The Way Things Were Not (Part 1/2) - Once Upon A Time - Regina/Emma
Title: The Way Things Were Not (Part 1/2)
Fandom: Once Upon A Time
Rating: PG-13 (some language)
Pairings/Characters: Emma/Regina, Henry, Mary Margaret, Kathryn, Graham, all of Storybrooke
Summary: He shifts the pages until he sees the one with Storybrooke Daily Mirror emblazoned on the top. The picture stares up at him then, the blonde with the pretty smile and the caption under it reading 'Mayor Swan enjoys the annual Miner's Day celebration'.
Spoilers: For the whole first season, except not really.
Disclaimer: I don't own anything. Please don't sue.
Author's Note: Many, many thanks to damelola for all the help with this, including beta duties. This was written for a prompt on Tumblr where Emma was the mayor and Regina was the bail bondsperson. It is obvious AU and in this particular universe, the curse doesn't exist.
The pages are creased and crinkled, worn even though they're only a few weeks old. But in those few weeks they've been pored over during every stolen moment, the words whispered over and over until they've become imprinted on his mind. He doesn't need them anymore, the words and image the brightest memory he has.
He feels sometimes - like now, in the darkness of the tiny apartment, with only the muted neon lights of the city surrounding them to see by - like they are a tangible thing that he can grasp hold of, even if the papers aren't there. They have been becoming more and more real to him with each passing day until this moment when he knows for sure that they are. They are real, this is real, and he has to act on it now.
His fingers twitch around the crumpled pages as he moves quietly across the room. He pushes the couch cushions up to reveal a tiny collection of comic books. Thumbing through, he pulls out the one he wants - Wolverine vs. Hulk - and flips through it until he finds the bus ticket that's been hidden away for two days now.
Sliding the comic books back into their hiding place, he slips the ticket into the waiting backpack at the foot of the couch and glances down at the papers in his hand once more. The top of the first printout proclaims whosyourmomma.org and he mouths the name that he's had memorized from the minute he first saw it on the screen.
Emma Swan.
He shifts the pages until he sees the one with Storybrooke Daily Mirror emblazoned on the top. The picture stares up at him then, the blonde with the pretty smile and the caption under it reading 'Mayor Swan enjoys the annual Miner's Day celebration'.
His fingers trace the face that he already knows as well as his mother's before he carefully refolds the papers and places them in the backpack too. He slings the backpack up on his shoulder and then moves silently across to the door that is slightly ajar not only because it doesn't latch, but because his mother worries about him during the night.
She's a light sleeper, so he doesn't enter the room, too afraid of waking her. Instead, he squints through the darkness, making out dark hair on a stained pillow and the rise and fall of ratty blankets. He presses two fingers to his lips and blows a silent kiss across to her.
Then he turns and whispers, "I'm sorry, Mom," over his shoulder as he slips out the window and on to the fire escape.
He climbs down carefully and moves quickly out of the back alley onto the still busy street. It takes him nearly five minutes before a cabbie stops and each minute his heart beats faster and faster, afraid that he will be caught. Only once he is in the backseat, seatbelt buckled like Mom always taught him, does he begin to relax.
"Where to kid?" The cabbie asks, eying him.
He pulls out a twenty and holds it up. "The bus station."
The cabbie steps on the gas.
"I'm sorry, Mom." He whispers again to the slowly disappearing building in the rear view mirror.
**
The bus ride is a long one and he spends most of it rubbing his fingers over the papers and hoping that his mom won't freak out too badly when she realizes he's gone. He should've left her a note, he thinks, but it's too late for that now. He considers abandoning the mission, hopping right back on another bus to Boston and he's just about got himself convinced when the large white sign comes into view.
The sun is just coming up, casting a golden glow over the sign that proclaims Welcome To Storybrooke, making it look like something right out of a movie. It's beautiful and quaint and gives him a feeling of home that he's never really had before, no matter how much his mom has tried. "Storybrooke," he murmurs and finds he likes the way the name trips off his tongue.
When the bus finally stops in front of a small diner, he is the first one off, racing down the steps to take in the town. His eyes dart everywhere, trying to see everything at once. Little shops line the sidewalk and there's a large clock tower that is just chiming the hour. Birds are singing in the trees and people are passing by, smiling and calling out to each other as they pass.
He's so taken by the sights that he startles when the bus pulls away from the curb. He's the only one who has gotten off, it seems. He chews his lip for a minute, all of his mother's warnings about strangers and strange places and not trusting anyone ringing in his ears before he finally takes a few tentative steps towards the door of the diner.
A bell rings out, signaling his arrival, and a pretty girl with red streaks in her hair turns towards him, an easy smile on her lips. "Well hello there." She grins at him as he climbs up onto a stool. "What can I get for you today?"
He considers ordering some food for a moment before he shakes off the thought. He's only got a little bit of money and you never know when you might need it. Plus, he's got more important things to do than eat right now. "I was hoping you could help me find someone." He smiles back, using his puppy dog eyes.
The waitress grins. "Well, for a handsome guy like you, I will certainly try. Who are you looking for?"
"Emma." He says her name aloud, surprised at how easy it is for him to say. "Emma Swan."
**
"Madam Mayor?" A voice rings out from the phone on Emma's desk, causing her to look up from her paperwork.
"Yes, Ashley?"
"There's… someone here to see you."
Emma frowns. Ashley sounds strange, which probably means that whoever is here to see her, she won't like it. Rubbing a hand over her face, she sighs. "Send them in, Ashley."
She sits up straighter, pushing her shoulders back, and keeps her gaze locked on the door. For the past ten years, the town has been more than welcoming to her. The citizens of Storybrooke took her in when she had nowhere else to go and helped her get back on her feet and heal. Then, they had gone above and beyond, choosing to elect her as mayor after the previous mayor passed away. Still, there are a small number of citizens who seem to have a problem with her being mayor, even though she's done a damn fine job for the past five years, thank you very much.
So she expects that it's going to be one of those citizens who comes marching through the door, spouting off about something else that needs done or that she's done wrong. But instead, the door swings open to reveal a small boy who looks like he can't be any more than ten.
She's never seen him before, and she's pretty certain she knows everyone in town by now, so she blinks at him before standing up and coming around to the front of her desk. "Hello there. Can I help you with something?"
The little boy looks down at his feet for a moment, before he glances back up at her. "Are you Emma Swan?"
Emma chuckles just a bit. Her name is on the door of the office. "Yep, that'd be me. And you are?"
"I'm Henry." He smiles brightly. "I'm your son."
**
The blaring of the alarm clock jars Regina awake, even as her hand flies out to smack the snooze button. Her whole body aches in protest against the movements. Yesterday had been another rough collar, and though she'd tried to hide that fact from Henry, she knows she won't be able to today.
She doubts even a hot shower and pain killers will be enough to mask these injuries, although she'll certainly try. But it had been a pretty big payoff, so she doesn't regret it for a second.
The alarm blares again and she forces herself to get up, hissing through the pain. She moves out to the living room, her steps slow and tentative. "Henry," she calls, trying to make her voice sound normal, "time to wake up."
There's no reaction, no movement from the couch where Henry's been sleeping, and Regina frowns just a bit, moving further into the room. "Come on, Henry, you need to get up."
There's still no movement and she begins to feel dread creeping up her spine. "Henry?" She flips on the light and feels acid burn her throat as she takes in the empty couch. "Henry, are you here?"
The sudden burst of fear and adrenaline overrides any pain she was feeling as she rushes through the tiny apartment, checking the little bathroom, the run down kitchen, the small closets that are barely big enough for him to fit in and calling his name over and over.
No. This cannot be happening. No. No. No.
"Henry! Henry!"
It's on the second trip through the apartment that she catches sight of the window and the fact it isn't latched. She races to it, pulling it up and looking out, feeling her heart lurch as she notices that the fire escape stairs have been lowered down to street level. "Henry!" She calls out, her eyes scanning the alley frantically. But her son is nowhere to be found.
She whirls around and that's when she sees it. Or rather, doesn't see it. Henry's backpack is gone. She races to the couch and shoves the cushion up, taking in the comic book collection stashed there. She pulls them out and flips through them frantically, noticing that the newest ones she's bought for him as well as his favorites are missing.
For one second relief floods her as she realizes that he hasn't been taken. That this isn't a kidnapping by someone that she's hauled back in to jail who's out for revenge. The comics and backpack wouldn't be gone if it was.
But then, the pain comes back a hundred fold. Henry is gone. He packed his backpack and he left. He left her. Ran away.
Tears fall unbidden down her face as she collapses to the floor against the couch, clutching the comic books and sobbing.
"Henry. Henry."
**
"Wh-what?" Emma chokes the word out as she stares at the little boy, his words echoing in her ears. I'm your son. She forces herself to stand straighter, to not give in to the need to slouch or fall down in shock. She is the mayor and she must conduct herself accordingly. Hasn't that been what she's been telling herself for the last five years? "N-no. No. That's impossible. I don't have a son! Where are your parents?"
The little boy - Henry - looks up at her with an easy smile. "Ten years ago, did you give up a baby for adoption?" Emma's eyes widen and he takes that as all the answer he needs. "That was me."
Emma feels her stomach turn and tears begin to burn at her eyes. "I - give me a minute."
She rushes for the door to the private bathroom, shutting herself in and allowing the tears to fall for a brief moment. For the past ten years she has worked so hard to heal, to forget about the baby that she'd held only once before giving him away and sending him off towards his best chance. And she had finally managed to succeed, to find a new life and a new start. And now he shows up in her office.
No. This cannot be happening. No. No. No.
"Emma?" She hears him call through the door. "Are you okay?"
"Y-yes." She forces out, brushing the tears off her cheeks quickly. "I - I'll be right out."
She splashes water on her face and checks to make sure she looks presentable before she forces herself to push the door open and go back into her office. Henry is sitting on the couch, his backpack at his feet, flipping through a comic book. He looks up when he hears the door and offers her a wide smile. Her stomach flips again.
She grabs the phone on her desk, hitting the button to connect her to Ashley. "Ashley, I need you to hold all my calls and cancel all of my appointments for the rest of the day."
"Oh!" Ashley sounds surprised and just a bit flustered by these instructions. Well good, at least Emma's not alone now. "Of course, Madam Mayor."
"And I need you to call Kathryn and have her come to my office as soon as possible. Tell her it's an emergency."
"Yes, of course. But - Madam Mayor, are you alright? Is there anything I can do?"
Emma smiles slightly at the care and concern of her secretary. "I'm okay, Ashley. Just - something's come up and I need to deal with it and I think Kathryn is my best bet here."
"I'll call her right now."
"Thank you, Ashley." Emma says before hanging up the phone and looking back at Henry, who still seems engrossed in his comic books. "Okay, kid -" she grimaces, feeling too much like her old self for calling him that, "err, I mean, Henry, I need you to answer some questions for me."
Henry carefully tucks his comic away and smiles up at Emma as she sits down on the couch next to him. His birth mother is really pretty, even though she looks pretty freaked out right now. "Sure."
"What makes you think that you're my son?"
Henry quickly turns and rummages in his backpack, pulling out the ragged papers and thrusting them at her. "I found you on the internet."
Emma feels the start of a major scam happening here, but as she unfolds the papers and reads over them, she realizes that Henry is telling the truth. There's information in here that couldn't have been obtained except in the court records - which were supposed to be seal, as it was a closed adoption.
"Henry," she tries his name out again, "how did you even know to look for me? I mean, it was supposed to be a closed adoption, you weren't supposed to know about me at all. Not you or your parents."
"After I found out I was adopted, I knew I had to look for you. I knew you'd be able to help me."
"Help you?" Emma's heart sinks. "Why do you need help?"
Henry just smiles a secretive little smile and ignores the question. "I'm really good at finding people. I get it from my mom. My other mom."
Emma's head spins. "Your other - Henry, where are your parents? Do they even know you're here?"
Henry looks down at his lap and she knows then. Oh god. Oh god, this is so, so bad. She glances at the door, willing Kathryn to walk through it, because she needs backup. Badly.
"Henry." She tries to use her best 'mom voice', which turns out to be the voice she uses when dealing with those constituents who are less than pleased with her, and surprisingly it works.
"It's just my mom and me. My dad died when I was two." Henry admits softly and Emma feels her heart shatter once more. "And I didn't tell my mom I was coming to find you."
"Henry!" She gasps. "She's probably worried sick about you! She probably thinks something horrible happened. Where is she? I'm taking you back there right now."
"I - I don't know."
"What do you mean you don't know?" Emma stares at him, trying to look for a lie in his words.
"After my dad died things got bad." Henry says slowly. "We didn't have enough money and we had to move around a lot. Mom took a job as a bail bondsperson. She - she has to go all over trying to track people down."
Emma's eyes widened in something like horror. "So she leaves you alone without any idea where she is? You're ten!"
Henry quickly shakes his head. "No. No, Emma, she's not a bad mom. She isn't!" He doesn't want Emma to think that. He doesn't want her to try and have him taken away from his mom. "It's just really hard. But she takes really good care of me and she loves me. I swear."
"Henry." Emma sighs, helplessly.
"We were in Boston when I left. She was home with me. I left while she was sleeping." Henry admits quietly.
"Boston? You came all the way from Boston by yourself?"
"I know how to take care of myself." Henry defends.
"Well, I'm glad for that. And I'm glad that your mom is a good mom, even if she's had some tough times. Which is why you're coming with me and we're going back to Boston." Emma says, the only possible solution she can come up with.
"What? No! We can't do that!" Henry protests. "I told you, my mom is really good at finding people. She's probably on her way here now. If you try to take me back, we'll miss each other and when she finds out I'm not here, she'll really panic and she'll think that you've kidnapped me."
"Because I'm your birth mother." Emma murmurs, feeling dread creeping up. Oh god. This is so, so, so bad.
"Madam Mayor?" Ashley's voice cuts through Emma's thoughts. "Kathryn is here."
"Oh thank god." Emma whispers. "Send her in please, Ashley."
"Emma?" Kathryn asks as she comes through the door, "What's going on? What's the emergency?"
Emma looks at Kathryn and then back to Henry. "Kathryn, meet Henry." She motions to him and then forces the words from her throat. "He's my son."
**
It only takes Regina a few minutes to realize that she needs to pull herself together and go find her son. She drops the comics, leaves the couch cushion overturned, and goes to get dressed quickly. She forces herself to think of Henry as just another person she needs to find, just someone else who is running, not as her ten year old son, the only thing she has left in the world. She has to be a cool, collected bail bondsperson right now, because if she allows herself to be the distraught mother that she really is, she'll never find him.
Once she's got her boots, jeans, and tank top on, she grabs her wallet and leather jacket, as well as the most recent picture of Henry that she has and takes off for the bus station in her beat up yellow Volkswagon. When people want to run, they don’t stay in the same city. But Henry's options for leaving were limited - he couldn't drive and he couldn't fly alone - so the bus station was the best bet.
It takes twenty minutes, a lot of threats, and one round of tears before one of the employees remembers Henry buying a ticket with cash three days earlier. But no one seems to know what bus it was for or where it was going.
Regina's nearly at the end of her rope when one of the janitors catches sight of the picture and says that he saw the boy getting on the bus that had left in the middle of the night heading for Maine.
There were various stops that that bus made though and not knowing which one Henry got off on, she feels just as helpless as she had before.
"Hey, Joe drives that bus and it looks like he's just pulling in. Maybe he remembers what stop your son got off at." The janitor offers with a smile, pointing towards the bus that is just pulling into the station.
Regina takes off at a run, barely managing to throw a thank you over her shoulder as she goes. She's on the bus before Joe even has it in park, thrusting Henry's picture in his face.
"Whoa, lady, what the hell?"
"Do you remember this little boy?" Regina's voice is desperate, "He was on your bus this morning. Do you remember him? Where did he get off?"
"Look, lady, I don't -"
Regina grabs him by the collar then, clutching tightly and trying to get her anger and fear under control. "Look at the damn picture."
"I've been driving all night. I'm exhausted. I don't pay attention to my passengers -"
"He is a ten year old little boy!" Regina nearly sobs. "He had a backpack. He was traveling alone. Please, just look at the picture. Please."
With a sigh, Joe looks at the picture, taking in Henry's face. "Yeah, yeah, okay, that kid. I remember him. Sorta."
"Where did he go? What stop did he get off at?" Regina begs him to remember.
Joe closes his eyes, trying to remember the kid. And then it hits him. "Storybrooke." He mumbles.
"What?"
"Storybrooke. The kid got off at Storybrooke. He was the only one. I remember because no one ever gets off at that stop. But he did."
"Storybrooke?" Regina repeats. "Storybrooke, Maine."
"Yeah." Joe confirms. "Real little town. It's off I-95."
That's all Regina needs to hear. She spins on her boot clad heel and races for her Bug.
"You're welcome!" Joe yells to her retreating back, but she's already too far away to care.
**
"What am I supposed to do?" Emma asks Kathryn after relaying the whole story to her. "I mean, I gave him up in a closed adoption. I'm pretty sure that I'm breaking all kinds of laws right now, Kath, and I can't go back to jail."
"Whoa, whoa." Kathryn puts a hand on Emma's arm, trying to calm the mayor. "It's not going to come to that, okay? I won't let it come to that."
"If his mother thinks I kidnapped him -" Emma glances over to where Henry is still nestled on the couch, engrossed in a hand held video game now. His eyes are drooping a bit and she figures the kid has to be tired after his adventure to get here, but he keeps focused on the game, his fingers moving quickly over the buttons.
"You didn't do anything wrong, Emma. Henry tracked you down and showed up here of his own accord. While you're not supposed to have contact with him, you also can't help that he showed up on your office doorstep. No judge is going to fault you for that."
"Okay." Emma breathes a sigh of relief, thankful for the attorney's help. "But what do I do with him?"
"As of now, no Amber Alerts have been issued. To me, that means that either his mother doesn't realize he's gone, or - more likely - Henry's right in assuming that she's coming looking for him herself. I'd say that for now, your best bet is to get in touch with Graham. Have him call the Boston PD, let them know that Henry showed up here, that you're trying to get in touch with his mother but Henry's not being 100% forthcoming with information about her.” Kathryn pauses, clearly checking off items on some mental list. “By doing that, you're showing that you are trying to get him back, that you aren't trying to kidnap him or anything else. Plus, you've already sought legal counsel and contacted the police to make sure that Henry gets back with his adoptive mother."
"Okay." Emma nods again, feeling like it's the only word she can say. "And until we get in touch with his mother, what should I do with him?"
"From my standpoint, you're okay to keep him with you. You're a well respected, elected official with ties to this town. You wouldn’t endanger him. And the other option is taking him down to the station to wait, probably in a cell. No one wants that to happen to a ten year old kid."
"Okay, so, I call Graham and tell him what's going on, then I take Henry back to my place and I wait until he gets in touch with the mother or she shows up here."
There's panic in Emma's eyes, even as she tries to remain calm, and Kathryn is reminded that she's only a 28 year old woman who had no family growing up and is, in many ways, still just a lost little girl. She reaches out and grasps Emma's hand. "How about I go talk to Graham, get all of that stuff taken care of, and you just go ahead and take Henry back to your place?"
Emma looks relieved and offers a semi-watery smile to her friend. "Thank you, Kath. Really. I -"
"Hey." Kathryn shakes her head and smiles. "It's okay. It's nothing, in fact. You gave me a job when no one else would. I owe you far more than this."
Emma smiles. "I just knew I was going to need a great lawyer one day."
"Well you got one." Kathryn smiles, then turns to Henry. "Henry?"
The little boy jolts just a bit at Kathryn's voice, blinking rapidly before focusing on her face, his game falling into his lap. "Yeah?"
"I need you to tell me just a few more things, okay?"
Henry bites his lip, looks to Emma, and then finally nods slowly at Kathryn once he sees Emma nod at him. "Okay. I'll try."
"What's your mom's name, Henry?"
Henry knows he could be smart and say Emma Swan, but he also knows from the bits and pieces of the conversation that he overheard that Emma is really freaking out about everything right now. Plus, he's fairly certain that enough time has passed that his mom is already on her way - if she’s coming. So he gives her a smile and offers up the name. "Regina. Regina Mills."
Kathryn scribbles on a legal pad. "Okay. Great. And what was your address in Boston?"
This time he takes longer to answer and it's not because he's trying to be funny or waste time or anything like that. It's honestly because he's trying to remember. He can only come up with a street name and an apartment number, but Kathryn tells him he did a good job as she writes everything down. Moving around so much makes it difficult to remember your address, Henry has found, especially because Mom is so protective over him. He goes to school and that's about it.
"Is there any way to reach your mother, Henry? A cell phone, email, anything?"
"No." Henry tells them and it isn't a lie. "She uses different ones all the time, so that they can't be traced back to her. She had just finished a job so she got rid of the prepaid cell phone she'd been using. She didn't tell me a new number yet. And she doesn't have access to a computer all the time, only if we go to the library or something."
"Alright. Thank you, Henry. I'm going to go talk to our sheriff, to see if he can get in touch with your mom, so we can get you back to her. Mayor Swan is going to take you back to her house so that you can get some food and maybe catch a nap for a while."
Henry's eyes light up. "I get to go home with you?"
"Only until we get in touch with your mom, Henry." Emma cautions quickly. "And then you're going back with her."
Henry smiles widely and nods. "Cool."
Emma glances at Kathryn again and the lawyer gives her a reassuring smile. "Go ahead. I'll take care of all of this."
"Thank you, Kathryn." Emma says again before she turns to Henry. "Alright kid, grab your backpack and come on." This time, she doesn't even correct herself. She's suddenly feeling very un-mayoral.
Kathryn watches the two leave, pulling out her cell phone and dialing a number before she starts walking. "Hey, it's Kathryn. You might want to head over to Emma's. She could probably use you right about now."
**
The knock at the door startles Emma and she feels her stomach begin to churn. This is it, she tells herself, I'm going to open that door and Henry's mother is going to be on the other side. She only hopes the woman isn't carrying a gun and looking for vigilante justice.
She pulls the door open and exhales all her breath at the sight of the woman behind it. "Mary Margaret."
"Hey. Kathryn called, said you needed me." The teacher says as she takes in the sight of Emma. She's changed from her pencil skirt and blazer into yoga pants and a long sleeved shirt, her go to comfort outfit.
Emma closes her eyes, feeling the tears she's been trying to keep at bay slip down her cheeks. "She was right." She murmurs as she falls into Mary Margaret's embrace, clinging to her tightly.
When Emma had shown up in Storybrooke a month after giving up Henry, she'd been a mess to say the least. Granny had given her a room at the B&B, as well as a job waitressing with Ruby. She'd met Mary Margaret when she came in every morning at 7:15 to try and catch David Nolan's eye. Mary Margaret had been sweet and understanding and so motherly (even though they were nearly the same age) that Emma had instantly latched on to her. They'd quickly become friends and Emma had opened up to Mary Margaret about everything that had happened to her - including giving up Henry. Up until a few hours ago when she'd admitted everything to Kathryn, Mary Margaret had been the only one to know the truth about her giving up her child for adoption.
"Hey, hey. Shh." Mary Margaret whispers against Emma's hair, rubbing her back gently. "What's going on?"
Emma pulls back and looks at Mary Margaret with watery eyes. "He's here, Mary Margaret. He's here."
Mary Margaret swallows, knowing without being told who 'he' is. Ruby and Ashley had both already called her asking if she knew why a little boy would be looking for Emma. She'd suspected and now it seems that her suspicions have been confirmed. "Oh, Emma." She hugs the mayor again. "Where is he?"
"Upstairs, in one of the extra rooms, sound asleep. I made him some grilled cheese and then showed him the room and he sprawled out on the bed with his comics and fell asleep." She blinks. "My son is sleeping upstairs."
A million questions fly through Mary Margaret's mind but she knows that Emma doesn't need to be bombarded with them right now. She'll get her answers later. Right now, her friend needs her. "And how are you handling that?"
"I feel like I'm losing my mind." Emma admits quietly.
"Oh Emma."
"Henry - his name is Henry - he says he needs my help. That I'm the only one who can help him. There's stuff going on with his mom, but he won't tell me what or how I'm supposed to help and… I don't know what to do Mary Margaret. I'm so scared."
"I know you are." Mary Margaret soothes. "But you haven't done anything wrong and from what Kathryn said, whatever legalities there are in this situation are being taken care of."
"It's not the legalities I'm worried about." Emma sighs. "Or at least not just the legalities. You should've seen him when he saw this place, Mary Margaret. His eyes went so wide and he couldn't believe it was all mine. He was running around like a little monkey and when he found the bedroom - I just couldn't help but think -"
"Emma." Mary Margaret's voice holds concern, even as it reprimands just a bit.
"I know I made the right choice all those years ago. I know it. I couldn't handle it then. But now I can't help but look around at my life and think - what if? I turned everything around. I'm the mayor, for crying out loud! Maybe the first year or so we would've struggled, but look at the life I could've given him. Maybe if I'd just kept him - if I'd just toughed it out -"
Mary Margaret reaches out and takes her hands, squeezing them tightly. "Sweetie, don't do that. Don't play the what if game." She brushes a lock of blonde hair back off Emma's tear stained cheeks. "It'll only drive you crazy. There's nothing you can do to change the past."
"I know that." Emma breathes. "I know that and I've come to terms with it. But when the past shows up on my doorstep -"
"It's hard. I know." Mary Margaret supplies with a small smile. "What about the future? If he sought you out because of a problem with his mother -"
Emma shakes her head. "He loves his mom. I don't think the problem is with her, so much as about her and her job. He seems worried about her. And I could never - I couldn't do that to either of them. I just - I just need her to get here and take him and let me get back to trying to be mayor of this town."
"Alright." Mary Margaret nods, pleased with Emma's response. "Let's go to the kitchen, have some hot chocolate and relax for a little, okay? Wait until Henry's mom shows up and take it all from there."
"But David -" Emma protests, even as she allows herself to be led into the kitchen that Mary Margaret uses more than her.
"David understands. Now let's get some hot chocolate in you. I'll even add extra whipped cream and cinnamon."
**
It isn't until she sees the large, white 'Welcome To Storybrooke' sign that Regina feels some of the panic abate. She's been trying to cling to her bail bondsperson persona, but as the miles on I-95 had increased with no sign of the town Joe had claimed Henry had taken the bus to, the worried mother had risen more and more. But now, finally, she's entering the town. Her son is here. And she will get him back.
She doesn't pay much attention to the sights she's passing. Unlike Henry, she doesn’t care what the little town looks like. All she cares about is finding Henry. So when she catches sight of the small 'bus stop' sign, she slams on the brakes, thankful that there's no other traffic on the road. She quickly pulls over and scans the area, taking in the sight of the diner. It's her best bet, so she grabs the picture of Henry and climbs out of the car.
A bell rings above the door as she enters and a young waitress in a rather skimpy outfit turns to look at her. "Wow, two in one day." She mutters as she comes forward.
"Excuse me?" Regina asks, her eyes scanning the diner looking for any signs of Henry.
"Oh, nothing." Ruby smiles and hands over a menu. "Can I get you something to drink while you decide?"
Regina pushes the menu aside. "Actually, I'm not here for food. I'm looking for someone. My son, Henry." She holds up the picture. "Have you seen him, by chance?"
Regina slides the picture across the counter to Ruby. It doesn't take more than a quick glance for the waitress to nod. "Oh sure! He was in here earlier today. Sweet kid. Really polite."
Regina's heart skips a beat. "You've seen him then? He's here?" She knows there's desperation in her voice, but she doesn't care.
"Yep." Ruby smiles. "I mean, he's not here here, of course. But he's here in Storybrooke."
"Do you have any idea where he might be?" Regina practically begs.
"He was looking for Mayor Swan when he got here, so I'd check there first."
"The mayor?" Regina wracks her brain, trying to figure out why Henry would be looking for the mayor of a small town. What could he possibly have come here for? "Do you know where I can find him?"
Ruby laughs at that. "Her."
"What?" Regina asks, not comprehending anything but her need to find her son.
"Mayor Swan is a woman. Her, not him. She's probably home by now. 108 Mifflin Street is her address. It's a big, white house. Impossible to miss."
Regina pushes away from the counter. "Thank you." She calls over her shoulder as she rushes out of the diner.
"No problem." Ruby calls after her. "Well, Emma, you certainly are popular today, aren't you?" She mumbles to herself as she cleans off the counter.
**
Emma hears the car pull up out front and feels her stomach churn again. This time she knows it will be Henry's mother on the opposite side of the door. Mary Margaret senses her friend's fear and reaches out, giving her hand a squeeze.
"It's going to be okay. Kathryn and Graham have taken care of all the legal things. Henry is safe, well fed, and sound asleep. It's going to be okay."
"I hope you're right." Emma whispers as the frantic knocking starts on the door.
Mary Margaret rises and follows behind Emma, making sure to keep a safe distance, but still stay close as well.
Emma takes a deep breath, squares her shoulders, and opens the door. On the other side is a beautiful (but obviously distraught) woman. "Hello?" Emma manages.
Regina is taken aback by the woman who answers the door. She's not at all what she was expecting. "I need to speak to your mother." She blurts out.
Emma's eyes widen and a strangled laugh slips from her lips. She can't help it, although it's obvious Regina isn't amused. "What is so damn funny?"
Emma's hands come up in a gesture of surrender. "Nothing. I just - it's not my mother you're looking for, but me." She holds out a hand. "I'm Mayor Swan - Emma Swan. And you must be Regina Mills."
Again, Regina is taken aback. "You're the mayor?" Her tone easily reveals her disbelief that Emma could hold such a position.
Emma just nods. "That's me."
And then the other part of Emma's comment registers. "You know who I am?" She sounds suspicious and defensive.
"You're Henry's mother." Emma says, the words sounding strangled, but Regina doesn't even notice.
"Henry." She gasps out her son's name. "Where is he?"
"It's okay. He's safe. He's upstairs, sleeping."
Without even being invited in, Regina pushes in and rushes up the stairs. Emma watches her go for a moment before she follows as well. "Second door on the left." She calls out, knowing instinctively that Regina will rip her house apart looking for her son.
By the time Emma reaches the top of the stairs, Regina has already flung open the door to the room Henry is in and is on the bed, grabbing her son.
"Henry!" She sobs, hugging the just waking boy tightly, as though he'll disappear if she lets go.
"Mom?" Henry's voice is sleepy as he blinks to clear his eyes. When she comes into focus and he realizes she's really there, he hugs her tightly. "Mom!"
"Henry. Henry. Henry." Regina says his name over and over again as her hands move over his body as though looking for any injuries he may have gathered on his journey.
Watching them, Emma feels her heart clench. The little boy on the bed may be the child she gave birth to, but he is obviously Regina's son. And Regina is obviously his mother. She quietly moves back to the stairs, going down to join Mary Margaret again. She doesn't want to intrude on the family moment.
"Henry!" Regina gasps as she pulls back to look him over. "What on earth were you thinking? Why would you run away like that?"
Henry reads the panic and pain on his mother's face easily. She may be able to wear a mask in front of everyone else, but she can't keep it on in front of him. "I'm sorry, Mom." He says softly. "And I'm okay. I knew you'd find me. And I had to find her."
"I will always find you." Regina assures, fiercely. "But who did you have to find, Henry? And why couldn't you tell me about it?"
"Emma." Henry tells her, swallowing. "I found Emma. She's my birth mom."
**
"Emma, what's going on?" Mary Margaret asks as she sees Emma coming back down the stairs, a heartbroken look on her face. She remembers that look from the early days of Emma's stay in Storybrooke, when she'd been haunted by so many things.
"She's with Henry. And I didn't want to intrude."
Mary Margaret moves over to her. "Are you okay?"
"She's his mom." Emma murmurs the truth that seems to cut as it comes up her throat. "She's going to take him back."
"Oh Emma."
Emma shakes her head. "I'm fine." Mary Margaret shoots her a look that plainly says she doesn't believe her. "Okay, maybe I'm not fine. But I'll be okay. You should go on home."
Mary Margaret opens her mouth to protest, but at Emma's look she closes it again. "You'll call?" It's a question, but there's no denying the demand in the statement.
Emma inclines her head in agreement. Mary Margaret hugs her tightly before finally leaving the mansion.
It's not even a full minute after the door closes behind Mary Margaret that Regina comes bounding down the steps, her eyes blazing. Henry is trailing after her, protesting, but she will not be stopped.
"You're Henry's birth mother?" The words are flung down at her and Emma flinches just slightly at them.
She suddenly wishes she hadn't changed out of her skirt and blazer. Maybe if she was still in her mayoral clothes, she'd feel more confident. But she isn't and she doesn't, so she offers up a forced smile and a weak, "Hi."
"Mom! Stop!" Henry tries again, but Regina is already moving into Emma's personal space.
"You think that you can take him from me? You think that just because you're the mayor of some rinky dink little town that that gives you any right to -"
"Whoa. Whoa." Emma holds her hands up again, stepping back out of Regina's way. "Listen, I already talked to my lawyer and -"
The second after she says it, Emma realizes how that statement can be taken, but by then it's too late. Regina is back in her space again and if looks could kill, she would be dead.
"You have no right! No right! You gave him up! You threw him away! He is my son!"
"No, no!" Emma says quickly, shaking her head. "I didn't mean - I'm not trying to -"
"Mom!" Henry calls again, grabbing Regina's arm. "Stop it."
Regina calms then, just slightly and Emma holds her hands up once again in a gesture of surrender. "I'm sorry. That came out wrong. I am not trying to take your son."
"Then why did you talk to your lawyer?" Regina obviously doesn't trust her and Emma can't blame her.
"Because I know the rules around the adoption. I wasn't to have contact with Henry. And I swear to you, until he showed up at my office, I didn't even know his name. I'm not trying to take him. You're his mother." Regina slowly begins to relax at Emma's words. "I was trying to get in touch with you - to get him back to you. I didn't want you to think that I was trying to kidnap him or anything, and my lawyer was the first person I could think of to contact. Our town sheriff has been in touch with the Boston PD, trying to get in touch with you. Henry wasn't exactly… forthcoming with information about you."
Regina looks down at her son, who is now staring at the floor. "Henry? Is that true?"
Henry only nods, his eyes still downcast.
"Henry, why wouldn't you tell them about me?"
Henry lifts his head, looking first at Emma and then over at his mother. Emma sees the sheen of tears covering his eyes. "I didn't want them to try to take me back." He whispers.
"What?" Regina sounds shattered at that moment and Emma suddenly wishes that she wasn't in the room. "Why wouldn't you want to come back?"
Henry swallows visibly and Emma thinks about slipping out of the room to give them privacy, but his next words stop her in her tracks. "I knew that if you wanted me, you'd come find me. And if you didn't, then I thought maybe Emma would keep me and -"
"If I wanted you? Henry, what -"
"I heard you, Mom."
"What did you hear?" Regina asks, clearly not knowing what her son is referring to.
"I heard you tell that guy the other night about how hard it is to be a single mom. How much work it is. How sometimes you wish -" His little voice cracks and both Emma and Regina's hearts crack along with it. "How sometimes you wish you weren't."
Regina drops to her knees and Emma envies her that opportunity, because she feels her own buckling, but she forces herself to stay standing. Whatever problems are between Regina and Henry are their own. She needs to stay strong and stay out of it. She straightens her back, forcing herself to project the image of a mayor.
"Oh Henry, no." Regina reaches for him but he shakes his head and pulls back.
"So I went looking for information about my birth mom and then when I found out about Emma - about how she was the mayor and had a steady job and lived in a nice town - I thought that maybe she'd want me back for a while. And then you wouldn't have to worry about me and you could come find me later when you wanted me again."
Regina pulls Henry into her arms quickly, nearly crushing him with the force of her hug. "No. No, Henry. Don't you say things like that. I want you now. I always want you. You are my son. Those things I said, I didn't mean them. I was just working. You know that sometimes I have to say things I don't mean when I'm working."
Henry smiles sadly and slips out of her arms. "You did mean what you said, Mom."
Tears slip down Regina's cheeks and Emma realizes that Henry has inherited her 'superpower' of knowing when someone is lying. She also knows that whatever Regina might have said, she never meant for her son to hear it or that she didn't want him.
"Henry," she says, her own voice sounding slightly choked up, so she clears her throat before continuing, "whatever your mom said, I'm sure that she did mean it."
"How dare you -" Regina starts, but Emma kneels down to face Henry, ignoring Regina's angry words.
"It is a really hard job to be someone's mom." She reaches out and gently brushes hair out of Henry's face, looking at his eyes and remembering him as the tiny baby she'd held in her arms. "There are some people who can't do it, who aren't cut out for it. People like me, when I had you. I wasn't always the mayor. I didn't always have a good life. And I knew that I wouldn't be able to be the mom you needed then. Honestly, I don't know if I'd be able to be the mom you needed now."
Henry nods slowly, showing he understands what she's saying so far.
"But then, there are other people who are made to be moms. People like your mom. They will do whatever it takes, no matter how hard it might be, even when sometimes they feel like they can't keep doing it. Especially if they're doing it all by themselves. But they do. Because they love their children so much and that wins over everything else." She smiles softly at him, wiping away tears in a motion that is slightly unsure.
Emma glances at Regina and then looks back at Henry. "I'm sure that everything your mom said about being a single mom was true. I'm sure it's hard and I'm sure that there are days when she wishes that she didn't have to do it alone. But you have to trust me on this when I tell you that no matter how hard it is, she loves you and she's in this for the long haul. She wouldn't have adopted you - chosen you - if she wasn't. And she wouldn't have come all this way to find you if she wasn't. Okay?"
Henry glances between the two women and then finally nods. "Okay, Emma."
"Okay." Emma smiles and then stands up again.
Regina also straightens and stares at Emma for a few moments before she looks back down at her son. "Well," she says, her voice taking on a hard edge, "thank you very much, Mayor Swan, for watching over my son until I could get here to bring him home."
"Of course." Emma says softly, aware that the woman is staking claim.
"We will be getting out of your way now."
"No!" Henry says vehemently, shaking his head. "We can't leave!"
"Henry." Regina cautions.
"No." Henry says again, rushing for Emma. "Don't make me leave! You said you'd help."
"Kid, I never -"
"Please, Emma, please."
Emma can see the pain on Regina's face and the worry on Henry's. She closes her eyes, taking a deep breath before she opens them again. "Look, it's getting late, and you've both had long days. Why don't you stay for the night and then tomorrow -"
"Yes!" Henry exclaims at the same time that Regina says, "That won't be necessary."
"Miss Mills, please. I have more space than I know what to do with. And if you want, I can even go stay with my friend Mary Margaret."
Regina's eyebrow raises at that. "You'd leave two strangers alone in your house overnight?"
Emma shrugs. "I know who both of you are. I don't think you'd do anything crazy. And if you did, the sheriff is a friend so…"
"That won't be necessary."
"Mom! Please!" Henry begs.
"We will stay," Regina assures Henry softly, "but Mayor Swan does not need to leave. It is her home, after all."
Little arms wrap around Regina's waist tightly. "Thank you!"
"And we leave first thing in the morning, Henry. No arguments."
Henry looks at his mother and can see the determination there. She's angry and hurt about everything but she's still doing this because she knows he wants to. He nods his agreement. He'll just have to get to Emma quickly.
"Let me show you up to the guest rooms." Emma says quietly, trying to break the tension.
**
She's in her home office, staring out at the apple trees that grow in her back yard, when she hears the door open. She turns, unsurprised to see Henry slipping into the room.
"Henry," she uses the 'mom' voice again, "it's late. You should be sleeping."
"I know, but I had to talk to you about Operation Cobra."
Emma's eyebrows raise. "Operation Cobra?"
"I don't want to leave, Emma. And I need your help." Henry says as he climbs up on the sofa that sits by the fireplace in the office.
Emma moves to sit down beside him with a sigh. "Kid, I can't help you here. I have no rights. And you know that your mom loves you. So please -"
"No, Emma, I don't mean like that. I mean - I want you to convince my mom that she should stay here in Storybrooke too."
"What?"
Henry gets quiet then and she watches as he fidgets for a bit before he looks back up at her. "We move all the time. We never stay in one place."
Emma knows that feeling.
"And my mom's job is really dangerous."
"Bail bondsperson?" Emma knows that Henry had said Regina had to go all over the place to track people down, but she still can't imagine that helping to put up money for people's bail is that dangerous.
"People skip out on bail a lot more than you'd think." Henry says, sounding much older than ten. "Mom has to go after them. And a lot of times they don't want to be found."
Emma exhales as she realizes what Henry is telling her. Regina is, essentially, a bounty hunter. "How often does your mom come home hurt?"
"A lot." Henry whispers, the tears back in his eyes. "Please, Emma, can't you do something? I don't want her to get hurt anymore."
"What do you want me to do? How do you think that I can help?" Emma honestly doesn't have the first idea about what to do in this situation.
"I don't know." Henry nearly wails. "You're the mayor. Can't you give her a job or something? Then we could stay here and we wouldn't have to move and she'd be safe and I could see you, too."
Emma sighs and runs her fingers through her hair. "Henry, it's not that simple. And even if it were - I gave you up in a closed adoption. The rules are that we're not even supposed to know about each other, let alone see each other."
Henry frowns at that, getting off the sofa. "I don't want her to be hurt anymore. Please, Emma. You're my only hope."
"Kid, I -"
"You're my mother! You're supposed to help me!" He cries and it shatters her already cracked heart into a million pieces. She's spent ten years healing and building up walls around her heart and herself and in the span of one day, Henry has managed to knock all of that to the ground.
"Henry." She tries, but he's already out of the room and Emma's eyes slip closed, tears sliding down her cheeks. She drops her head into her hands and allows the sobs to come.
**
Regina wakes to the scent of something delicious wafting up from the floor below. It is the first sign that she is not at her home if it could even be called that in Boston. The second is the feeling of the bed beneath her. Unlike the hard and lumpy mattress on her cramped single bed, this mattress is deliciously soft, yet firm. The Egyptian cotton sheets felt wonderful against her skin and she considers just rolling back over and going back to sleep for a while.
But she can't do that. She needs to get up and get Henry and get out of this place. So she climbs out of the comfortable bed, her body aching in protest, and pulls yesterday's clothes back on.
She checks the room next to hers where Henry had slept the night before, but it is, unsurprisingly, empty. At least his backpack is still laying at the foot of the bed. With a frown, she heads down the stairs and into the kitchen where the delicious scent is coming from.
Emma is standing at the stove, cooking breakfast of some kind. She is wearing an apron over a pants suit that makes her look every bit the mayor she is. The night before, Regina couldn't imagine it, but now it's easy to see Emma's authority. The clothes really do help make the woman.
Emma turns on her high heels, taking in the sight of Regina. "Good morning." She says with a smile. Regina does not answer. Instead, she looks at the stove and counter tops.
"I made breakfast, if you're hungry. Apple cinnamon waffles and bacon." Emma offers by way of explanation. "Henry asked for them, so…"
"Where is my son?" Regina asks, feeling her anger rising already. The woman was obviously trying to sway Henry by spoiling him and giving him whatever he could possibly ask for.
"He's outside." Emma nods her head towards the large windows and the glass doors of the kitchen that look out onto the backyard. "Picking some apples for you both to enjoy on your car ride home."
Regina moves over to the doors, taking in the sight of Henry, happily pulling apples down from the trees and tossing them into the basket. Her hand reaches for the door, ready to go gather him and leave this place, but Emma's voice stops her.
"Miss Mills, please, at least eat some breakfast before you go. Have a cup of coffee or something."
Regina turns to protest, but her stomach growls, effectively shutting down any argument she might've given. "Fine." She huffs, moving over to grab the plate that Emma has already set out for her.
"I hope the waffles are okay. Henry seemed to enjoy them, but ten year old boys tend to eat whatever you put in front of them… I would imagine." Emma frowns a little as she tends to the bacon frying on the stove. "It's been a while since I made waffles from scratch though. I was an absolute disaster in the kitchen when I first moved to Storybrooke. I probably would've starved to death if it wasn't for Granny teaching me how to cook." She pauses for a breath and looks at Regina, who is watching her with something that looks vaguely like amusement. At least it's not open hostility anymore. "And now I'm rambling. Sorry. Shutting up now."
"Henry does that when he gets nervous." Regina comments softly.
"Yeah?" Emma asks, trying to keep her voice from breaking. She focuses on flipping the bacon.
Regina nods her head. "I take it that it runs in your family?"
Emma's hand stills, a piece of bacon dangling from the turner. "Oh. I, uh" she clears her throat, "wouldn't know." She shakes herself, flipping the piece of bacon and jumping back a bit as grease pops at her. "My parents… left me on the side of a highway the day I was born, so…"
Regina's eyes widen at the confession. "Madam Mayor, I am sorry. I didn't mean"
Emma turns then, a dazzling smile on her lips, but it doesn't reach her eyes. "Don't be sorry. If they could only see me now, huh?"
Silence descends on the kitchen then, neither woman knowing what to say after Emma's confession. Regina samples the waffles and can't stop the small moan of pleasure that slips from her lips at the taste. The waffles are delicious, which just makes Regina hate Emma even more. Is there anything Henry's birth mother can't do?
Emma moves the frying pan off the burner and begins to clean up the kitchen, her eyes darting back and forth from Henry outside to Regina still eating the waffles in her kitchen. The little boy's words have been echoing in her head ever since he left her office last night. She hadn't gotten much sleep the night before and even after she'd taken her morning run around the town, she still can't shake them.
"You're my mother! You're supposed to help me!"
"Miss Mills?" She finally ventures, once Regina's plate is almost clean and she knows her limited window is just about closed.
Regina looks up at her and Emma feels her stomach flip. This shouldn't be hard. She's the mayor of the town, for god's sake. Bringing up the idea of Regina and Henry staying in Storybrooke shouldn't scare her so much. But she's already way in over her head here. Still, what's the worst that can happen? Regina's going to take Henry either way.
She clears her throat and stands up a bit straighter, looking Regina directly in the eye. "I think that you and Henry should stay here in Storybrooke."
Regina's eyebrow raises. "Excuse me?"
Emma isn't willing to back down though. "I think that you and Henry should stay here in Storybrooke. It's a great town, safe and -"
Regina pushes herself up so that she's standing at full height. There's a fire in her eyes. "I don't know what kind of game you're playing here, Madam Mayor, but Henry is my son and he is going home with me."
Emma watches as Regina moves toward the kitchen door and something snaps inside of her. "Oh, and what home would that be? Because from what I hear, it changes every week or so."
The action is so quick that before she can even blink, Regina is in her face, gripping her arm and shoving her back into the stove angrily. "You know nothing about it! Nothing!"
Emma winces at the pain that shoots up her spine when her back hits the stove and is well aware of the heat radiating off of the burner she'd been using earlier. "I know more about it than you think," Emma tells the other woman, "and I would thank you to kindly let me go, Miss Mills."
At Emma's tone, Regina does release her grip, moving back to allow the mayor to step away from the stove. But the fire does not diminish from her eyes. "You think I don't see what you're doing here? You think I'm too stupid to realize that you're setting me up so that you can take my son away from me? Trying to prove that I'm a bad mother, that you're so much better because you live in this perfect house in this perfect little town with this perfect job."
"Oh for god's -" Emma huffs, rolling her eyes. "My life is far from perfect, dear. And I do not want to take Henry from you. There isn't any vendetta here. The only reason I'm even doing this is for Henry, because he asked me to. But I'm about to just give up the ghost and let you take him back."
"Henry asked you - what are you talking about?" Regina demands, making sure to stay in Emma's personal space. She's not letting up on this.
"Why do you think he ran away and came to me in the first place? Henry's worried about you. He's petrified that one day you aren't going to come home. And he thinks that I can somehow do something about it."
"What?"
"The kid isn't dumb, Miss Mills. He sees that you're coming home from work injured." Emma gestures to the bruises that are still visible on her arms. Suddenly Regina wishes she would've pulled her leather jacket on before coming downstairs. "It's not a far leap for a kid's brain to think that you might not come home one day. Plus, as if that weren't worrisome enough, you're constantly moving around. He's got no sense of stability or -"
"Henry's life is perfectly stable!"
Emma raises an eyebrow at Regina. "Don't lie to me, Miss Mills. I can tell when people are lying to me."
A bit of the anger goes out of Regina at that, but she refuses to back down. "Okay. Fine. So maybe it isn't as stable as it was before Dan -" Regina's voice catches for a moment, "before my husband died. But I am doing the best that I can to take care of my son and if you think that you can look down your nose at me for that, you got another thing coming lady."
Emma softens at Regina's words. "I'm not looking down my nose at you. Believe me. I - I am just trying to help Henry - and you - here. That's all."
"Why are you doing this? Why are you trying to help us?" Regina sounds tired and confused, all the fight drained out of her now.
Emma swallows before she admits what she's only ever told one other person before. "Henry was… he was born…" she closes her eyes and then opens them again, locking her eyes on Regina's. "I had him while I was in jail."
Regina's eyes widen, but she manages not to say anything.
"So I know what it's like to hit rock bottom. And to think that there's no way out. After I gave him up and I got out of jail… I thought that was it, you know? I thought it was all over. But then I showed up here and the people took me in and gave me a chance. If it wasn't for them, I wouldn't be here right now, I can tell you that. But they helped me - not by giving me handouts, but by supporting me and helping me when I needed it. And that's what I want to do with you. Because you need it and because Henry needs it. And for the first time since I gave him up, I can actually give him what he needs."
"Mayor Swan -"
"One week." Emma cuts her off. "Just stay one week. See what you think. I'll stay away from you and Henry if that's what you want. And if at the end of the week you don't think this is the place for you, then you can take him and go and I won't try to follow or find you or have any other contact with him again. I promise."
"One week? And you'll stay away from Henry?" Regina's eyebrow lifts.
Emma nods. "One week. I'll have my friend Kathryn draw up a legal agreement if you want."
Regina inclines her head in acknowledgement of Emma's comment, before she frowns. "And where, pray tell, am I to stay during this week? What am I to do for work?"
Emma almost says that they're welcome to stay here, but she stops herself. "Granny's got a bed and breakfast that's nice. You could stay there. Or Kathryn lives in a great apartment building, and I think there's some openings there." That's more of a long term situation, and they both know it, so Emma glosses over the suggestion and continues answering Regina's other question. "As for work, I know Granny could always use help at the diner."
Regina's nose wrinkles at that, but she doesn't comment. Emma smiles. "Or, if that's not really your speed, my sheriff is in need of a deputy. It's not exactly like what you're used to - much calmer, I'd think -" and safer, but she doesn't say that, "but your expertise would be helpful. If you're as good at finding runaway dogs as you are runaway people, you'd be doing us all a huge favor."
It's at that moment that Henry comes back into the kitchen, his basket full of apples. "Check it out, Mom! Emma let me pick some apples to take with us." He grins, holding up the fruits of his labor.
Regina looks at him, his wide smile, and thinks of what Emma has said.
Henry's worried about you. He's petrified that one day you aren't going to come home.
"One week." She says softly, her eyes meeting Emma's.
"One week." Emma smiles back at her, trying to look reassuring. She has no real right to be reacting at all to this news, let alone trying to convey that Regina has made the right decision, but it's for Henry and she can't seem to help herself.
"One week, what?" Henry asks, looking between the two.
Regina takes a deep breath and then turns to look at Henry. "I have decided that we will remain here in Storybrooke for one week."
"Really?" Henry rushes over and hugs her tightly. "That's awesome, Mom!"
Emma watches them with a smile, but when Henry pulls away from Regina and plows into her, hugging her just as tightly, she shifts uncomfortably in his embrace. "Listen, Henry, I'm really glad that you're staying for the week, but -"
"But," Regina interrupts, before Emma can tell Henry that they won't be able to see each other, "Mayor Swan needs to get to work. After all, she has a whole town to run. And we need to go to the bed and breakfast to see about getting a room. You'll be able to see her later."
"Yeah?" Henry and Emma wear matching expressions of questioning mixed with hope and Regina feels her heart clench. This could backfire horribly and cause her to lose the only person that matters to her anymore, but seeing Henry happy is enough to make her throw caution to the wind - a least a bit. She will speak to Emma about a legal agreement later. She won't be giving up her son without one hell of a fight. And Emma Swan may be mayor of this town, but she's never come up against Regina Mills before.
For now, she nods her head and offers her son a small smile. She pretends she doesn't see Emma mouth the words 'thank you' as she gives Henry's shoulder a small squeeze.
And she doesn't see Henry's widening grin as he looks between the two women, more than pleased with the outcome of his little adventure so far.
Phase 1 is complete. Now it's time to start planning phase 2.
Part 2
Fandom: Once Upon A Time
Rating: PG-13 (some language)
Pairings/Characters: Emma/Regina, Henry, Mary Margaret, Kathryn, Graham, all of Storybrooke
Summary: He shifts the pages until he sees the one with Storybrooke Daily Mirror emblazoned on the top. The picture stares up at him then, the blonde with the pretty smile and the caption under it reading 'Mayor Swan enjoys the annual Miner's Day celebration'.
Spoilers: For the whole first season, except not really.
Disclaimer: I don't own anything. Please don't sue.
Author's Note: Many, many thanks to damelola for all the help with this, including beta duties. This was written for a prompt on Tumblr where Emma was the mayor and Regina was the bail bondsperson. It is obvious AU and in this particular universe, the curse doesn't exist.
The pages are creased and crinkled, worn even though they're only a few weeks old. But in those few weeks they've been pored over during every stolen moment, the words whispered over and over until they've become imprinted on his mind. He doesn't need them anymore, the words and image the brightest memory he has.
He feels sometimes - like now, in the darkness of the tiny apartment, with only the muted neon lights of the city surrounding them to see by - like they are a tangible thing that he can grasp hold of, even if the papers aren't there. They have been becoming more and more real to him with each passing day until this moment when he knows for sure that they are. They are real, this is real, and he has to act on it now.
His fingers twitch around the crumpled pages as he moves quietly across the room. He pushes the couch cushions up to reveal a tiny collection of comic books. Thumbing through, he pulls out the one he wants - Wolverine vs. Hulk - and flips through it until he finds the bus ticket that's been hidden away for two days now.
Sliding the comic books back into their hiding place, he slips the ticket into the waiting backpack at the foot of the couch and glances down at the papers in his hand once more. The top of the first printout proclaims whosyourmomma.org and he mouths the name that he's had memorized from the minute he first saw it on the screen.
Emma Swan.
He shifts the pages until he sees the one with Storybrooke Daily Mirror emblazoned on the top. The picture stares up at him then, the blonde with the pretty smile and the caption under it reading 'Mayor Swan enjoys the annual Miner's Day celebration'.
His fingers trace the face that he already knows as well as his mother's before he carefully refolds the papers and places them in the backpack too. He slings the backpack up on his shoulder and then moves silently across to the door that is slightly ajar not only because it doesn't latch, but because his mother worries about him during the night.
She's a light sleeper, so he doesn't enter the room, too afraid of waking her. Instead, he squints through the darkness, making out dark hair on a stained pillow and the rise and fall of ratty blankets. He presses two fingers to his lips and blows a silent kiss across to her.
Then he turns and whispers, "I'm sorry, Mom," over his shoulder as he slips out the window and on to the fire escape.
He climbs down carefully and moves quickly out of the back alley onto the still busy street. It takes him nearly five minutes before a cabbie stops and each minute his heart beats faster and faster, afraid that he will be caught. Only once he is in the backseat, seatbelt buckled like Mom always taught him, does he begin to relax.
"Where to kid?" The cabbie asks, eying him.
He pulls out a twenty and holds it up. "The bus station."
The cabbie steps on the gas.
"I'm sorry, Mom." He whispers again to the slowly disappearing building in the rear view mirror.
**
The bus ride is a long one and he spends most of it rubbing his fingers over the papers and hoping that his mom won't freak out too badly when she realizes he's gone. He should've left her a note, he thinks, but it's too late for that now. He considers abandoning the mission, hopping right back on another bus to Boston and he's just about got himself convinced when the large white sign comes into view.
The sun is just coming up, casting a golden glow over the sign that proclaims Welcome To Storybrooke, making it look like something right out of a movie. It's beautiful and quaint and gives him a feeling of home that he's never really had before, no matter how much his mom has tried. "Storybrooke," he murmurs and finds he likes the way the name trips off his tongue.
When the bus finally stops in front of a small diner, he is the first one off, racing down the steps to take in the town. His eyes dart everywhere, trying to see everything at once. Little shops line the sidewalk and there's a large clock tower that is just chiming the hour. Birds are singing in the trees and people are passing by, smiling and calling out to each other as they pass.
He's so taken by the sights that he startles when the bus pulls away from the curb. He's the only one who has gotten off, it seems. He chews his lip for a minute, all of his mother's warnings about strangers and strange places and not trusting anyone ringing in his ears before he finally takes a few tentative steps towards the door of the diner.
A bell rings out, signaling his arrival, and a pretty girl with red streaks in her hair turns towards him, an easy smile on her lips. "Well hello there." She grins at him as he climbs up onto a stool. "What can I get for you today?"
He considers ordering some food for a moment before he shakes off the thought. He's only got a little bit of money and you never know when you might need it. Plus, he's got more important things to do than eat right now. "I was hoping you could help me find someone." He smiles back, using his puppy dog eyes.
The waitress grins. "Well, for a handsome guy like you, I will certainly try. Who are you looking for?"
"Emma." He says her name aloud, surprised at how easy it is for him to say. "Emma Swan."
**
"Madam Mayor?" A voice rings out from the phone on Emma's desk, causing her to look up from her paperwork.
"Yes, Ashley?"
"There's… someone here to see you."
Emma frowns. Ashley sounds strange, which probably means that whoever is here to see her, she won't like it. Rubbing a hand over her face, she sighs. "Send them in, Ashley."
She sits up straighter, pushing her shoulders back, and keeps her gaze locked on the door. For the past ten years, the town has been more than welcoming to her. The citizens of Storybrooke took her in when she had nowhere else to go and helped her get back on her feet and heal. Then, they had gone above and beyond, choosing to elect her as mayor after the previous mayor passed away. Still, there are a small number of citizens who seem to have a problem with her being mayor, even though she's done a damn fine job for the past five years, thank you very much.
So she expects that it's going to be one of those citizens who comes marching through the door, spouting off about something else that needs done or that she's done wrong. But instead, the door swings open to reveal a small boy who looks like he can't be any more than ten.
She's never seen him before, and she's pretty certain she knows everyone in town by now, so she blinks at him before standing up and coming around to the front of her desk. "Hello there. Can I help you with something?"
The little boy looks down at his feet for a moment, before he glances back up at her. "Are you Emma Swan?"
Emma chuckles just a bit. Her name is on the door of the office. "Yep, that'd be me. And you are?"
"I'm Henry." He smiles brightly. "I'm your son."
**
The blaring of the alarm clock jars Regina awake, even as her hand flies out to smack the snooze button. Her whole body aches in protest against the movements. Yesterday had been another rough collar, and though she'd tried to hide that fact from Henry, she knows she won't be able to today.
She doubts even a hot shower and pain killers will be enough to mask these injuries, although she'll certainly try. But it had been a pretty big payoff, so she doesn't regret it for a second.
The alarm blares again and she forces herself to get up, hissing through the pain. She moves out to the living room, her steps slow and tentative. "Henry," she calls, trying to make her voice sound normal, "time to wake up."
There's no reaction, no movement from the couch where Henry's been sleeping, and Regina frowns just a bit, moving further into the room. "Come on, Henry, you need to get up."
There's still no movement and she begins to feel dread creeping up her spine. "Henry?" She flips on the light and feels acid burn her throat as she takes in the empty couch. "Henry, are you here?"
The sudden burst of fear and adrenaline overrides any pain she was feeling as she rushes through the tiny apartment, checking the little bathroom, the run down kitchen, the small closets that are barely big enough for him to fit in and calling his name over and over.
No. This cannot be happening. No. No. No.
"Henry! Henry!"
It's on the second trip through the apartment that she catches sight of the window and the fact it isn't latched. She races to it, pulling it up and looking out, feeling her heart lurch as she notices that the fire escape stairs have been lowered down to street level. "Henry!" She calls out, her eyes scanning the alley frantically. But her son is nowhere to be found.
She whirls around and that's when she sees it. Or rather, doesn't see it. Henry's backpack is gone. She races to the couch and shoves the cushion up, taking in the comic book collection stashed there. She pulls them out and flips through them frantically, noticing that the newest ones she's bought for him as well as his favorites are missing.
For one second relief floods her as she realizes that he hasn't been taken. That this isn't a kidnapping by someone that she's hauled back in to jail who's out for revenge. The comics and backpack wouldn't be gone if it was.
But then, the pain comes back a hundred fold. Henry is gone. He packed his backpack and he left. He left her. Ran away.
Tears fall unbidden down her face as she collapses to the floor against the couch, clutching the comic books and sobbing.
"Henry. Henry."
**
"Wh-what?" Emma chokes the word out as she stares at the little boy, his words echoing in her ears. I'm your son. She forces herself to stand straighter, to not give in to the need to slouch or fall down in shock. She is the mayor and she must conduct herself accordingly. Hasn't that been what she's been telling herself for the last five years? "N-no. No. That's impossible. I don't have a son! Where are your parents?"
The little boy - Henry - looks up at her with an easy smile. "Ten years ago, did you give up a baby for adoption?" Emma's eyes widen and he takes that as all the answer he needs. "That was me."
Emma feels her stomach turn and tears begin to burn at her eyes. "I - give me a minute."
She rushes for the door to the private bathroom, shutting herself in and allowing the tears to fall for a brief moment. For the past ten years she has worked so hard to heal, to forget about the baby that she'd held only once before giving him away and sending him off towards his best chance. And she had finally managed to succeed, to find a new life and a new start. And now he shows up in her office.
No. This cannot be happening. No. No. No.
"Emma?" She hears him call through the door. "Are you okay?"
"Y-yes." She forces out, brushing the tears off her cheeks quickly. "I - I'll be right out."
She splashes water on her face and checks to make sure she looks presentable before she forces herself to push the door open and go back into her office. Henry is sitting on the couch, his backpack at his feet, flipping through a comic book. He looks up when he hears the door and offers her a wide smile. Her stomach flips again.
She grabs the phone on her desk, hitting the button to connect her to Ashley. "Ashley, I need you to hold all my calls and cancel all of my appointments for the rest of the day."
"Oh!" Ashley sounds surprised and just a bit flustered by these instructions. Well good, at least Emma's not alone now. "Of course, Madam Mayor."
"And I need you to call Kathryn and have her come to my office as soon as possible. Tell her it's an emergency."
"Yes, of course. But - Madam Mayor, are you alright? Is there anything I can do?"
Emma smiles slightly at the care and concern of her secretary. "I'm okay, Ashley. Just - something's come up and I need to deal with it and I think Kathryn is my best bet here."
"I'll call her right now."
"Thank you, Ashley." Emma says before hanging up the phone and looking back at Henry, who still seems engrossed in his comic books. "Okay, kid -" she grimaces, feeling too much like her old self for calling him that, "err, I mean, Henry, I need you to answer some questions for me."
Henry carefully tucks his comic away and smiles up at Emma as she sits down on the couch next to him. His birth mother is really pretty, even though she looks pretty freaked out right now. "Sure."
"What makes you think that you're my son?"
Henry quickly turns and rummages in his backpack, pulling out the ragged papers and thrusting them at her. "I found you on the internet."
Emma feels the start of a major scam happening here, but as she unfolds the papers and reads over them, she realizes that Henry is telling the truth. There's information in here that couldn't have been obtained except in the court records - which were supposed to be seal, as it was a closed adoption.
"Henry," she tries his name out again, "how did you even know to look for me? I mean, it was supposed to be a closed adoption, you weren't supposed to know about me at all. Not you or your parents."
"After I found out I was adopted, I knew I had to look for you. I knew you'd be able to help me."
"Help you?" Emma's heart sinks. "Why do you need help?"
Henry just smiles a secretive little smile and ignores the question. "I'm really good at finding people. I get it from my mom. My other mom."
Emma's head spins. "Your other - Henry, where are your parents? Do they even know you're here?"
Henry looks down at his lap and she knows then. Oh god. Oh god, this is so, so bad. She glances at the door, willing Kathryn to walk through it, because she needs backup. Badly.
"Henry." She tries to use her best 'mom voice', which turns out to be the voice she uses when dealing with those constituents who are less than pleased with her, and surprisingly it works.
"It's just my mom and me. My dad died when I was two." Henry admits softly and Emma feels her heart shatter once more. "And I didn't tell my mom I was coming to find you."
"Henry!" She gasps. "She's probably worried sick about you! She probably thinks something horrible happened. Where is she? I'm taking you back there right now."
"I - I don't know."
"What do you mean you don't know?" Emma stares at him, trying to look for a lie in his words.
"After my dad died things got bad." Henry says slowly. "We didn't have enough money and we had to move around a lot. Mom took a job as a bail bondsperson. She - she has to go all over trying to track people down."
Emma's eyes widened in something like horror. "So she leaves you alone without any idea where she is? You're ten!"
Henry quickly shakes his head. "No. No, Emma, she's not a bad mom. She isn't!" He doesn't want Emma to think that. He doesn't want her to try and have him taken away from his mom. "It's just really hard. But she takes really good care of me and she loves me. I swear."
"Henry." Emma sighs, helplessly.
"We were in Boston when I left. She was home with me. I left while she was sleeping." Henry admits quietly.
"Boston? You came all the way from Boston by yourself?"
"I know how to take care of myself." Henry defends.
"Well, I'm glad for that. And I'm glad that your mom is a good mom, even if she's had some tough times. Which is why you're coming with me and we're going back to Boston." Emma says, the only possible solution she can come up with.
"What? No! We can't do that!" Henry protests. "I told you, my mom is really good at finding people. She's probably on her way here now. If you try to take me back, we'll miss each other and when she finds out I'm not here, she'll really panic and she'll think that you've kidnapped me."
"Because I'm your birth mother." Emma murmurs, feeling dread creeping up. Oh god. This is so, so, so bad.
"Madam Mayor?" Ashley's voice cuts through Emma's thoughts. "Kathryn is here."
"Oh thank god." Emma whispers. "Send her in please, Ashley."
"Emma?" Kathryn asks as she comes through the door, "What's going on? What's the emergency?"
Emma looks at Kathryn and then back to Henry. "Kathryn, meet Henry." She motions to him and then forces the words from her throat. "He's my son."
**
It only takes Regina a few minutes to realize that she needs to pull herself together and go find her son. She drops the comics, leaves the couch cushion overturned, and goes to get dressed quickly. She forces herself to think of Henry as just another person she needs to find, just someone else who is running, not as her ten year old son, the only thing she has left in the world. She has to be a cool, collected bail bondsperson right now, because if she allows herself to be the distraught mother that she really is, she'll never find him.
Once she's got her boots, jeans, and tank top on, she grabs her wallet and leather jacket, as well as the most recent picture of Henry that she has and takes off for the bus station in her beat up yellow Volkswagon. When people want to run, they don’t stay in the same city. But Henry's options for leaving were limited - he couldn't drive and he couldn't fly alone - so the bus station was the best bet.
It takes twenty minutes, a lot of threats, and one round of tears before one of the employees remembers Henry buying a ticket with cash three days earlier. But no one seems to know what bus it was for or where it was going.
Regina's nearly at the end of her rope when one of the janitors catches sight of the picture and says that he saw the boy getting on the bus that had left in the middle of the night heading for Maine.
There were various stops that that bus made though and not knowing which one Henry got off on, she feels just as helpless as she had before.
"Hey, Joe drives that bus and it looks like he's just pulling in. Maybe he remembers what stop your son got off at." The janitor offers with a smile, pointing towards the bus that is just pulling into the station.
Regina takes off at a run, barely managing to throw a thank you over her shoulder as she goes. She's on the bus before Joe even has it in park, thrusting Henry's picture in his face.
"Whoa, lady, what the hell?"
"Do you remember this little boy?" Regina's voice is desperate, "He was on your bus this morning. Do you remember him? Where did he get off?"
"Look, lady, I don't -"
Regina grabs him by the collar then, clutching tightly and trying to get her anger and fear under control. "Look at the damn picture."
"I've been driving all night. I'm exhausted. I don't pay attention to my passengers -"
"He is a ten year old little boy!" Regina nearly sobs. "He had a backpack. He was traveling alone. Please, just look at the picture. Please."
With a sigh, Joe looks at the picture, taking in Henry's face. "Yeah, yeah, okay, that kid. I remember him. Sorta."
"Where did he go? What stop did he get off at?" Regina begs him to remember.
Joe closes his eyes, trying to remember the kid. And then it hits him. "Storybrooke." He mumbles.
"What?"
"Storybrooke. The kid got off at Storybrooke. He was the only one. I remember because no one ever gets off at that stop. But he did."
"Storybrooke?" Regina repeats. "Storybrooke, Maine."
"Yeah." Joe confirms. "Real little town. It's off I-95."
That's all Regina needs to hear. She spins on her boot clad heel and races for her Bug.
"You're welcome!" Joe yells to her retreating back, but she's already too far away to care.
**
"What am I supposed to do?" Emma asks Kathryn after relaying the whole story to her. "I mean, I gave him up in a closed adoption. I'm pretty sure that I'm breaking all kinds of laws right now, Kath, and I can't go back to jail."
"Whoa, whoa." Kathryn puts a hand on Emma's arm, trying to calm the mayor. "It's not going to come to that, okay? I won't let it come to that."
"If his mother thinks I kidnapped him -" Emma glances over to where Henry is still nestled on the couch, engrossed in a hand held video game now. His eyes are drooping a bit and she figures the kid has to be tired after his adventure to get here, but he keeps focused on the game, his fingers moving quickly over the buttons.
"You didn't do anything wrong, Emma. Henry tracked you down and showed up here of his own accord. While you're not supposed to have contact with him, you also can't help that he showed up on your office doorstep. No judge is going to fault you for that."
"Okay." Emma breathes a sigh of relief, thankful for the attorney's help. "But what do I do with him?"
"As of now, no Amber Alerts have been issued. To me, that means that either his mother doesn't realize he's gone, or - more likely - Henry's right in assuming that she's coming looking for him herself. I'd say that for now, your best bet is to get in touch with Graham. Have him call the Boston PD, let them know that Henry showed up here, that you're trying to get in touch with his mother but Henry's not being 100% forthcoming with information about her.” Kathryn pauses, clearly checking off items on some mental list. “By doing that, you're showing that you are trying to get him back, that you aren't trying to kidnap him or anything else. Plus, you've already sought legal counsel and contacted the police to make sure that Henry gets back with his adoptive mother."
"Okay." Emma nods again, feeling like it's the only word she can say. "And until we get in touch with his mother, what should I do with him?"
"From my standpoint, you're okay to keep him with you. You're a well respected, elected official with ties to this town. You wouldn’t endanger him. And the other option is taking him down to the station to wait, probably in a cell. No one wants that to happen to a ten year old kid."
"Okay, so, I call Graham and tell him what's going on, then I take Henry back to my place and I wait until he gets in touch with the mother or she shows up here."
There's panic in Emma's eyes, even as she tries to remain calm, and Kathryn is reminded that she's only a 28 year old woman who had no family growing up and is, in many ways, still just a lost little girl. She reaches out and grasps Emma's hand. "How about I go talk to Graham, get all of that stuff taken care of, and you just go ahead and take Henry back to your place?"
Emma looks relieved and offers a semi-watery smile to her friend. "Thank you, Kath. Really. I -"
"Hey." Kathryn shakes her head and smiles. "It's okay. It's nothing, in fact. You gave me a job when no one else would. I owe you far more than this."
Emma smiles. "I just knew I was going to need a great lawyer one day."
"Well you got one." Kathryn smiles, then turns to Henry. "Henry?"
The little boy jolts just a bit at Kathryn's voice, blinking rapidly before focusing on her face, his game falling into his lap. "Yeah?"
"I need you to tell me just a few more things, okay?"
Henry bites his lip, looks to Emma, and then finally nods slowly at Kathryn once he sees Emma nod at him. "Okay. I'll try."
"What's your mom's name, Henry?"
Henry knows he could be smart and say Emma Swan, but he also knows from the bits and pieces of the conversation that he overheard that Emma is really freaking out about everything right now. Plus, he's fairly certain that enough time has passed that his mom is already on her way - if she’s coming. So he gives her a smile and offers up the name. "Regina. Regina Mills."
Kathryn scribbles on a legal pad. "Okay. Great. And what was your address in Boston?"
This time he takes longer to answer and it's not because he's trying to be funny or waste time or anything like that. It's honestly because he's trying to remember. He can only come up with a street name and an apartment number, but Kathryn tells him he did a good job as she writes everything down. Moving around so much makes it difficult to remember your address, Henry has found, especially because Mom is so protective over him. He goes to school and that's about it.
"Is there any way to reach your mother, Henry? A cell phone, email, anything?"
"No." Henry tells them and it isn't a lie. "She uses different ones all the time, so that they can't be traced back to her. She had just finished a job so she got rid of the prepaid cell phone she'd been using. She didn't tell me a new number yet. And she doesn't have access to a computer all the time, only if we go to the library or something."
"Alright. Thank you, Henry. I'm going to go talk to our sheriff, to see if he can get in touch with your mom, so we can get you back to her. Mayor Swan is going to take you back to her house so that you can get some food and maybe catch a nap for a while."
Henry's eyes light up. "I get to go home with you?"
"Only until we get in touch with your mom, Henry." Emma cautions quickly. "And then you're going back with her."
Henry smiles widely and nods. "Cool."
Emma glances at Kathryn again and the lawyer gives her a reassuring smile. "Go ahead. I'll take care of all of this."
"Thank you, Kathryn." Emma says again before she turns to Henry. "Alright kid, grab your backpack and come on." This time, she doesn't even correct herself. She's suddenly feeling very un-mayoral.
Kathryn watches the two leave, pulling out her cell phone and dialing a number before she starts walking. "Hey, it's Kathryn. You might want to head over to Emma's. She could probably use you right about now."
**
The knock at the door startles Emma and she feels her stomach begin to churn. This is it, she tells herself, I'm going to open that door and Henry's mother is going to be on the other side. She only hopes the woman isn't carrying a gun and looking for vigilante justice.
She pulls the door open and exhales all her breath at the sight of the woman behind it. "Mary Margaret."
"Hey. Kathryn called, said you needed me." The teacher says as she takes in the sight of Emma. She's changed from her pencil skirt and blazer into yoga pants and a long sleeved shirt, her go to comfort outfit.
Emma closes her eyes, feeling the tears she's been trying to keep at bay slip down her cheeks. "She was right." She murmurs as she falls into Mary Margaret's embrace, clinging to her tightly.
When Emma had shown up in Storybrooke a month after giving up Henry, she'd been a mess to say the least. Granny had given her a room at the B&B, as well as a job waitressing with Ruby. She'd met Mary Margaret when she came in every morning at 7:15 to try and catch David Nolan's eye. Mary Margaret had been sweet and understanding and so motherly (even though they were nearly the same age) that Emma had instantly latched on to her. They'd quickly become friends and Emma had opened up to Mary Margaret about everything that had happened to her - including giving up Henry. Up until a few hours ago when she'd admitted everything to Kathryn, Mary Margaret had been the only one to know the truth about her giving up her child for adoption.
"Hey, hey. Shh." Mary Margaret whispers against Emma's hair, rubbing her back gently. "What's going on?"
Emma pulls back and looks at Mary Margaret with watery eyes. "He's here, Mary Margaret. He's here."
Mary Margaret swallows, knowing without being told who 'he' is. Ruby and Ashley had both already called her asking if she knew why a little boy would be looking for Emma. She'd suspected and now it seems that her suspicions have been confirmed. "Oh, Emma." She hugs the mayor again. "Where is he?"
"Upstairs, in one of the extra rooms, sound asleep. I made him some grilled cheese and then showed him the room and he sprawled out on the bed with his comics and fell asleep." She blinks. "My son is sleeping upstairs."
A million questions fly through Mary Margaret's mind but she knows that Emma doesn't need to be bombarded with them right now. She'll get her answers later. Right now, her friend needs her. "And how are you handling that?"
"I feel like I'm losing my mind." Emma admits quietly.
"Oh Emma."
"Henry - his name is Henry - he says he needs my help. That I'm the only one who can help him. There's stuff going on with his mom, but he won't tell me what or how I'm supposed to help and… I don't know what to do Mary Margaret. I'm so scared."
"I know you are." Mary Margaret soothes. "But you haven't done anything wrong and from what Kathryn said, whatever legalities there are in this situation are being taken care of."
"It's not the legalities I'm worried about." Emma sighs. "Or at least not just the legalities. You should've seen him when he saw this place, Mary Margaret. His eyes went so wide and he couldn't believe it was all mine. He was running around like a little monkey and when he found the bedroom - I just couldn't help but think -"
"Emma." Mary Margaret's voice holds concern, even as it reprimands just a bit.
"I know I made the right choice all those years ago. I know it. I couldn't handle it then. But now I can't help but look around at my life and think - what if? I turned everything around. I'm the mayor, for crying out loud! Maybe the first year or so we would've struggled, but look at the life I could've given him. Maybe if I'd just kept him - if I'd just toughed it out -"
Mary Margaret reaches out and takes her hands, squeezing them tightly. "Sweetie, don't do that. Don't play the what if game." She brushes a lock of blonde hair back off Emma's tear stained cheeks. "It'll only drive you crazy. There's nothing you can do to change the past."
"I know that." Emma breathes. "I know that and I've come to terms with it. But when the past shows up on my doorstep -"
"It's hard. I know." Mary Margaret supplies with a small smile. "What about the future? If he sought you out because of a problem with his mother -"
Emma shakes her head. "He loves his mom. I don't think the problem is with her, so much as about her and her job. He seems worried about her. And I could never - I couldn't do that to either of them. I just - I just need her to get here and take him and let me get back to trying to be mayor of this town."
"Alright." Mary Margaret nods, pleased with Emma's response. "Let's go to the kitchen, have some hot chocolate and relax for a little, okay? Wait until Henry's mom shows up and take it all from there."
"But David -" Emma protests, even as she allows herself to be led into the kitchen that Mary Margaret uses more than her.
"David understands. Now let's get some hot chocolate in you. I'll even add extra whipped cream and cinnamon."
**
It isn't until she sees the large, white 'Welcome To Storybrooke' sign that Regina feels some of the panic abate. She's been trying to cling to her bail bondsperson persona, but as the miles on I-95 had increased with no sign of the town Joe had claimed Henry had taken the bus to, the worried mother had risen more and more. But now, finally, she's entering the town. Her son is here. And she will get him back.
She doesn't pay much attention to the sights she's passing. Unlike Henry, she doesn’t care what the little town looks like. All she cares about is finding Henry. So when she catches sight of the small 'bus stop' sign, she slams on the brakes, thankful that there's no other traffic on the road. She quickly pulls over and scans the area, taking in the sight of the diner. It's her best bet, so she grabs the picture of Henry and climbs out of the car.
A bell rings above the door as she enters and a young waitress in a rather skimpy outfit turns to look at her. "Wow, two in one day." She mutters as she comes forward.
"Excuse me?" Regina asks, her eyes scanning the diner looking for any signs of Henry.
"Oh, nothing." Ruby smiles and hands over a menu. "Can I get you something to drink while you decide?"
Regina pushes the menu aside. "Actually, I'm not here for food. I'm looking for someone. My son, Henry." She holds up the picture. "Have you seen him, by chance?"
Regina slides the picture across the counter to Ruby. It doesn't take more than a quick glance for the waitress to nod. "Oh sure! He was in here earlier today. Sweet kid. Really polite."
Regina's heart skips a beat. "You've seen him then? He's here?" She knows there's desperation in her voice, but she doesn't care.
"Yep." Ruby smiles. "I mean, he's not here here, of course. But he's here in Storybrooke."
"Do you have any idea where he might be?" Regina practically begs.
"He was looking for Mayor Swan when he got here, so I'd check there first."
"The mayor?" Regina wracks her brain, trying to figure out why Henry would be looking for the mayor of a small town. What could he possibly have come here for? "Do you know where I can find him?"
Ruby laughs at that. "Her."
"What?" Regina asks, not comprehending anything but her need to find her son.
"Mayor Swan is a woman. Her, not him. She's probably home by now. 108 Mifflin Street is her address. It's a big, white house. Impossible to miss."
Regina pushes away from the counter. "Thank you." She calls over her shoulder as she rushes out of the diner.
"No problem." Ruby calls after her. "Well, Emma, you certainly are popular today, aren't you?" She mumbles to herself as she cleans off the counter.
**
Emma hears the car pull up out front and feels her stomach churn again. This time she knows it will be Henry's mother on the opposite side of the door. Mary Margaret senses her friend's fear and reaches out, giving her hand a squeeze.
"It's going to be okay. Kathryn and Graham have taken care of all the legal things. Henry is safe, well fed, and sound asleep. It's going to be okay."
"I hope you're right." Emma whispers as the frantic knocking starts on the door.
Mary Margaret rises and follows behind Emma, making sure to keep a safe distance, but still stay close as well.
Emma takes a deep breath, squares her shoulders, and opens the door. On the other side is a beautiful (but obviously distraught) woman. "Hello?" Emma manages.
Regina is taken aback by the woman who answers the door. She's not at all what she was expecting. "I need to speak to your mother." She blurts out.
Emma's eyes widen and a strangled laugh slips from her lips. She can't help it, although it's obvious Regina isn't amused. "What is so damn funny?"
Emma's hands come up in a gesture of surrender. "Nothing. I just - it's not my mother you're looking for, but me." She holds out a hand. "I'm Mayor Swan - Emma Swan. And you must be Regina Mills."
Again, Regina is taken aback. "You're the mayor?" Her tone easily reveals her disbelief that Emma could hold such a position.
Emma just nods. "That's me."
And then the other part of Emma's comment registers. "You know who I am?" She sounds suspicious and defensive.
"You're Henry's mother." Emma says, the words sounding strangled, but Regina doesn't even notice.
"Henry." She gasps out her son's name. "Where is he?"
"It's okay. He's safe. He's upstairs, sleeping."
Without even being invited in, Regina pushes in and rushes up the stairs. Emma watches her go for a moment before she follows as well. "Second door on the left." She calls out, knowing instinctively that Regina will rip her house apart looking for her son.
By the time Emma reaches the top of the stairs, Regina has already flung open the door to the room Henry is in and is on the bed, grabbing her son.
"Henry!" She sobs, hugging the just waking boy tightly, as though he'll disappear if she lets go.
"Mom?" Henry's voice is sleepy as he blinks to clear his eyes. When she comes into focus and he realizes she's really there, he hugs her tightly. "Mom!"
"Henry. Henry. Henry." Regina says his name over and over again as her hands move over his body as though looking for any injuries he may have gathered on his journey.
Watching them, Emma feels her heart clench. The little boy on the bed may be the child she gave birth to, but he is obviously Regina's son. And Regina is obviously his mother. She quietly moves back to the stairs, going down to join Mary Margaret again. She doesn't want to intrude on the family moment.
"Henry!" Regina gasps as she pulls back to look him over. "What on earth were you thinking? Why would you run away like that?"
Henry reads the panic and pain on his mother's face easily. She may be able to wear a mask in front of everyone else, but she can't keep it on in front of him. "I'm sorry, Mom." He says softly. "And I'm okay. I knew you'd find me. And I had to find her."
"I will always find you." Regina assures, fiercely. "But who did you have to find, Henry? And why couldn't you tell me about it?"
"Emma." Henry tells her, swallowing. "I found Emma. She's my birth mom."
**
"Emma, what's going on?" Mary Margaret asks as she sees Emma coming back down the stairs, a heartbroken look on her face. She remembers that look from the early days of Emma's stay in Storybrooke, when she'd been haunted by so many things.
"She's with Henry. And I didn't want to intrude."
Mary Margaret moves over to her. "Are you okay?"
"She's his mom." Emma murmurs the truth that seems to cut as it comes up her throat. "She's going to take him back."
"Oh Emma."
Emma shakes her head. "I'm fine." Mary Margaret shoots her a look that plainly says she doesn't believe her. "Okay, maybe I'm not fine. But I'll be okay. You should go on home."
Mary Margaret opens her mouth to protest, but at Emma's look she closes it again. "You'll call?" It's a question, but there's no denying the demand in the statement.
Emma inclines her head in agreement. Mary Margaret hugs her tightly before finally leaving the mansion.
It's not even a full minute after the door closes behind Mary Margaret that Regina comes bounding down the steps, her eyes blazing. Henry is trailing after her, protesting, but she will not be stopped.
"You're Henry's birth mother?" The words are flung down at her and Emma flinches just slightly at them.
She suddenly wishes she hadn't changed out of her skirt and blazer. Maybe if she was still in her mayoral clothes, she'd feel more confident. But she isn't and she doesn't, so she offers up a forced smile and a weak, "Hi."
"Mom! Stop!" Henry tries again, but Regina is already moving into Emma's personal space.
"You think that you can take him from me? You think that just because you're the mayor of some rinky dink little town that that gives you any right to -"
"Whoa. Whoa." Emma holds her hands up again, stepping back out of Regina's way. "Listen, I already talked to my lawyer and -"
The second after she says it, Emma realizes how that statement can be taken, but by then it's too late. Regina is back in her space again and if looks could kill, she would be dead.
"You have no right! No right! You gave him up! You threw him away! He is my son!"
"No, no!" Emma says quickly, shaking her head. "I didn't mean - I'm not trying to -"
"Mom!" Henry calls again, grabbing Regina's arm. "Stop it."
Regina calms then, just slightly and Emma holds her hands up once again in a gesture of surrender. "I'm sorry. That came out wrong. I am not trying to take your son."
"Then why did you talk to your lawyer?" Regina obviously doesn't trust her and Emma can't blame her.
"Because I know the rules around the adoption. I wasn't to have contact with Henry. And I swear to you, until he showed up at my office, I didn't even know his name. I'm not trying to take him. You're his mother." Regina slowly begins to relax at Emma's words. "I was trying to get in touch with you - to get him back to you. I didn't want you to think that I was trying to kidnap him or anything, and my lawyer was the first person I could think of to contact. Our town sheriff has been in touch with the Boston PD, trying to get in touch with you. Henry wasn't exactly… forthcoming with information about you."
Regina looks down at her son, who is now staring at the floor. "Henry? Is that true?"
Henry only nods, his eyes still downcast.
"Henry, why wouldn't you tell them about me?"
Henry lifts his head, looking first at Emma and then over at his mother. Emma sees the sheen of tears covering his eyes. "I didn't want them to try to take me back." He whispers.
"What?" Regina sounds shattered at that moment and Emma suddenly wishes that she wasn't in the room. "Why wouldn't you want to come back?"
Henry swallows visibly and Emma thinks about slipping out of the room to give them privacy, but his next words stop her in her tracks. "I knew that if you wanted me, you'd come find me. And if you didn't, then I thought maybe Emma would keep me and -"
"If I wanted you? Henry, what -"
"I heard you, Mom."
"What did you hear?" Regina asks, clearly not knowing what her son is referring to.
"I heard you tell that guy the other night about how hard it is to be a single mom. How much work it is. How sometimes you wish -" His little voice cracks and both Emma and Regina's hearts crack along with it. "How sometimes you wish you weren't."
Regina drops to her knees and Emma envies her that opportunity, because she feels her own buckling, but she forces herself to stay standing. Whatever problems are between Regina and Henry are their own. She needs to stay strong and stay out of it. She straightens her back, forcing herself to project the image of a mayor.
"Oh Henry, no." Regina reaches for him but he shakes his head and pulls back.
"So I went looking for information about my birth mom and then when I found out about Emma - about how she was the mayor and had a steady job and lived in a nice town - I thought that maybe she'd want me back for a while. And then you wouldn't have to worry about me and you could come find me later when you wanted me again."
Regina pulls Henry into her arms quickly, nearly crushing him with the force of her hug. "No. No, Henry. Don't you say things like that. I want you now. I always want you. You are my son. Those things I said, I didn't mean them. I was just working. You know that sometimes I have to say things I don't mean when I'm working."
Henry smiles sadly and slips out of her arms. "You did mean what you said, Mom."
Tears slip down Regina's cheeks and Emma realizes that Henry has inherited her 'superpower' of knowing when someone is lying. She also knows that whatever Regina might have said, she never meant for her son to hear it or that she didn't want him.
"Henry," she says, her own voice sounding slightly choked up, so she clears her throat before continuing, "whatever your mom said, I'm sure that she did mean it."
"How dare you -" Regina starts, but Emma kneels down to face Henry, ignoring Regina's angry words.
"It is a really hard job to be someone's mom." She reaches out and gently brushes hair out of Henry's face, looking at his eyes and remembering him as the tiny baby she'd held in her arms. "There are some people who can't do it, who aren't cut out for it. People like me, when I had you. I wasn't always the mayor. I didn't always have a good life. And I knew that I wouldn't be able to be the mom you needed then. Honestly, I don't know if I'd be able to be the mom you needed now."
Henry nods slowly, showing he understands what she's saying so far.
"But then, there are other people who are made to be moms. People like your mom. They will do whatever it takes, no matter how hard it might be, even when sometimes they feel like they can't keep doing it. Especially if they're doing it all by themselves. But they do. Because they love their children so much and that wins over everything else." She smiles softly at him, wiping away tears in a motion that is slightly unsure.
Emma glances at Regina and then looks back at Henry. "I'm sure that everything your mom said about being a single mom was true. I'm sure it's hard and I'm sure that there are days when she wishes that she didn't have to do it alone. But you have to trust me on this when I tell you that no matter how hard it is, she loves you and she's in this for the long haul. She wouldn't have adopted you - chosen you - if she wasn't. And she wouldn't have come all this way to find you if she wasn't. Okay?"
Henry glances between the two women and then finally nods. "Okay, Emma."
"Okay." Emma smiles and then stands up again.
Regina also straightens and stares at Emma for a few moments before she looks back down at her son. "Well," she says, her voice taking on a hard edge, "thank you very much, Mayor Swan, for watching over my son until I could get here to bring him home."
"Of course." Emma says softly, aware that the woman is staking claim.
"We will be getting out of your way now."
"No!" Henry says vehemently, shaking his head. "We can't leave!"
"Henry." Regina cautions.
"No." Henry says again, rushing for Emma. "Don't make me leave! You said you'd help."
"Kid, I never -"
"Please, Emma, please."
Emma can see the pain on Regina's face and the worry on Henry's. She closes her eyes, taking a deep breath before she opens them again. "Look, it's getting late, and you've both had long days. Why don't you stay for the night and then tomorrow -"
"Yes!" Henry exclaims at the same time that Regina says, "That won't be necessary."
"Miss Mills, please. I have more space than I know what to do with. And if you want, I can even go stay with my friend Mary Margaret."
Regina's eyebrow raises at that. "You'd leave two strangers alone in your house overnight?"
Emma shrugs. "I know who both of you are. I don't think you'd do anything crazy. And if you did, the sheriff is a friend so…"
"That won't be necessary."
"Mom! Please!" Henry begs.
"We will stay," Regina assures Henry softly, "but Mayor Swan does not need to leave. It is her home, after all."
Little arms wrap around Regina's waist tightly. "Thank you!"
"And we leave first thing in the morning, Henry. No arguments."
Henry looks at his mother and can see the determination there. She's angry and hurt about everything but she's still doing this because she knows he wants to. He nods his agreement. He'll just have to get to Emma quickly.
"Let me show you up to the guest rooms." Emma says quietly, trying to break the tension.
**
She's in her home office, staring out at the apple trees that grow in her back yard, when she hears the door open. She turns, unsurprised to see Henry slipping into the room.
"Henry," she uses the 'mom' voice again, "it's late. You should be sleeping."
"I know, but I had to talk to you about Operation Cobra."
Emma's eyebrows raise. "Operation Cobra?"
"I don't want to leave, Emma. And I need your help." Henry says as he climbs up on the sofa that sits by the fireplace in the office.
Emma moves to sit down beside him with a sigh. "Kid, I can't help you here. I have no rights. And you know that your mom loves you. So please -"
"No, Emma, I don't mean like that. I mean - I want you to convince my mom that she should stay here in Storybrooke too."
"What?"
Henry gets quiet then and she watches as he fidgets for a bit before he looks back up at her. "We move all the time. We never stay in one place."
Emma knows that feeling.
"And my mom's job is really dangerous."
"Bail bondsperson?" Emma knows that Henry had said Regina had to go all over the place to track people down, but she still can't imagine that helping to put up money for people's bail is that dangerous.
"People skip out on bail a lot more than you'd think." Henry says, sounding much older than ten. "Mom has to go after them. And a lot of times they don't want to be found."
Emma exhales as she realizes what Henry is telling her. Regina is, essentially, a bounty hunter. "How often does your mom come home hurt?"
"A lot." Henry whispers, the tears back in his eyes. "Please, Emma, can't you do something? I don't want her to get hurt anymore."
"What do you want me to do? How do you think that I can help?" Emma honestly doesn't have the first idea about what to do in this situation.
"I don't know." Henry nearly wails. "You're the mayor. Can't you give her a job or something? Then we could stay here and we wouldn't have to move and she'd be safe and I could see you, too."
Emma sighs and runs her fingers through her hair. "Henry, it's not that simple. And even if it were - I gave you up in a closed adoption. The rules are that we're not even supposed to know about each other, let alone see each other."
Henry frowns at that, getting off the sofa. "I don't want her to be hurt anymore. Please, Emma. You're my only hope."
"Kid, I -"
"You're my mother! You're supposed to help me!" He cries and it shatters her already cracked heart into a million pieces. She's spent ten years healing and building up walls around her heart and herself and in the span of one day, Henry has managed to knock all of that to the ground.
"Henry." She tries, but he's already out of the room and Emma's eyes slip closed, tears sliding down her cheeks. She drops her head into her hands and allows the sobs to come.
**
Regina wakes to the scent of something delicious wafting up from the floor below. It is the first sign that she is not at her home if it could even be called that in Boston. The second is the feeling of the bed beneath her. Unlike the hard and lumpy mattress on her cramped single bed, this mattress is deliciously soft, yet firm. The Egyptian cotton sheets felt wonderful against her skin and she considers just rolling back over and going back to sleep for a while.
But she can't do that. She needs to get up and get Henry and get out of this place. So she climbs out of the comfortable bed, her body aching in protest, and pulls yesterday's clothes back on.
She checks the room next to hers where Henry had slept the night before, but it is, unsurprisingly, empty. At least his backpack is still laying at the foot of the bed. With a frown, she heads down the stairs and into the kitchen where the delicious scent is coming from.
Emma is standing at the stove, cooking breakfast of some kind. She is wearing an apron over a pants suit that makes her look every bit the mayor she is. The night before, Regina couldn't imagine it, but now it's easy to see Emma's authority. The clothes really do help make the woman.
Emma turns on her high heels, taking in the sight of Regina. "Good morning." She says with a smile. Regina does not answer. Instead, she looks at the stove and counter tops.
"I made breakfast, if you're hungry. Apple cinnamon waffles and bacon." Emma offers by way of explanation. "Henry asked for them, so…"
"Where is my son?" Regina asks, feeling her anger rising already. The woman was obviously trying to sway Henry by spoiling him and giving him whatever he could possibly ask for.
"He's outside." Emma nods her head towards the large windows and the glass doors of the kitchen that look out onto the backyard. "Picking some apples for you both to enjoy on your car ride home."
Regina moves over to the doors, taking in the sight of Henry, happily pulling apples down from the trees and tossing them into the basket. Her hand reaches for the door, ready to go gather him and leave this place, but Emma's voice stops her.
"Miss Mills, please, at least eat some breakfast before you go. Have a cup of coffee or something."
Regina turns to protest, but her stomach growls, effectively shutting down any argument she might've given. "Fine." She huffs, moving over to grab the plate that Emma has already set out for her.
"I hope the waffles are okay. Henry seemed to enjoy them, but ten year old boys tend to eat whatever you put in front of them… I would imagine." Emma frowns a little as she tends to the bacon frying on the stove. "It's been a while since I made waffles from scratch though. I was an absolute disaster in the kitchen when I first moved to Storybrooke. I probably would've starved to death if it wasn't for Granny teaching me how to cook." She pauses for a breath and looks at Regina, who is watching her with something that looks vaguely like amusement. At least it's not open hostility anymore. "And now I'm rambling. Sorry. Shutting up now."
"Henry does that when he gets nervous." Regina comments softly.
"Yeah?" Emma asks, trying to keep her voice from breaking. She focuses on flipping the bacon.
Regina nods her head. "I take it that it runs in your family?"
Emma's hand stills, a piece of bacon dangling from the turner. "Oh. I, uh" she clears her throat, "wouldn't know." She shakes herself, flipping the piece of bacon and jumping back a bit as grease pops at her. "My parents… left me on the side of a highway the day I was born, so…"
Regina's eyes widen at the confession. "Madam Mayor, I am sorry. I didn't mean"
Emma turns then, a dazzling smile on her lips, but it doesn't reach her eyes. "Don't be sorry. If they could only see me now, huh?"
Silence descends on the kitchen then, neither woman knowing what to say after Emma's confession. Regina samples the waffles and can't stop the small moan of pleasure that slips from her lips at the taste. The waffles are delicious, which just makes Regina hate Emma even more. Is there anything Henry's birth mother can't do?
Emma moves the frying pan off the burner and begins to clean up the kitchen, her eyes darting back and forth from Henry outside to Regina still eating the waffles in her kitchen. The little boy's words have been echoing in her head ever since he left her office last night. She hadn't gotten much sleep the night before and even after she'd taken her morning run around the town, she still can't shake them.
"You're my mother! You're supposed to help me!"
"Miss Mills?" She finally ventures, once Regina's plate is almost clean and she knows her limited window is just about closed.
Regina looks up at her and Emma feels her stomach flip. This shouldn't be hard. She's the mayor of the town, for god's sake. Bringing up the idea of Regina and Henry staying in Storybrooke shouldn't scare her so much. But she's already way in over her head here. Still, what's the worst that can happen? Regina's going to take Henry either way.
She clears her throat and stands up a bit straighter, looking Regina directly in the eye. "I think that you and Henry should stay here in Storybrooke."
Regina's eyebrow raises. "Excuse me?"
Emma isn't willing to back down though. "I think that you and Henry should stay here in Storybrooke. It's a great town, safe and -"
Regina pushes herself up so that she's standing at full height. There's a fire in her eyes. "I don't know what kind of game you're playing here, Madam Mayor, but Henry is my son and he is going home with me."
Emma watches as Regina moves toward the kitchen door and something snaps inside of her. "Oh, and what home would that be? Because from what I hear, it changes every week or so."
The action is so quick that before she can even blink, Regina is in her face, gripping her arm and shoving her back into the stove angrily. "You know nothing about it! Nothing!"
Emma winces at the pain that shoots up her spine when her back hits the stove and is well aware of the heat radiating off of the burner she'd been using earlier. "I know more about it than you think," Emma tells the other woman, "and I would thank you to kindly let me go, Miss Mills."
At Emma's tone, Regina does release her grip, moving back to allow the mayor to step away from the stove. But the fire does not diminish from her eyes. "You think I don't see what you're doing here? You think I'm too stupid to realize that you're setting me up so that you can take my son away from me? Trying to prove that I'm a bad mother, that you're so much better because you live in this perfect house in this perfect little town with this perfect job."
"Oh for god's -" Emma huffs, rolling her eyes. "My life is far from perfect, dear. And I do not want to take Henry from you. There isn't any vendetta here. The only reason I'm even doing this is for Henry, because he asked me to. But I'm about to just give up the ghost and let you take him back."
"Henry asked you - what are you talking about?" Regina demands, making sure to stay in Emma's personal space. She's not letting up on this.
"Why do you think he ran away and came to me in the first place? Henry's worried about you. He's petrified that one day you aren't going to come home. And he thinks that I can somehow do something about it."
"What?"
"The kid isn't dumb, Miss Mills. He sees that you're coming home from work injured." Emma gestures to the bruises that are still visible on her arms. Suddenly Regina wishes she would've pulled her leather jacket on before coming downstairs. "It's not a far leap for a kid's brain to think that you might not come home one day. Plus, as if that weren't worrisome enough, you're constantly moving around. He's got no sense of stability or -"
"Henry's life is perfectly stable!"
Emma raises an eyebrow at Regina. "Don't lie to me, Miss Mills. I can tell when people are lying to me."
A bit of the anger goes out of Regina at that, but she refuses to back down. "Okay. Fine. So maybe it isn't as stable as it was before Dan -" Regina's voice catches for a moment, "before my husband died. But I am doing the best that I can to take care of my son and if you think that you can look down your nose at me for that, you got another thing coming lady."
Emma softens at Regina's words. "I'm not looking down my nose at you. Believe me. I - I am just trying to help Henry - and you - here. That's all."
"Why are you doing this? Why are you trying to help us?" Regina sounds tired and confused, all the fight drained out of her now.
Emma swallows before she admits what she's only ever told one other person before. "Henry was… he was born…" she closes her eyes and then opens them again, locking her eyes on Regina's. "I had him while I was in jail."
Regina's eyes widen, but she manages not to say anything.
"So I know what it's like to hit rock bottom. And to think that there's no way out. After I gave him up and I got out of jail… I thought that was it, you know? I thought it was all over. But then I showed up here and the people took me in and gave me a chance. If it wasn't for them, I wouldn't be here right now, I can tell you that. But they helped me - not by giving me handouts, but by supporting me and helping me when I needed it. And that's what I want to do with you. Because you need it and because Henry needs it. And for the first time since I gave him up, I can actually give him what he needs."
"Mayor Swan -"
"One week." Emma cuts her off. "Just stay one week. See what you think. I'll stay away from you and Henry if that's what you want. And if at the end of the week you don't think this is the place for you, then you can take him and go and I won't try to follow or find you or have any other contact with him again. I promise."
"One week? And you'll stay away from Henry?" Regina's eyebrow lifts.
Emma nods. "One week. I'll have my friend Kathryn draw up a legal agreement if you want."
Regina inclines her head in acknowledgement of Emma's comment, before she frowns. "And where, pray tell, am I to stay during this week? What am I to do for work?"
Emma almost says that they're welcome to stay here, but she stops herself. "Granny's got a bed and breakfast that's nice. You could stay there. Or Kathryn lives in a great apartment building, and I think there's some openings there." That's more of a long term situation, and they both know it, so Emma glosses over the suggestion and continues answering Regina's other question. "As for work, I know Granny could always use help at the diner."
Regina's nose wrinkles at that, but she doesn't comment. Emma smiles. "Or, if that's not really your speed, my sheriff is in need of a deputy. It's not exactly like what you're used to - much calmer, I'd think -" and safer, but she doesn't say that, "but your expertise would be helpful. If you're as good at finding runaway dogs as you are runaway people, you'd be doing us all a huge favor."
It's at that moment that Henry comes back into the kitchen, his basket full of apples. "Check it out, Mom! Emma let me pick some apples to take with us." He grins, holding up the fruits of his labor.
Regina looks at him, his wide smile, and thinks of what Emma has said.
Henry's worried about you. He's petrified that one day you aren't going to come home.
"One week." She says softly, her eyes meeting Emma's.
"One week." Emma smiles back at her, trying to look reassuring. She has no real right to be reacting at all to this news, let alone trying to convey that Regina has made the right decision, but it's for Henry and she can't seem to help herself.
"One week, what?" Henry asks, looking between the two.
Regina takes a deep breath and then turns to look at Henry. "I have decided that we will remain here in Storybrooke for one week."
"Really?" Henry rushes over and hugs her tightly. "That's awesome, Mom!"
Emma watches them with a smile, but when Henry pulls away from Regina and plows into her, hugging her just as tightly, she shifts uncomfortably in his embrace. "Listen, Henry, I'm really glad that you're staying for the week, but -"
"But," Regina interrupts, before Emma can tell Henry that they won't be able to see each other, "Mayor Swan needs to get to work. After all, she has a whole town to run. And we need to go to the bed and breakfast to see about getting a room. You'll be able to see her later."
"Yeah?" Henry and Emma wear matching expressions of questioning mixed with hope and Regina feels her heart clench. This could backfire horribly and cause her to lose the only person that matters to her anymore, but seeing Henry happy is enough to make her throw caution to the wind - a least a bit. She will speak to Emma about a legal agreement later. She won't be giving up her son without one hell of a fight. And Emma Swan may be mayor of this town, but she's never come up against Regina Mills before.
For now, she nods her head and offers her son a small smile. She pretends she doesn't see Emma mouth the words 'thank you' as she gives Henry's shoulder a small squeeze.
And she doesn't see Henry's widening grin as he looks between the two women, more than pleased with the outcome of his little adventure so far.
Phase 1 is complete. Now it's time to start planning phase 2.
Part 2