David remarked with a frown.

"That's just it! Lady is not just a dog to Regina and Regina isn't the person you all remember. Lady's probably the only thing that gets Regina out of bed in the morning. You haven't seen her recently, so you don't know how withdrawn, thin, and pale she was before she had Lady in her life for a couple of weeks. She was messed up and I didn't think she'd pull through," Emma stated.

"So, what, now you're saying Regina is suicidal?" David huffed. Mary Margaret actually tensed a little. Emma had to make sure Henry was not around before she responded.

"Probably. The woman only just killed her mother and had her son walk away from her, literally, without looking back. Not to mention, we accused her of the only murder she didn't actually commit," Emma argued. She did not want to bring these things up, but her parents were supposed to be good people, heroes, and heroes did not choose who they helped and who they left rot.

"What about all of the murders she did commit?" Mary Margaret declared.

"I tried to tell you before that's not Regina. That was the Evil Queen and she's not that person anymore. If she was, she'd have razed the town to the ground a while ago, but she hasn't. When she figured out that you tricked her to put a poisoned heart into her mother's body, she'd have probably ripped your head off right there if she was still the Evil Queen." Emma did her best to ignore Mary Margaret's flinch and she powered on. "If she was still the Evil Queen, she'd have done all types of crazy, scary shit, but she hasn't. She's just sat in her house and wasted away and I mean totally wasted. She's a shadow of her former self," the sheriff countered.

"Emma, you don't know her like we do. You'll give her a chance and she'll use it to stab you in the back," Mary Margaret said with a deadly serious look in her eyes. It was a look that spoke of experience, but again, Mary Margaret had not seen Regina recently.

In fact, Mary Margaret had put Regina out of her mind after tricking the witch into killing Cora. This was another one of those things that Emma had tried her best not to think about, even though she had already mentioned it. Mary Margaret had been depressed and guilty for a couple of days, refusing to get out of bed, until David had managed to convince her that she had actually done the right thing, that Cora was pure evil and they needed to stop her by any means. Emma had been surprised by his turn around, but she guessed that it was his job to fix his wife. The real shocking thing was the town condoning Mary Margaret's actions; no one seemed to find anything wrong with what she did or how she did it. The how was something that Emma knew would plague her if she dwelled on it. Again, she tried her best not to think about it.

"I'm not saying give her a chance. I'm saying that she lost her dog, the only thing that she has left, and I promised to find it. That's just how it's going to be," Emma stated.

"You don't have to waste your time on her," David said.

"I don't see it as a waste of time."

"Well, it is."

The sheriff shrugged. "I'm still going to keep my word."

"You don't need to keep your word to a liar," David insisted.

Emma frowned and decided to wash her hands of the whole argument. She doubted that they would see eye to eye on this and she did not want to have to think about anything. She retreated to her room, where Henry was sitting and doing his homework. He did not look at her and she retreated to the bathroom to take a hot shower.

-8-8-8-8-

The rain had stopped, but the day was gray, dreary, promising frostier, Maine storms. Emma decided to go see if Lady had returned to Regina. The quiet of the house, the lack of barking when she rang the bell let her know the answer before the door crept open. She stepped in quickly from force of habit and was beyond surprised by the sight that greeted her.

Regina had probably never looked worse. She had circles around her eyes that would have put a raccoon to shame. Heavy lines under her eyes, which beyond dull, almost dead, joined those dark circles. She lacked makeup and her face was pale with a yellowish tint. Her hair was matted and oily. She was actually still in the clothes from yesterday. Emma was about to prove herself an idiot for the question that she was going to ask because the answer was obvious.

"So, did Lady come back yet?" Emma inquired and followed up with, "Are you all right?" Twice an idiot. I hope I don't have any other dumb things to say.

Regina gave her an exasperated sigh that seemed to rattle out of her chest and whistle as it escaped. "We both know that Lady will not be coming back." She sounded as if she were commenting on any bland topic.

"Don't say that. I'm sure she's on her way."

Regina shook her head; it seemed almost pitiful. "No, she's not. Everything I love leaves me. The worst of it is when I kill something I love. I'm a plight."

"Regina, you're not a plight. And your mother didn't die because of you. You didn't kill her, technically," the sheriff argued. Of course, that meant Mary Margaret had killed her and now she had to reconcile that in her mind with the fact that her mother was a good guy. If only I wasn't sucked into the fantasyland as dictated by DC comics, I might make it out of this sane!

There was that pathetic head shake again. "Not my mother. My father," she whispered it, as if telling the wind.

Emma blinked and she was not sure how she managed to stay standing. "You killed your father?" Well, Regina can still surprise the hell out of you, like the fact that she told you this at all. Uh, probably not a good sign now that I think about it. I hope she's not playing deathbed confessions or something.

"My father and my favorite horse, both to enact this damned curse." Her voice remained low, but steady and completely void of emotion.

"You killed your own father?" Emma's mouth refused to close and her brow wrinkled.

"Have you ever been so miserable, so devastated that you would do anything to be happy?" The dead tone of the question somehow made it creepier, like clearly her course was the only course in her mind.

Emma nodded before she realized it. "I've had the feeling, but I guess it never got to that point considering I only recently got a father. But, I've been there. I just don't think I'd ever take it that far." At least I hope. But, then again, there's been points in my life where who knows what I would've done to feel better.

Regina wrapped her arms around herself and stared off at a wall. "I never thought I would. He was my daddy. My first friend. We shared secrets and he loved me, loved me so much. He was loyal to me to the end, even when I was ripping out his heart. He just stood there and … let me. He said he wanted me to be happy. He was there for me through it all. I named Henry after him because I wanted Henry to have those traits. I wanted Henry to stand by me through everything. Instead, he ran at the first chance he had, even though I did my best with him and I know I was good to him. I know." She gritted her teeth and made a fist. It was good to see some emotion from her.

"You made him think he was crazy and put him in therapy to protect your stupid curse," Emma pointed out.

"No," Regina said sharply, lifeless eyes on the blonde now. Though her voice held some emotion, it did not reach her eyes and her waning face was practically passive. "I put him in therapy long before that accursed tome. Our relationship had decayed so quickly when he turned eight and I didn't know why or what to do. I wanted to save us, but there was no us. Henry didn't want me anymore and I'm sure Lady is the same. I've come to realize Lady was attempting to escape after I bandaged her wounds. I, unknowingly, bound her here as I foolishly did with Henry. She has probably returned to her true family as well. I have nothing. There is nothing. I am nothing."

Those words sent Emma spiraling. She hated that she knew where this was going. It was as if she was the only person that knew or cared, which was troubling in and of itself. She could not ignore the signs and grabbed Regina by the shoulders, holding her tightly and basically glaring at her.

"You listen to me, Regina, that's bullshit! You can't just give up like this! Henry might not know it now, but he loves you and you're his mom! He'll need you and your love! He's going to figure it out one day and you need to be here for it! Lady loves you and needs you, too! I'll find her and prove it, but in the mean time, you don't do anything stupid," Emma ordered.

"Don't bother, Miss Swan," Regina sighed, turning way, but Emma refused to let her go.

"No! You don't get to give up!"

"I'm not giving up. I've finally accepted defeat. I lost a long time ago, but was too stubborn to see. It's done."

Emma felt her anger rising, but her chest felt tight with anxiety. "Hell, no, it's not! You can't accept it now. You have a son and a dog that need you. I know your life has sucked for the most part and you've made a lot of other people's lives suck in return, but it doesn't have to keep sucking. Believe me. It gets better."

Regina did not say anything, but she looked Emma in the eye. There was a glint, a glimmer of life. It shined through like a beacon in a dark sea. Emma's chest relaxed and she sighed in relief.

"I'll find Lady, I promise. And Henry will come around as long as you don't do anything crazy. Give me time and I'll find Lady," Emma vowed, but she did not get a reaction. "Gimme a week?" she requested, hoping a specific time would move the grief-stricken woman.

"Why do you care?" Regina asked in a whisper.

"Please, don't ask why questions right now. I'm trying really hard not to think about anything. You might want to try that because you're clearly thinking too much. I just don't want you to hurt yourself because you're Henry's mom, even if he doesn't get it right now. Plus, I can't just stand back and watch this slow train wreck that is you. I know how this ends and I can't just watch it happen."

Regina was quiet and it seemed to stretch on for all eternity. "A week." Her voice was small and her eyes were on the floor, but that was enough for Emma.

"A week," Emma pledged. She had a week to save a life. No pressure or anything!

-8-8-8-8-

Next time: Emma works on keeping her promise while Henry pays Regina a visit.

A/N: RestlessSeas was kind enough to draw a picture based on the previous chapter. There's a link to it at the bottom of my profile … unless I get asked by the artist to remove it.