Author's Note: Longer than expected wait for this chapter, but I'm here and will be back on a more-or-less regular update schedule soon. Lots of love for everyone who reads this story, and especially those of you who review and PM. You guys are amazing!

Part II

The Rise

Chapter XVII

She Blinded Me With Science

If there was one thing Emma hated, it was asking for help. It never got you anywhere. It made you weak, easy to prey on, and it left you owing favors. Mr. Gold hadn't been the first person she'd owed a favor. Favors could come back and bite you in the ass, a kid in the system learned that lesson pretty quickly.

Some families hadn't been bad. Hell, some had been pretty nice to her. Others, though, hadn't been. She had stayed in some houses where a simple request for help with a science project would have earned her a boot to the ribcage. She liked to think that the good placements had outnumbered the bad, but the memories of the bad were stronger and closer to the surface of her brain.

It was like she told Ashley, which was kind of ironic when she thought about it, not everyone got a Fairy God Mother to bibbity-bobbity-boo them up a happy ending. Not in the real world, at least. In the real world you had to be smart, tough and fast on your feet if you wanted to make something out of yourself. She was eternally glad that Henry hadn't grown up like she had. He had been taken out of that world, the world of foster homes, social workers, and broken promises, and brought up in a picture perfect mansion. He had been raised like a little prince, silver spoon firmly in his mouth. Of course Regina had raised him like a prince, she was a queen. Or had been, it was a little fuzzy to her. What wasn't fuzzy was that Henry hadn't thought twice about asking for help. He took the fact that everyone would fall all over themselves for granted. When Snow and David had refused he had actually looked a little upset.

Nobody had ever, she suspected, told him "no" before.

Yup, her Kid had landed in the lap of luxury. Though he had inherited Regina's book smarts, he had absolutely no common sense. Only an idiot would leave a mansion in search of a jail-bird mother who had given him up. Well, there had been extenuating circumstances, like the curse and fairy tales being real, but still.

She pulled into the mansion's driveway and parked behind Regina's Benz. She cut the engine and Henry quickly unbuckled himself, rolled down the window and opened his door from the outside. Emma sighed at that. She had been meaning to fix that door, but hadn't quite got around to it yet. She let herself out and rolled her eyes at the groan the driver's door let out when she opened it. She bet Regina's car didn't have creaky doors. Oh no, the Benz was sleek, dark, perfection. Just like its owner. The Bug was bright but a little on the battered side. It had lots of hard miles on it, but it was a dependable, scrappy little car. If she was going to stick with the car metaphors, she had to admit that the yellow bug was pretty much dead-on Emma Swan. She watched Henry dart through the yard and yank open the 108's door without knocking. The big white mansion was still his home and he would never think to knock. She followed him at a much slower pace. She turned to look over her shoulder at the cars again. They were an odd pair, mismatched, but they looked sort of cute together in the driveway.

Henry came back out the door, backpack still on his shoulders, "She's not answering me, I don't think she's home."

The little hairs on the back of her neck stood up. Regina wouldn't leave the door unlocked if she wasn't home, and her car was in the driveway. Something was up. There were plenty of people who had it out for the ex-Evil Queen and Esmeralda wasn't exactly Miss Popularity either. In a town where people loved forming mobs a little too much it was suicide to leave the front door unlocked.

"Henry go inside and lock the door. I'm going to go around back and see what's going on." She eased around the side of the house and suddenly wished she had brought her gun. It didn't do diddily squat against ogres, but the citizens of Storybrooke reacted to it pretty well.

Emma moved around the side of the house, about a million nightmare scenarios running through her head. When she peeked around the corner and into the backyard, she was surprised, relieved and intrigued by what she saw. Regina and Esmeralda were both kneeling in the grass beneath the infamous apple tree.

"Now reach through the calm and find your magic."

Esmeralda's words were steady and placid, comforting even. Only Emma didn't feel comforted. Regina had sworn off magic, she had promised Henry. Furthermore magic made Regina go a little crazy and the last thing Storybrooke needed was for Regina to go around the bend and become the Evil Queen all over again.

"I can't do this." Regina was frustrated and her voice was clipped and heated. Emma had dealt with that tone of voice more than once. "Magic is different here. It is harder to conjure and it acts unpredictably."

Esmeralda scoffed and said something in what Emma was at least sixty percent sure was Spanish. She was going to start Google Translating everything the woman said so she could understand when she was being cursed at. Regina, apparently, understood what the other woman said and raised her brows. Emma remained partially hidden and completely unnoticed by the two women. She knew she should make herself known, but she wanted to see what happened next. She also wasn't used to seeing Regina being so open and free with her words. It was an entirely different side to her.

"Magic is the same in all realms, Little One. Magic is emotion given form." Esmeralda reached out and touched Regina's cheek. "Magic is not different here, you are." Regina started to protest, but was quickly cut off. "The emotions you used to power your magic before: fear, anger and hate have been eclipsed in your heart by something far more powerful."

Okay, seriously, when did a Gypsy from Imagination and Pixie Dust Central get time to watch Star Wars? Because she sounded like she was talking about Regina going over to the Dark Side of the Force. Emma paused for a moment, a little shocked at herself. That was actually kind of accurate. Holy shit, the 3am Waffle House conversations with Neal and the babbling parade of drunks had finally paid off.

"Little Henry has changed you. He brought life and love back to your heart. This is why you struggle with you magic. You reach for the darkness when you should embrace the light. Your love is far more powerful than your hate. The love of a child is truly life altering." Esmeralda tucked a strand of hair behind Regina's ear. "This is known."

Now that was something Emma could relate to. Henry had brought life and love to her heart after years of being alone.

"To heal you must embrace love. Focus on the feelings you have for your son and let them flow through you."

Emma watched, completely engrossed in what was playing out before her. Though she knew that magic was technically a no-no for Regina, she felt like cheering the other woman on. Maybe it would be okay if the woman stuck to the good side of the Force or magic, whatever.

"Now let your love, and the magic it brings, flow into your tree. Think about how Little Henry's love healed you and let that healing spread."

Though Emma wasn't quite close enough to tell, she imagined that Regina's eyes were closed and when she lifted her hand, it was by instinct alone that she found the trunk of the tree. At first nothing happened and Emma was a little disappointed, then Regina's fingers started to glow. It was a warm violet pulse that jumped from her fingertips to the tree trunk. The glow appeared in the pale scared wood where a limb used to be. The limb that she had sawed off. Granny had never asked why she had borrowed that chainsaw. Small, slender saplings sprouted and started to grow. Three vine-like branches grew out, green life crackling with purple magic. Emma couldn't believe her eyes. It was the most amazing thing she had ever seen and she had seen some pretty crazy things since arriving in Storybrooke. The three branches braided together, stronger together than they were apart. It grew until it was about three feet long. New, healthy mottled brown bark started to appear in small, but growing patches. It was like a snake shedding its skin, only in reverse. It covered the raw wood and crawled up and down the branch. When the branch was coated with bark it forked into two at the end and two small vibrant green leaves unfurled. Amazing.

Regina's hand fell away from the tree trunk and she took in a deep and shaky breath, like she had just run a triathlon. She rose, leaning against the tree like she needed the support. Regina ran her fingers along the new branch, a huge smile on her face. Emma lost her breath for a moment, she had never seen Regina smile like that. She was pretty sure that this was the first time that Regina had used magic for something good. She would also bet big money that this was the first time that magic had made Regina genuinely happy.

"Enjoying the show, Miss Swan?"

Emma jumped almost a foot in the air. Esmeralda had, somehow, walked all the way across the yard and stood beside her without Emma noticing. Some Sheriff she was. The older woman was as quiet as a cat, and just as sneaky. Someone needed to put a bell around her damn neck.

Regina, hands still on the branch, turned to look at her. The smile faded and Regina's face reverted to the usual Madam Mayor scowl. "Miss Swan. What are you doing here? Where's Henry, is he okay?"

It always came back to Henry, didn't it?

"He's fine." Emma sank her hands into her jacket pockets. "He's inside, actually."

Regina's eyes widened, "Did he see" Her hands clenched around the baby branch, "this?"

Emma shook her head. "Nah. He's probably up in his room enjoying his things and having his own space. It turns out that shoving three grown adults and a boy into a tiny apartment comes with a few personal space issues."

Regina smiled again, it was smaller but no less beautiful. "He wanted to come home?"

Oh she knew this was going to suck, but this was totally going to make her feel like shit.

"Um actually we needed your help with something."

She watched Regina's smile fade all over again. "Oh. Of course."

Yep, Emma wanted to disappear into a convenient portal.

"Here's the thing. Henry has this assignment due tomorrow and frankly it's a little outside of my skill set."

Regina walked towards her, any post-magic-weakness long gone. She looked confused, "The only assignment that Henry should have due tomorrow is his Science Fair project."

Emma rubbed the back of her neck, "Yeah, that."

Regina shook her head, "How much does he have left to do?"

Yes, she was Queen Shit of Turd Mountain. "All of it."

Regina's dark brows rose, "But what about his Project Work Day?"

His who-to-the-what-now? Oh. She had been played. She had been played hard and fast by her own kid. "The half day off from school. I am such an idiot."

She expected mocking and maybe a lecture. Possibly fireballs. None of these things happened. Regina only heaved a sigh and pinched the bridge of her nose between her thumb and forefinger. "He didn't tell you, did he?"

Emma shrugged, "Not until about an hour ago."

Regina walked towards the door that lead to her kitchen and motioned for Emma to follow her. "Well come in, Miss Swan, we certainly have our work cut out for us."

Esmeralda let out a little laugh, like there was some kind of joke that only she got. Emma couldn't figure the woman out and was kind of bugging her, but she didn't have time right now. She followed Regina into her mansion, she had a science project to do with her kid and his other Mom.

"Henry!"

Regina's voice echoed through the house and Emma followed her through the kitchen and into the enormous entry way complete with spiraling stairs.

Henry head popped over the banister, shaggy hair and an all too familiar crooked grin beaming down at them, "Yeah?"

"Can you bring your books down here so we can get started?"

He disappeared again without a word and Emma saw a small smile ghost across Regina's face.

"Sorry about this. I know its last minute and all."

"It's no bother."

No, Emma realized, it probably wasn't. Even if it was because he needed her to pull his butt out of the fire, Regina was genuinely happy to have Henry home again. She heard Henry's feet pound down the stairs again and opened her mouth to say something but stopped. Regina was watching the mirror intently and when Emma cocked her head, she realized that the other woman was watching Henry come down the stairs in the mirror. Emma watched too and her eyebrows winged up when the Kid jumped the last three stairs. He landed with a slap of sneakers and skin on marble. He was in a low crouch, one hand down and the other held out in front of him, two fingers curled into his palm.

"Spiderman."

Regina named his "superheroic" pose with a small sigh. Apparently this was something they did often, Henry leaping and Regina watching.

"He do that often?"

She was close enough to lay her hands on Regina's shoulders, but knew better than to try. Being in each other's personal space was something that had happened over and over between the two of them since the first night they'd met, but they rarely touched, and when they did it wasn't very gentle.

"Every time he thought he could get away with it since he was four years old."

There it was again, that soft and gentle tone in Regina's voice. Just like outside of the Diner. That voice was the one that made Emma squirm. It made her want to reach out and lay her hands on the other woman's shoulders.

Henry turned the corner and she stepped back automatically. "Got my stuff." He looked between the two of them, "You guys ready to get started?"

Regina moved fluidly, without missing a step, like they hadn't just had yet another almost-moment. "Of course, Dear. Go into the dining room and I'll be right there."

Regina doesn't have any instructions for her, which is unusual, but disappears into her office for something of other. She had kind of hoped Regina would tell her something, give her direction, or at least a snappy command about not touching or breaking anything. Unsure of what the hell to do with herself, Emma followed Henry to the dining room. Why did they have to use the big, fancy dining room anyway? Wouldn't be just as easy to whip up a poster or whatever in the kitchen?

Henry didn't seem to mind, he grabbed a chair and plopped his book down on the table. He opened it to whatever chapter he was supposed to be doing and Emma peeked over his shoulder and barely suppressed a shudder. Cells and organs and sciency stuff, it was not her cup of tea.

"So what do you have in mind?"

Something simple, something simple, and something she could bluff her way through without looking like a giant idiot, which she wasn't, or a high school dropout, which she was.

"We can do anything from the Biology unit." Henry pushed his hair out of his eyes, "That's plenty to choose from, but we don't have that much time."

"Which is why you should not have procrastinated."

Regina reappeared in the room and Emma's jaw dropped open. There was a pair of elegant black reading glasses perched on Regina's nose. Combined with her usual wardrobe of 'Fuck Off' suits and 'Fuck Me' heels the effect was devastating. Sexiest. Librarian. Ever. When she wore glasses she looked like a super-nerd, but when Regina wore them she looked like some sort of sexy senator. Life just wasn't fair. Emma stole a glance at Regina and felt her nipples harden beneath her bra. It really really wasn't fair.

"Do you know what procrastination means?"

Henry shook his head, completely unaware that his birth mother was about five seconds away from having a stroke.

"It means you shouldn't have lied to Miss Swan about your project work day."

"I didn't lie." Henry's answer was quick and just a tad belligerent.

"Lying by omission is still lying, Henry."

Henry opened his mouth to argue more, but Regina held up a slender finger, "We can talk about that later. Now what is your project going to be?"

Emma pulled her eyes away from Regina's glasses wearing face and looked back down at the science book. She could do this. She was an adult and she could do this. Regina leaned over Henry's shoulder, "I think we can do better than cells, don't you?"

Henry didn't answer, he just flipped forward, "I thought we could do the nervous system. We could use a bunch of copper wire and the battery from my old go-cart and some light bulbs and wrap it around one of your costume dummies and make-oh can we use Christmas lights and make them blink.

All Regina-in-glasses-feelings were quickly destroyed by Henry's overwhelming exuberance about his project. That old pick-up-and-run-fast feeling rushed through her. Tingles in her toes and shooting pains in her calves and her heart thudded into her ribs. Run Emma, run hard and run fast.

"That is a very bright idea, Dear, but we are a little pressed for time."

Regina's voice was as cool as the other side of the pillow.

"Wait wait wait, a go cart?"

Henry grinned, "Christmas when I was seven. Mom had Sheriff Graham cut me a track through the woods and everything. When I got too big for it I tried to get a dirt bike but Mom said no."

Regina chuckled and Emma blinked at the sound. "I said absolutely no way on earth, actually."

The tingles in her toes intensified and crawled up to her ankles. This was family stuff, with the Kid and his Mom talking about Christmases past and projects. The pains in her calves shot all the way up into her thighs. She didn't do family things.

She looked down at the book again and bit her lip. She couldn't run. She couldn't run. Oh God, she couldn't run this time. She turned the page away from the nervous system and the copper wire monstrosity Henry wanted to build. The next page was the circulatory system. Emma almost choked at the very life-like heart that was connected to a whole network of veins and arteries. Hearts made her think of Cora, and of course, Regina's own past.

She heard Regina's breath hitch.

"I think we can eighty-six this page too, Kid." She leaned forward and turned the page again.

"This." Regina pushed her glasses back to the bridge of her nose, "could work."

Emma wrinkled her own nose, "The digestive system?"

Henry looked between them. "Really?"

Emma had no idea how they were going to pull that off, she looked at Regina and wanted to echo Henry.

"It's simple, streamlined, and it won't require a battery. I think the three of us can handle it."

The three of them. Together. Like some sort of family unit who did things. She was tingling to her knees and the shooting pains had entered her hips.

Run Emma, Run.

"Can we still use your costume dummy?"

What the hell was a costume dummy and why would they need that?

"First things first, Henry. Write down every part we will need to represent and what the function is. I need to go talk to Esmeralda and tell her that our plans have changed."

Emma blinked, happy to talk about anything other than the digestive system. "Plans?"

Regina stood and took off the glasses as she did. They dangled from her fingers, which was even sexier than being on her face, "Yes. She asked me to show her a few things in the kitchen. For some reason-"Regina shook her head, "She thinks the stove will blow up the entire house if she looks at it the wrong way."

Emma followed her into the kitchen, "So what was on the menu?"

Please say lasagna, please say lasagna, please say lasagna.

"The ingredients and spices for one of my stews. Henry's favorite." Esmeralda, still wearing the big purple cloak, sat at the counter drinking another cup of tea.

"Nan, Henry's project." Regina's arms wrapped around her and Emma wondered exactly what was going on between the two of them. "It is important."

Because magic and cooking lessons weren't. Esmeralda, if that was her real name, had been in town a few days and she and Regina were getting along fine and dandy. It must be nice.

"Perhaps I can throw something together." Regina turned to her refrigerator, "Though I'm not sure-"

"You're cooking?"

Henry stood in the doorway, paper in his hand, "But we always have pizza when we do school projects." There was something in his voice: something young and hurt. While Emma squirmed at it, Regina looked like she had been hit with a tank. He was, Emma was suddenly reminded, just a little boy. Henry might think he was as capable and clever as an adult, but he was still just a kid. A kid who didn't do his homework on time and wanted pizza because that was what he had always had.

"Oh Henry." Regina sank to one knee so she was eye-to-eye with him. "I don't think Mandy and Zach will deliver here anymore."

"You mean Rapunzel and Flynn Rider."

Seriously? High Tower Pizza was run by the actual Rapunzel? Emma sank her face into her hands. She was so over the fairy tale bullshit.

"I believe his given name is Eugene, but yes."

Henry's frown was huge and Regina looked like she was about to cry. Like the whole night, and possibly every shred of what was left of their mother-son relationship was about to go up in smoke over a freaking pizza. Emma sank her hands in her pockets and wished the tingles and pains in her legs would go away.

"Flynn Rider is in this town of yours?"

Esmeralda interrupted and both mother and son turned to look at her.

"You know Flynn Rider?"

Henry sounded skeptical, and frankly Emma was right there with him. The mysterious Gypsy Woman certainly seemed to know plenty of people in Storybrooke for someone who had arrived out of the blue a few days ago, riding on Cora's coat-tails.

"Only two people have been foolish enough to try to steal from me. Neither tried it again. Flynn and I have a certain understanding. I will go fetch this-"She paused as if puzzled, "pizza for you."

Henry and Regina both smiled and for a minute Emma was lost in that moment. They smiled, she realized, exactly the same. She could see Neal's eyes and Snow's chin and occasionally her clumsiness, but Henry's smile was all Regina. If she had ever seen Regina smile, really smile, she would have noticed it before.

Emma felt out of place and awkward. "And hey, since I'm the one who crashed your dinner plans, I'll pay." She had High Tower's number programmed into her cellphone, practically on speed dial.

"A large triple cheese for you, Kid, and-"She looked at Regina and wondered what the other woman would eat on a pizza. Hell she had never imagined The Evil Queen eating a slice of pizza.

"Mom likes the Supreme with extra peppers."

No way. Emma had expected some fancy-ass grilled chicken and spinach atrocity. Not real pizza.

"Really?"

She met Regina's eye and the other woman only shrugged.

"All right. So a large cheese and a large works with extra peppers." She brought the number up and within two rings the overly-chirpy voice of the brunette named Mandy (or Rapunzel apparently) answered and took her order.

Pizza and school projects were her time with Henry, and Emma had barged in yet again. Only, Regina couldn't find her usual anger. She was emotionally tapped out, first from her outburst at Daddy's tomb and then from using her magic. She was simply too weary to be angry at the moment. Besides, it was hard to be angry at Emma when she was so obviously out of her element. The blonde was so nervous that she had developed a twitch in her legs. She wanted to ask why the Two Idiots hadn't jumped at the chance to help, but decided that she simply couldn't care enough about it. Henry was, for the moment, home and that was all that mattered.

"So this costume dummy is going to be like a body and we're going to like, hot-glue, the digestive system to it? Also I'm still not sure what a costume dummy is."

She led the blonde upstairs to the hobby room. Which was really just a spare bedroom that had been given over for storage and extra workspace. She had spent several years dabbling in this and that to keep herself occupied. After Henry had been born she had needed the space to create then store his Halloween and pageant costumes. He had been an adorable Christmas Elf and an even cuter bunch of grapes. Halloween had run more towards superheroes and anyone who said spandex was an easy material to work with were liars.

"Holy shi-crap." Miss Swan gawked at the rack of costumes. "You made all of these?"

She shrugged again, uncomfortable with the sudden scrutiny.

Henry, however, didn't mind it at all. "Yeah. We always dress up for Halloween."

"We?"

Emma turned to look at her and Regina felt a blush rise in her cheeks.

"Yeah, she's been Super Girl, Black Cat and this year she was supposed to be Black Widow."

Emma looked from the rack of costumes, then her, then back again. "Please please tell me there are pictures of Madam Mayor dressed up."

Henry pawed through the costumes, obviously looking for something. Regina went to her dressmaker's form, or as Henry liked to call it, her costume dummy, and sighed. Neither of them answered Emma's semi-serious question.

She was going to have to cut the front panel out completely so they could fill it with the viscera and organs needed for Henry's project.

"Hey we can use the tights from your Scarlett Witch costume as guts!"

It was not a bad idea, but he needed to build on it. "Which guts would those be, Dear?"

Henry thought for a moment, his brow wrinkled in concentration. It amazed her how much he looked like his birth mother in moments like this. Their mannerisms were strikingly similar, it seemed that some things were genetic.

"The small intestine?"

Regina nodded, "And what shall we use for the large?"

"Old vacuum hose."

This came from Emm-Miss Swan.

"Awesome idea, Mom!"

Another small wound scored into her scarred heart. He called the other woman
Mom.

"Yes." She straightened up to her full height, a maddening two inches less than the blonde sheriff. "Well, first we must get this downstairs."

She stared at the form. It was ungainly and not intended to travel far. It was also quite heavy. She hadn't moved it from the room since Graham had lugged it up the stairs for her so many years before. The form she used for Henry's costumes would be much easier to move, but it simply wasn't big enough for their purposes.

Henry raced ahead of them, tights in hand, mumbling about a mask and teeth.

Regina rested her hands on the form, suddenly tired. She wasn't sure where she'd find the energy to finish this ridiculously large project.

"It's heavier than it looks, isn't it?"

Regina turned to find the Savior close to her, too close. This close two inches seemed like two miles, or perhaps after everything she'd struggled through today, she just felt particularly small. Emma reached around her and rested a hand on the form, almost trapping her between two bodies, one inert and the other very much alive.

"Yes."

Her heart was in her throat and she wasn't sure why. A sudden dose of adrenaline flirted through her, every time Emma was this close, the other woman usually grabbed her while they fought. She wasn't afraid, Evil Queens didn't allow themselves the luxury of fear. It was something else. Something that felt a little bit like passion and a lot like lust.

"I can take care of that for you." She leaned in and Regina was momentarily stunned by the intensity of Emma's now indigo blue eyes.

"What?" Regina tried to clear her head, but found it difficult to focus.

"We need to get your dummy thing downstairs to fix it up, right?"

She tugged the form around her, "This thing weighs a ton. It's a good thing that I was a professional mover for like four months once."

Regina shook her head, somehow not surprised by Emma's announcement. "Were you any good?"

Emma winked, "The best you've ever had."

Her voice had dropped a little and the words set off warning bells in her head. "I somehow doubt that, Miss Swan."

The blonde smirked, "You have no idea what I'm" She threw both bare arms up and flexed, "capable of."

Her arms, pale but for a few freckles and one scar on her left bicep, were well formed and lined with lean muscle. She was fit and tone, like a young knight during his first summer of tournament glory.

"I think" she was surprised her voice was so steady, "that I'm starting to understand that."

Emma grinned, "Now you're getting it. I'm gonna lug this thing downstairs and we can finish this crazy project with our kid, eat pizza and maybe drink some apple cider while I try to con Esmeralda into sharing embarrassing stories about your childhood."

That sounded very domestic and strangely appealing. "You go ahead, I think I have something that will do for a stomach in my closet."

She left the room, and left Miss Swan to move the form as best she could. Regina had to escape and compose herself. Her emotions were too close to the surface and too raw. She was overwrought, that had to be it. She let herself into her bedroom and leaned against the door that she neatly closed behind her. She was Regina Mills, Mayor and Evil Queen, she didn't let silly little Saviors see her fight with her emotions. She was not weak and she was not a foolish little girl who swooned at a few flirtatious words.

She stalked over to her walk-in closet. This was not about her, or Miss Swan. It was about Henry and his project. If the two of them couldn't play nice long enough to complete that than there was little hope for Storybrooke in the long run.

The bag she was looking for was stored in its proper place in her custom-curse-crafted shelves. A bright red Prada shoulder bag that was approximately the correct size and shape for a stomach. She would have to do some sewing, but it shouldn't be too hard. If she could craft a Cyclops visor out of a baseball cap and a few other odds and ends, she could handle a faux stomach.

The clatter and boom was loud and sudden and Regina dropped the purse. Those sounds were quickly followed by something far worse. Regina's stomach dropped to her knees and then instantaneously shot back into her throat. Every mother knew exactly what a body falling down a flight of stairs sounded like. The sickening cracks and thuds of fragile flesh meeting marble steps.

"Henry!"

She flew out of her room at top speed, fear pushing her heeled feet to move faster. When she reached the top of the stairs she was horrified to see Henry standing over two bodies: her dressmaker's form and the equally still blonde sheriff.

"Emma!"