We Can Love Again

Being Brave

Emma Swan was on her way home from work. She had a million things on her mind, and none of them were things she wanted to deal with at the moment. Despite being the sheriff of Storybrooke, she was probably going double the speed limit on the small and narrow streets. Her phone was buzzing in her pocket; she swore to herself as she dug it out and checked the message. Thankfully it was only David wondering about dinner plans. When Emma turned her attention back to the road, her heart almost seized in her chest when she saw three people standing in the center of the road.

Slamming on the breaks, her mouth hung open in a paralyzing shock when she saw who those three people were. Her son was finally back.

"H-Henry?!" Emma yelled, hurriedly opening the car door and getting out. Her eyes never left his as she ran towards him with open arms. She fell to her knees and encased him in a tight hug. Two months had been way too long.

Emotions were flying through her body, she felt happier than she had been in a very long time. But Emma immediately sensed something was wrong.

"Henry, what's the matter?"

He was shaking underneath his blue cotton shirt; when she examined her son more carefully, she saw his face was a ghostly white- he didn't seem all there.

"Regina, what the hell? You're eight days late! We said two months!" Emma shouted angrily at the woman, turning her attention to her for answers.

"Regina!" She snapped her fingers irritably. It was like none of them acknowledged she was even there.

Then she saw all the bruises speckling her neck. Regina's eyes soon filled with tears as she glanced around at her surroundings.

"Please tell me what's going on," Emma said, "you're really freaking me out."

Roland was holding onto Regina so tightly she probably didn't even need to keep her hands underneath him for support.

"He's... Gone..." Regina finally muttered, staring at a fixed point off in the distance.

Emma sighed. "You just... need to get home. I'll ask the questions later. Get in the car, I'm not letting you walk all the way there."

It was a struggle to pay attention to what she was saying- Regina felt as though she had woken up from an awful dream. She could see his face framed in the center of the dark green magic, eyes staring right at her with such desperation.

"Thank you," she said softly, following the blonde out to her yellow bug and getting inside the passenger seat. Henry crawled over into the back, his eyes still glazed over with shock. The atmosphere inside of the car was stone silent as Emma started it up; she drove slowly and carefully down the street and turned a few corners until a giant white house with an immaculate front lawn came into view. From a side view, Emma noticed Regina slip a worn black ring on her fourth finger with shaking hands.

Looking down at Roland, Regina already knew she didn't have the heart to tell him about what had happened. He had his face completely buried in her hair and he was squeezing her tightly with both his arms and his legs.

"Okay, well this is it..." Emma began, unlocking the car door and giving Henry another glance. This time, he had a little life in his eyes as he smiled back at her.

"I missed you mom." Henry said quietly, wrapping his arms around her neck. It was as if he had just realized he was home again.

"I missed you more," Emma smiled back, "and I'm sure Neal would love to see you again soon." She turned to Regina and took a breath. "I have no idea what went on with you guys, but you can't keep acting like you're all dead. How about you guys work all this out in an hour or so- then I'll tell Snow and everyone to stop by and see how you're doing."