Chapter fifteen

"Just text me when you want to go to the hospital," Emma said with a weak smile.

Henry nodded and walked over to the sheriff, who seemed to have been deep in conversation with that August man. Graham offered her a small smile before she walked out of the station.

"What's up, Hen?" Graham asked.

Henry stood for a moment, considering his words, "how do sleeping curses work?"

Graham's eyebrows rose, "it's pretty much in the name."

"Dr Whale said that mom won't survive the week, he's wrong isn't he?" he asked desperately.

August and Graham exchanged a look, and the puppet, "the Evil Queen has a son?"

"Don't call her that!" Henry shouted.

August held up his hands in surrender, "I'm sorry, I should have said Regina."

Henry nodded and let out a small sniffle, "she adopted me. Who are you?"

"Aug...Pinocchio," he smiled.

Henry tilted his head, "but you're an adult."

"I came through the wardrobe with Emma," he explained. Graham gave him an accusatory look, "what?"

"That reminds me, why didn't you protect her like you were supposed to."

"I..." he tried but no words came out.

Henry interrupted, "it's not important, you never answered my question."

Graham sighed, "without magic to sustain the curse, she is being...poisoned."

"She can't die," he exclaimed.

Graham stood and pulled the boy into a hug, "shhhh...we won't let that happen."

"We?" he asked.

"You, me and August," he explained.

"It doesn't seem like he wants to help," Henry replied.

August looked between the two of them and let out a dramatic sigh, "of course I want to help. The queen does seem...like a different person."

Henry nodded sadly, "she is."

Silence fell over the trio, with Henry's sniffles being the only sound.

Henry thought over what Graham had told him, "so we need magic?"

Graham nodded, "yeah, that's about as far as we got."

Henry bit his lip in concentration, "my mom did say something about a dragon."

"In Storybrooke?" Graham asked nervously.

Henry nodded, "if there's a dragon, there's magic right?"

Graham sighed, why did it have to be a dragon?

Emma walked into the Pawn Shop, she was actually quite eager to meet this infamous Mr Gold that she had heard so much about.

"Miss Swan," he greeted, only to be met with a distrusting look, "it is a small town deputy, very difficult to fly under the radar."

Emma nodded, "I was told that you're the closest thing that this town has to a lawyer."

Mr Gold nodded, "you have a question."

"Well I guess you know about the mayor."

The shop owner showed a small smile, and Emma felt her jaw clench, "news does travel fast."

"Well...I'm not keen on the idea of Henry ending up in foster care, so I was hoping you had a way of finding him a good permanent home."

"Quite crass, didn't you just get the news."

Emma sighed; she knew that this is not something that she should be doing so soon. But she was not fond of the idea of having nothing to do, she liked to plan ahead so that she didn't have to deal with present time emotions, "I just want to make sure the system doesn't make things worse for him."

Gold nodded, "I believe that her adoption contract said that in the event of her death, parental rights would return to the biological parents."

Emma's eyes widened, "I didn't see that in the contract."

"I'm guessing that an eighteen year old that just had a child didn't read the small print," he smirked.

"Okay, then why would she agree to that?"

"This may surprise you Miss Swan, but our dear mayor doesn't have anyone that she would be willing to give guardianship to."

Or she never thought she would die in her own cursed town, Emma's eyes widened, where did that thought come from?

She just tried to push it aside, "and what if I can't look after him?"

"Then he would be put into foster care," he replied.

Emma felt her fists clench, and she let out a sigh, "how do you know so much about this?"

"I arranged the adoption."

"You arranged for the Evil Queen to adopt the saviour's child?" Gold looked at her in shock and Emma swallowed hard, "I think the kid's getting to me. Please ignore that."

Gold nodded, maybe the queen doesn't have to die, he thought, "young Henry does seem quite adamant in his beliefs."

"That he is," Emma sighed.

"She's messing this up," Regina shouted as she watched Henry say that she wasn't his mom, though she couldn't help but feel a flutter of happiness at his words.

"She grew up in a world without magic, it's unfair to expect her to believe that her son's adoptive mother is under a sleeping curse," Daniel laughed.

Regina looked at him with narrowed eyes, but he was in no way afraid and held her gaze, she sighed, "well when you say it like that."

Laughing he stood up and placed his hand on her shoulder, "just be patient."

"I can't just watch, I feel like I need to do something."

"You have no idea how many times I've wanted to intervene, but there's just nothing we can do," he said softly.

"I'm sorry," she mumbled.

With a tilted head he asked, "for what?"

"If you had never met me then you may have been happy, and after all these years you're pushing for me to be with another," she sighed.

"Regina look at me," he replied while placing his palm on the side of her face. After a moment she did what he asked, "I would stay here for a hundred life times if I got to watch you be truly happy for even a minute."

"I was happy with Henry," she offered.

Daniel nodded, "I don't doubt it. But he is still a child, I truly believe that he is part of your happy ending, but he is not all that you need. Every day I saw how happy you were with him, but I could tell that something was missing."

"Yes, you," she said softly.

He shook his head, "I know that you love me, but that doesn't change the fact that I was just your first love. But I know that you were my true love, so of course I would wish for you to be with your true love."

Regina sighed, "how can you be accepting of all of this."

He let out a small laugh, "for the first few years I was pretty irritated. I desperately wished that Frankenstein's experiment would work, but I also saw how utterly destroyed you were, and I began to wish for you to move on."

"I never did," she frowned.

"Well I would be pretty insulted if you completely moved on," he laughed, only to be met with a playful punch to his arm. "I know it doesn't feel like you moved on, but the fact is that you can love those who have passed and still continue to live."

"You sound like you have been thinking this through," she said with a small chuckle.

"I've been wishing to tell you this for a long time, if I can wait over forty years, then you can wait at least a week."

"Maybe it would be easier if she never wakes me up."

"Don't say that," he frowned.

"If I did die then the curse would break and Emma could be with her parents. Rumple could get Neal, and he, Emma and Henry could be a real family, they could live without complication. Henry could be happy," she sighed.

"He seemed to have been happy over the past few days."

"Yes, but I was being fully candid with him and actively trying to be good. If I do wake up then I'm bound to do something wrong and lose him again."

Daniel sighed, "or if you wake up, you and Emma live happily ever after with your son having three parents who all love him. Surely three parents are better then two." When Regina didn't reply he continued, "he doesn't want you to die, and it is not something that he would just get over. Do you really think that he could lose you and then replace you with his so called father."

"Neal isn't that bad," she replied, before realising what she said she added, "I never said that."

Daniel laughed and put his arm around her shoulder, "my lips are sealed."