"Henry never does anything halfway. I mean we can obviously check but I feel like he's halfway to Boston." Emma shrugs.
"Graham and I will check town, you guys start driving." Ruby says.
"Thanks Rubes. Call me if you find him." Emma tells her. "Regina, let's start the drive to Boston."
"He's so grounded when we find him." Regina growls, getting into the car. She starts it up and waits for Emma to strap in Ava. "Also, FYI, I'm still panicking."
"Don't worry, I am too. I'm going to yell at him until I lose my voice."
~~~
"Any news yet?" Regina asks as Emma looks at her phone. They're nearly in Boston now, and the more they drive, the more anxious Regina gets.
"Nope. Ruby says that they've found nothing. I told them all of his favourite spots and he was in none of them." Emma says, pissed off. "I can't believe him. I'm so angry."
"We need to bring him back, safe and sound. Then we will solve the problems that caused this mess." Regina tells her calmly.
"Fine." Emma spits. When they reach the city they begin to drive around.
"Where in the hell are we even supposed to look?" Regina grumbles.
"Well, we went to this one park a lot when he was younger. I don't know if he even remembers it but we might as well try." Emma sighs.
"Find it on your phone, and we'll go there first."
"I still have the directions memorized, I'll just tell you when to turn."
~~~
They stop the car right across from park, and both of them get out.
"It's a big park, so you take Ava to the swings, and I'll look for him." Emma suggests, and then gets Ava out of the backseat.
"Don't you think we should look together?" Regina asks, sounding insulted.
"I need to talk to him for a bit alone, and then we can have a talk as a family. It's nothing against you babe." Emma leans over to kiss Regina, and then they walk across the street together.
"I'll come and find you if he's not here." Emma kisses Regina again and then scans the playground area as Regina takes Ava over to the swings. Seeing he's not there, she turns and ventures further into the wooded area of the park. Walking along the pathway, Emma sees an old couple sitting on a bench, passes a man walking his dog, and then a woman pushing a stroller sits taking a break on another bench.
"Where are you Hen- There we go." Emma sighs when she spots her little boy sitting on a parkbench. He's got a massive donut in one hand, and a soda sitting beside him. With his backpack on the ground under his feet and his story book on his lap, she would think he was just waiting for his mom or something of the like. She walks over to him and sits down on the bench beside him.
"Come here often?" She asks, and he shrugs. Emma knows he didn't really hear her, and is on auto-pilot.
"I really love this park, I used to come here a lot when my son was younger." She tries instead.
"Yeah, my mom used to bring me here a lot and..." Henry trails off, looking up.
"Hi Henry." Emma says with a straight face, and a casual tone.
"Ma..." He grimaces, shoving another bite of donut into his mouth.
"What the hell were you thinking?" Emma says, trying to keep her voice down. Two men walking past give them a look and then continue on when Emma looks up at them.
"I'm parenting my son, don't worry about it." She calls after the one giving her a dirty look.
"You and mom were too busy paying attention to Ava so I just left." Henry shrugs.
"You did this for attention!?" Emma shrieks.
"Yeah. You were completely ignoring me, and it hurt." Henry scowls. He looks away from her, and begins playing with a corner of his book.
"You scared the crap out of me and your mother! You should've talked to us, not ran away from home. You could've been hurt, or kidnapped, or worse." Emma lectures.
"As if you would've listened."
"What are you talking about?"
"Every time I've tried to talk to you or mom I've been ignored or brushed off. It sucks, and I'm really mad at both of you."
"Okay, fine. We have been really wrapped up in Ava, and we have been putting you aside. It's not cool and we can talk about this more as a family."
"It really wasn't cool."
"Can we go home now or are you not done running away?" Emma jokes and Henry scrunches his nose like Regina always does.
"I guess so. But I am still mad." He makes sure to point out, and then he shoves his storybook in his backpack. He grabs his pop, and slings his backpack over his shoulder as soon as he stands back up.
"Your mom almost started crying. You really scared her." Emma tells him as she slings an arm around his shoulder. They begin to walk back down the path towards the playground.
"Really? Crying?" He asks, guilt crashing over him.
"Yep. She ran down from your room after seeing you weren't there, and it freaked her out."
"Oh... I didn't mean to do that."
"Well then you better make it up to her." Emma pushes him away from her once Regina is back in sight. He smiles gratefully at Emma and then runs over to Regina. She spots him quickly and bends down- though Emma isn't sure how in that skirt- so that they're the same height. They hug as if they haven't seen each other in years, and Emma smiles at the sight, pulling out her phone. She captures the moment, mother and son in a loving embrace. Emma joins them and pulls Ava out of the swing.
"Let's get some lunch and talk about all of this." She suggests, and Henry shrugs.
"I could eat."
"Yes, let's." Regina agrees. The three of them walk across the street and then wander down to a restaurant. They walk and get a table, and wait until they've ordered drinks before speaking.
"So, Henry, tell your mom what happened." Emma prompts.
"I felt like you and Ma were ignoring me so I wanted some attention." Henry admits to Regina.
"What?" Regina asks, her voice breaking. Instead of getting mad like when Emma started yelling at him, he just feels guilty.
"I know it was wrong now, and I'm sorry. It was stupid." He apologizes.
"We accept your apology." Regina says, reaching out to rub her hand on his cheek.
"And we'll pay more attention to you. We just got wrapped up in having a baby." Emma says. She ruffles his hair, and he pushes her hand away.
"Ma..." He groans, blushing a little bit.
"You can try to grow up but I will always embarrass you, and I will always ruffle your hair." Emma shrugs. The waiter comes by and he asks what they want to eat.
"A large pizza, half loaded, extra meat, and then half veggie, only a bit of cheese." Emma says.
"You got it." The teenager says, writing it down and walking away.
"I love it when you order for me." Regina says.
"Whenever we watch a movie, and the guy orders for the girl, you get all pissy." Emma points out, leaning back in her chair.
"Okay, yes. But they never know what the girl really wants, and it's so misogynistic." Regina begins to rant.
"Fair enough, I don't want to get you started." Emma teases, and Henry giggles.
"Quit picking on me."
"Yeah, yeah, veggie star." Emma grins.
"Oh shut up." Regina rolls her eyes. Henry and Emma burst out laughing, and Ava starts giggling as well.
"You too? Attacked by my own baby." Regina huffs, crossing her arms over her chest. A little while later, the pizza comes out, and they scarf it down. Well at least, Emma and Henry scarf it down. Regina eats daintily and Ava just plays with a spoon.
"Okay, let's get home. We're going to be spending the rest of the afternoon driving. Everyone go to the washroom." Regina says once they've paid and are getting ready to go.
"I don't have to go." Emma shrugs.
"Neither do I." Henry puts in.
"Fine. But we're not stopping."
~~~
"Please stop. I think my bladder is going to burst mom." Henry whines from the backseat.
"I have to go too babe. Please stop the car at the next gas station." Emma whispers.
"You two are exasperating." Regina sighs, and pulls into the parking lot of a gas station.
"I'm giving you like five minutes. Don't stop and buy candy." Regina tries desperately to get into their heads, but then their doors close and Regina knows it went in one ear, and out the other.
Inside the gas station, Emma and Henry split up and go the washroom. When they come out, Emma buys Henry a chocolate bar, and a Mountain Dew, and then they go to walk outside back to the car.
"Emma? Is that you, Emma Swan?" Emma hears, and turns around. There's a woman behind her, and she looks oddly familiar.
"Yeah, who are you?"
"Oh come on Emma. It's me, Lily." She chuckles.
"Lily?" Emma's mind goes blank as she stares at the woman. The dark hair, and slightly olive-toned skin, along with those brown-hazel eyes, does seem familiar. "Oh my god, Lily Page."
"You betcha. Who's the kid?" She asks, eyeing Henry, who is standing behind Emma.
"Oh, this is my son, Henry."
"Son? Emma Swan has a kid." Lily laughs.
"Yeah... Anyway, we should go. It was nice seeing you." Emma says, and turns to leave.
"Wait! I want to catch up."
"I live in a small town like an hour from here, and I really need to get going." Emma turns to go again and Lily walks over, grabbing Emma's arm.
"Seriously, Swan."
"Henry, go wait in the car. I'll be there in a second." Emma says, and he walks away, throwing suspicious glances over his shoulder.
"I really need to go. My wife is waiting in the car." Emma says, and Lily starts laughing.
"'Wife'. Good one." She wipes tears away from her eyes.
"I'm dead serious. I have Henry, my wife, and a baby in the car."
"What the hell?"
"Excuse me?"
"I just never figured you to be a mom, and married at that." Lily shrugs.
"Well, I am. And I love it. I love her."
"Good for you then. I still want to catch up, even if I can't hook up with you after." Lily says abruptly. Emma blushes, and then laughs, slightly uncomfortable.
"Okay, I'll give you my number. Text me some time then." Emma shrugs, and then puts her number into Lily's phone.
"Will do. Bye Ems." Lily smiles, and Emma gets a reminder from her past.
"Okay... Bye." She scrambles away, feeling like young girl again. She runs out to the car and slides into the front seat.
"Damn it Emma. That took forever."
"The line was long, and then I ran into someone I know." Emma says.
"Well, let's get going then. Who did you run into?"
"An old friend, no one important." Emma shrugs.
"Okay, that's fine. I just want to get home." Regina sighs, rolling her shoulders. But before they can drive out of the parking lot, Ava starts crying.
"She's probably hungry." Emma sighs.
"Can you feed her while I drive?" Regina asks, and Emma shrugs.
"I could try." She says, and then she twists around in her chair to grab Ava. Somehow she gets her, her baby blanket, and then manages to feed her in the car.
"I'm awesome." Emma says to herself, and then she hears Regina laugh.
"Yes, you are dear. Yes you are."
~~~
finally remembered to update! how is everyone doing?
for curiosity sake, how old are my readers?? comment on this line :)
oh, and please vote and comment!