Author's Note: Hey, Regals! Sorry this chapter's taken so long. Assignments and theatre group practices have taken over most of my life, which is really sad. Thankfully, I managed to write this chapter before I hit the 'one month not updated' mark. Special thanks to the beautiful... danythedragon, 12345, PrincessofSea and Barbara Montgomery for their reviews on Chapter Three. To answer PrincessofSea's question, there will be a little bit of Regal Cricket fluff in this chapter and I'll continue to escalate it through the updates to come! Hope you all enjoy this installment! Happy almost Easter!

FORGIVENESS EARNED ENTIRELY...

"Seriously? What are you doing here?" Emma asked, looking completely confused by the short figure, dressed from head to toe in black.

The boy turned around and glanced at the woman in the door way. "I was just getting some juice. I got thirsty." He shrugged, meeting his birth-mothers eyes with little care. Henry was totally unaware of the worry that had stirred between the adults, who were all still outside, rushing around to find him.

"Everyone's been really worried, kid." Emma said, looking down at him from her high vantage point. She was a lot taller than him and couldn't be bothered to kneel down to his height. All fright had ran away from Emma's face. She'd found her son, and had no more need to worry.

"I told Mary Margaret that I was going to look for my mom." He said, copying Emma's confused expression from earlier. As far as the young boy was concerned, he'd left a message with his grandmother. "- Did you find her?" Henry added, looking hopeful. Emma nodded with a small smile, not really knowing what to say for a change. "Great! Can you take me to her?" He grinned brightly, putting the juice carton back in the fridge.

Across town, in a deserted Granny's, Regina and Archie sat in silence. They'd run out of things to say about the current situation and Archie didn't want to overstep the mark. He wasn't willing to make her go back on the trust she'd just given him. "I'm happy that you managed to escape." She piped up after five minutes, still feeling ridiculously weak. "When they told me that you'd been killed, well... I didn't want to believe it." The former Evil Queen muttered honestly, looking up to meet his softened expression.

The pair had always gotten on well in Storybrooke. And, they'd never really had any big problems in the Fairytale Land either, although the Cricket was of inconvenience to her sometimes, especially when he openly took Snow White's side and joined her army against the Queen's curse. But, she didn't really blame him for that. Archie was a much more unbiased person here in Maine. He understood what was going on in Regina's head. He understood why she was the way she was. Back in their own land, he could only see the evil that spread through her heart, like wild fire.

It took him quite a number of years to understand the Mayor. The visits with Henry had taught him many things about the sassy-tongued woman. Regina was far too proud to admit to seeing a therapist, so he never called her a patient. He was just her son's therapist, and in turn, Archie got to speak with her on occasion.

He didn't mind listening. He actually found her to be quite an interesting individual. She was strong and powerful, but amongst all of that, hid a scared and frightened little girl - one who longer for happiness.

"I'm here now, that's the main thing." Archie smiled, reaching over to take her hand reassuringly. He regretted the action in an instant, but something in her eyes prevented him from pulling away. The skin felt soft and gentle in his hold, and he swore that he could see a sweet smile behind her sadness. It had been a very long time for Regina. The last time someone had held her hand like this was over twenty years ago.

She met his gaze with the same intensity and turned her hand round, so they were palm on palm. Very slowly did she entwine their fingers. For some reason, this gesture felt so very intimate. So safe and calm, like nothing else in the Universe really mattered. They were lost in a world, between Storybrooke and The Enchanted Forest. Time stood still, as their eyes met in an intense gaze.

"Mom?" A voice called loudly, instantly making Regina pull her hand away from the Cricket's. The bell on Granny's door chimed, and the Mayor turned to see her son. She was awfully pale and Henry noticed straight away as she tried to stand up - too quickly - and approach him.

Archie was fast on his feet and grabbed Regina around her waist, before she fell to the floor. She was still very weak and needed time to rest.

"Henry?" She managed to breath out. The young boy's expression said it all. He was worried, and without hesitation ran over to hug the woman, who'd raised him from birth. Archie kept a firm hold on Regina's waist, and pulled her arm over his shoulder to keep her standing. The food from earlier had only given her enough energy to think. Someone should really be taking her to a hospital, but everyone knew that she'd refuse the help.

Archie turned his attention onto Emma, who stood awkwardly in the doorway. "We need to get her home... She needs rest." The therapist nodded, looking down at Henry, who'd taken his mother's cold free hand.

"What's wrong with her?" The child asked gently, noticing the way Regina's eyes drifted open for a few seconds, before closing again moments later. He'd never seen her so vulnerable before. It was scary and he didn't like it at all. Regina had always been the one to look after him. When Henry was sick, Regina made him feel better with homemade soup and cuddles, and now he didn't know what to do or say, because he didn't know what was wrong. Everyone was hiding things from him. The secrets and lies kept getting worse and he wanted answers.

"Nothing, kid. Let's go." Emma mumbled, offering her hand. The blonde figured that now Henry had seen his adoptive mother, that everything would be fine. She was still getting used to the complications that came with not raising the boy. It was difficult to share his company sometimes.

Henry pleaded, holding on to Regina a little tighter. "No! My mom needs me. She's sick." The brunette seemed to hear this statement, as she opened her eyes to look at her son, before curling back into Archie's hold. Everything felt safer there, and she could always blame it on not being of sound mind later on.

Emma sighed audibly, knowing that they didn't have time to argue over the matter. "Okay, okay. Archie look after Henry. I'll go see what's happening with Mary Margaret and the others. They all think he's still missing. I tried to phone Belle earlier, but her phone's off." She shrugged, leaving the diner without another word. There were other matters to attend to, and keeping Henry out of trouble was now taken care of.

"Come on, Henry. We'll go home and look after your mom. Something tells me she could use a nice cup of tea." Archie smiled. Henry nodded, helping to lead Regina out of the door.

Author's Note: Woop! So, what d'you guys think? Worth the wait? Probably not, but either way, I hope you remotely enjoyed this update. Things are about to get seriously messed up and y'all will probably hate me for what's going to happen. No deaths or anything, I swear. But, it's still kinda sad. Thanks so much for reading! Hope you all enjoyed. Love you all loads, Evilsaurus...