"When the dwarfs came home that evening they found Snow-White lying on the ground. She was not breathing at all. She was dead. They lifted her up and looked for something poisonous. They undid her laces. They combed her hair. They washed her with water and wine. But nothing helped. The dear child was dead, and she remained dead," Emma cringed as she sat beside her son, Henry, and read his bedtime story. She didn't want to stop at the low point, but she had to leave him so she could go work the night shift at the diner.

"Is Snow White really dead?" Henry interrupted, sitting up sleepily as he clumsily yanked on his picc line cord.

"Careful," Emma chastised him gently out of concern as she looked over his arms making sure he hadn't ripped his IV out again.

The heart monitors beeped ceaselessly, steady and loud, punctuating the quiet in the dimly lit hospital room as Henry stared at his mother expectantly. He was waiting for an answer.

"No, she lives…" Emma looked away and spoke quietly, as she closed the copy of "Snow White and the Seven Dwarves," and stood up to gather her things. "You know she does. We've read this book a million times."

"I know, but sometimes I think maybe the story will change," Henry whispered in a dry voice. He licked his lips nervously and turned his head to the side. "Am I going to die?"

Emma's chin crinkled in pain, as tears immediately filled her eyes. She let out a ragged breath and sniffed back her emotions, steeling herself for her son. She turned to him, hoisting her bag over her arm and leaned down to caress his cheek and kissed his forehead.

"Henry, look at me."

Slowly Henry turned his head and opened his eyes to meet hers.

Emma pressed her lips together and then asked in a sad whisper, "Why would you think that?"

She blinked angrily, shaking her head as her voice rose in fear, "If you heard one of those airhead nurses say something or…"

Henry's chin quivered and his pale cheeks pinked slightly as he shrugged in a way that was meant to seem casual, but the gesture made the ten year old look small and younger. "I don't know…No one said anything. I just feel like I might."

Emma stood up fully, her back straightening into a rigid line as she shuddered audibly. "Don't think like that. You had a hard day and need to rest. I'll be here when you wake up first thing in the morning and I'll bring pumpkin pancakes. How's that sound, hmm?"

Henry's nostrils flared for a moment and then he nodded in solemn agreement. Emma brushed her fingers over his bare scalp and squeezed his hand, leaning in to kiss his cheek.

"I love you, Henry. Sleep well."

"Love you," Henry mumbled as he closed his eyes, Emma tucked him in with the thin rough blanket, and watched with sadness and longing as Henry settled in and drifted off to sleep. She crossed to the doorway and turned off the light.

Leaving his bedside for work was the hardest thing she had to do. He'd been in and out of the hospital so many times she'd lost count. Emma let herself cry once a day, and as she took the elevator down from the PICU and walked down the long deserted halls of the hospital to the parking ramp, she collected on her daily allowance.

Tonight was the first time Henry had mentioned the possibility of death. Perhaps she shouldn't let the volunteers read him those old morbid fairytales anymore. Henry was too smart for his age, and he had a huge imagination, but Emma wanted to protect him from the possibilities and eventualities that came with having cancer.

She listened to her boots hit the concrete and echo through the parking ramp. The air was chilly, and Emma wished she had her jacket, not only to brace herself from the fall wind, but her lucky jacket always made her feel a bit more confident and protected emotionally. Tonight she felt raw and exhausted, and the dire thought of serving truck drivers and weirdos all night for her upcoming shift made her break down even further.

She ran her palm over her mouth when she entered her car and looked in the rearview mirror. After taking a long moment to compose herself she decided the time allotted for crying was up for tonight. She dried her eyes, and squeezed them shut tight for a moment, wishing with all her being that this nightmare would end: that Henry would get healthy and have an energetic and normal childhood, and she could go back to school and find a better job so she didn't have to work so much.

Her wishes, hopes and dreams all piled up in her head in a jumble. She squeezed the steering wheel and reminded herself to not think ahead, for just as she had a rule that she could only cry once a day, she had a rule that she couldn't let herself get too hopeful.

….

"How's the kid doing?" Ruby asked as she grabbed two hot plates off of the kitchen window. Emma was slicing lemons at the drink station just as the diner was starting to fill up with drunken college kids who frequented the 24 hour restaurant on Saturday nights after bar close.

"He's hanging in there," Emma kept her head down as she focused on cutting perfect slices. Ruby asked every night and every night she gave the same answer. When Emma was at work she just wanted to focus on making her tips and Ruby usually didn't press or ask any more questions. It was nice to know she cared, but Emma mostly kept to herself and did her job.

It was fine by Emma, she kept herself on the move and busy with work, not only because she needed the money to make rent and help pay for Henry's medications and treatments, but because she didn't like to spend time alone. Twelve hours a night on her feet and running back and forth to fetch creamer and ranch dressing for hungry, ungrateful patrons followed by her morning trip to the hospital to eat breakfast with her son.

After a busy shift, Emma stood at the register counting up her tips. She had made enough for gas and some groceries.

"See you tonight, Emma," Ruby smiled as she gave a friendly wave on her way out. It was 7am Sunday morning, and Emma was feeling bleary eyed; her body was aching.

"See ya," she responded as she pocketed her earning and grabbed the takeaway container of pancakes and sausage to share with Henry.

Driving back to the hospital in the morning, the sun seemed overly bright, but the leaves had fallen giving the landscape a brown, dead look. Everything felt cold. The magic and beauty of fall was over, but winter had yet to come in with blankets of snow and cold morning stillness.

Stillness was something Emma craved, but also feared with her whole being. The painted lines on the road were starting to double and she felt a slight bout of nausea from lack of sleep.

When she arrived back at Henry's room, just in time to see him wake up and smile, her heart leapt and all her fears momentarily subsided.

"Hey, Mom, you're here."

"Yep, and I brought pancakes," Emma greeted him as she rolled his tray table up and adjusted the mechanical bed to lift up his back so he could sit up and eat with her.

"Syrup?" Henry asked hopefully as he leaned forward

"Of course, what kind of mother would I be if I brought you pancakes without syrup?" Emma rubbed his back and frowned inwardly as she felt how pronounced his spine had become. She could feel every rib, and vowed to bring him more carbohydrate laden foods to help him get his weight up.

Henry chuckled and opened the top of the container, leaning in to smell the pancakes, and watching a thin wisp of steam curl up into the air. Emma pulled up a visitor chair and poured two syrup containers liberally over the stack and watched as the syrup rolled down the sides and soaked into the food.

"Eat up," she handed him a plastic fork and he grinned, digging into the most heavily saturated syrupy portion and lifting an oversized bite to his lips. Then his grin fell and he put the fork down, sitting back in bed.

"What's wrong?" Emma asked in concern, her hand automatically going to feel his forehead, worried that he was getting another fever.

"Not hungry, I guess," Henry shrugged and closed his eyes. "The nurse gave me my new medicine; I think it makes me sleepy."

"Are you sure you don't just want to take one bite at least while they're hot?" Emma asked in concern. This was an all too familiar event. She'd bring him something delicious every morning, as the hospital food was sub-par at best, and Henry would try, he really would, but the chemo and medications in his system had the unfortunate side effect of nausea and loss of appetite.

"I think I just need a little nap, Ma. I'll eat the pancakes later…" Henry closed his eyes and Emma gritted her teeth and nodded to no one and closed up the box of wasted pancakes. They both knew he wouldn't eat them later.

While Henry slept, Emma was too tired to drive back to their apartment and crawl into bed. She curled up in the recliner on the far side of the room, still wearing her diner uniform that smelled of stale coffee and ketchup and covered up with a blanket from the cabinet.

With the sun rising higher in the sky, and filtering in through the lone window's blinds, the steady beep of the heart monitor went on, though both of them had pretty much gotten used to the noise and distraction of it, and Emma took a restless but much needed nap.

She couldn't keep going on like this, but she didn't have time to worry about that.

She was too tired to worry.

….

Groggy and disoriented with a terrible pain in her neck, Emma felt someone poking her and calling her name. She opened her eyes and sat up straight in the recliner. Her foot was asleep and she reached back to rub her neck where it ached.

"Emma? I've told you we have a place where you can take a nap," Mary Margaret Blanchard, one of Henry's nurses, was gently shaking her and chastising her all at once.

"What time is it?" Emma asked her voice hoarse from the dry recycled air in the hospital room. She shivered a bit as the blanket drooped down and then stood up to stretch; noticing Henry's bed was empty she panicked for a moment, but then calmed down. She had become so paranoid that something was wrong with him anytime he wasn't in her line of sight. She knew if something was really wrong his nurse wouldn't be focused on her bad sleeping habits.

"It's just past ten am. Henry is taking a shower. I suggest you go home and get some rest today," Mary Margaret said. Emma thought she was a very caring nurse for Henry, but she really did not enjoy the constant mothering the woman did. Emma licked her lips, noticing that the Styrofoam container of pancakes had disappeared. Mary Margaret had probably thrown them out.

"I'll hang around until Henry is ready. Can we go down to the playground today and get him some fresh air?" Emma asked hopefully. Henry's life was anything but normal for a child and she hated that he couldn't go outside and play anytime he wanted. He had to have Doctor approval to do anything.

"Unfortunately, today is a chemo day so he won't be feeling up to going outside. That lovely volunteer Belle will be stopping by this afternoon to read to him. I know how much he enjoys his stories," Mary Margaret fidgeted with the stethoscope draped around her neck. Emma realized she was wearing a pink Disney princess scrub top, and Ariel's face was on her boob.

"Okay, well, maybe tomorrow he can go out. I haven't had a chance to talk to Doctor Whale recently; did his recent test results come back?" Emma was feeling awake now, and she wanted to have this conversation when she was at peak wakefulness and fully comprehending. Sometimes the medical terminology was so over her head that she didn't know if she was getting good news or bad news.

Mary Margaret's eyes shifted back and forth and she fiddled with her stethoscope even more. "I think it would be best if the Doctor talks to you about all that. For now, say good bye to Henry and go home and get some real sleep, Emma. I really wish you'd stop working all those ridiculous hours. You know I worked nightshift for two months and it was a real storm to my system…"

Emma tuned out the rambling nurse and rubbed at her temple instead. She knew all this, but she had to work and night shift made the most sense so she could spend the day time with her son. She also knew she was due for some proper rest or she was going to get sick herself. All the stress and lack of sleep was beginning to take a toll.

"Okay, I get it. I promise I'll go home and sleep today, just as soon as I go to the laundromat and get some groceries," Emma smirked at the slight nod and eye widening from the nurse, knowing she would probably start lecturing her some more. Luckily, Henry emerged from the bathroom in a fresh hospital gown with wet hair.

"There he is!" Mary Margaret helped Henry back into bed, and immediately started hooking him up to his monitors and medications. "Look at you all clean and shiny. Now say 'night night' to your mother and let's get you down the hall for chemo."

Henry groaned loudly, but smiled at Emma and quickly crossed over to his bed to plant a kiss on his forehead. "You smell like soap," she said taking in a hearty inhale.

"And you smell like grease," Henry replied playfully. "You were snoring over there in the chair, it interrupted my cartoons."

"Oh, I am so sorry," Emma said jokingly. She gave him another kiss and watched as Mary Margaret began to wheel him and his monitors down the hall. "I'll see you tonight, I love you!"

Henry waived and Mary Margaret stopped and turned her head to face Emma. "I have someone for you to meet this evening, if that's okay? I think you'll be pleasantly surprised."

"Who?" Emma asked impatiently. She was ready to get home and get her errands done so she could get a few hours of sleep before she came back.

"It's a surprise, but I really want you to talk to her before I introduce her to Henry," the nurse said mysteriously before turning back to push Henry on down the hall.

"Okay, I'll be around," Emma said as she picked up her purse and headed the opposite direction toward the visitor elevators.

The day went by quickly.

The few hours she had to herself consist of cleaning, laundry and running errands. She ate a cold sandwich and took a shower before falling into bed at 3pm for a whole lavish three hours of dead to the world, dreamless sleep. She woke up and packed her work uniform. She felt like a zombie, but she was eager to get back to the hospital and check on Henry. She was also curious as to who the nurse had lined up for her to meet.

There had been specialists and 'miracle' doctors with experimental pharmaceutical research studies waiting for her to sign off on her son and give them free reign to pump him full of drugs for clinical trials. She hadn't heard anything promising or truly miraculous coming out of the doctor's mouths in ages. It seemed that just when Henry was getting better, and she allowed herself to get hopeful he'd experience a set back and they'd be right back at square one.

They were both doing the best they could given the circumstances, and disease had no moral compass. His illness just invaded hell bent on destruction and it always seemed like the doctor's were doing all they could for him, but it just wasn't enough.

By the time she pulled into the parking ramp she was feeling worse than before, and wished she could take a night off, but then those wishes turned into guilty feelings. Henry didn't get a night off from cancer, and she didn't get a night off from being a mom. She felt as though she didn't deserve one anyhow.

She entered Henry's room and found the lights off he was sleeping with his book of fairytales splayed out on his chest. She watched his pale face, seeing her beautiful vibrant son and not a sick boy in a bed. She felt her chin quiver as tears threatened to fall, but a voice from the doorway snapped her attention away from Henry.

"Ms. Swan?"

Emma looked up and through the dim light she could see a woman with dark hair and olive skin just outside the door.

"Hello?" Emma answered as she came around the bed and started toward the mysterious woman in the hallway. She wasn't dressed like a doctor: no lab coat or clipboard. She was dressed in a very expensive looking blue dress that fit like a glove and tall black stiletto heels that were teetering just on the far side of professional.

"Can I have a word, Ms. Swan?" The woman asked, clasping her hands in front of her and smiling closed lipped as her eyes traveled up and down Emma's body.

"Are you Mary Margaret's friend?" Emma asked with hesitation, wondering how this beautiful stranger knew her name.

"Why yes, Mary Margaret referred Henry to me. My name is Regina Mills," Regina introduced herself, extending her hand for Emma to take. She shook her head vigorously and made intense eye contact all the while. The simple interaction had Emma's head spinning. It was probably the lack of sleep or lack of social interaction outside of the hospital and work, but she felt two steps behind in the conversation.

"Emma, Emma Swan. I'm Henry's mom…"

"Oh, I know. Nurse Blanchard has informed me about Henry's condition, and she talked a lot about you as well, dear. I hope that's okay?" Regina gestured toward the elevator and started walking; Emma had no choice but to follow. "I'd like to buy you a coffee and give us a chance to talk."

Regina left no room for argument. She pressed the down button on the elevator bank with a perfectly manicured finger and waited patiently side by side with Emma. The door chimed and opened and they both stepped inside.

"Excuse me if this comes off rude, but um, Regina… who are you exactly?" Emma was trying to keep up. She normally wouldn't allow a stranger to pull her away from Henry and onto an elevator, but Regina wasn't like the other random doctors, nurses or volunteers involved in Henry's care. Regina seemed more invested. She seemed to really care, but it was hard to tell from their brief interaction. Emma could smell Regina's perfume as they rode the elevator in relative silence.

"I'll explain everything in a moment. I'd like us to have some time to get to know one another."

"Right, over coffee," Emma followed Regina out of the elevator, she seemed to know her way around the hospital, or at least she knew where the Java House was with the confidence of someone who had visited the hospital many times.

"What would you like?" Regina asked as she focused on the menu board. The list of drinks seemed to blur in front of Emma as she squinted at the lattes and macchiatos.

"Um, just coffee with cream and sugar. Thanks," she took a seat at one of the secluded tables to the side knowing she needed caffeine desperately. Regina smiled and nodded, pulling her wallet from her stylish handbag to pay for two coffees.

A moment later, Regina placed a large steaming cup in front of Emma and pulled out a chair to sit across from her. "I hope the coffee is to your liking, Ms. Swan," Regina was watching her as she blew across the top of the cup and took a small sip, gauging to see if it was too hot to drink. She wanted to chug it, but didn't want to burn her tongue. She also wanted to know who exactly this woman was.

"Henry's nurse asked you to talk to me?" Emma took a larger sip, noting that Regina had yet to pick up her own cup.

"Yes, I need to introduce myself properly," Regina placed a business card from her wallet on the table in front of Emma.

'Regina Mills –Wish Granter'

A star logo was beneath her name and title, under the star it read 'Make a Wish Foundation.'

"I work with Make a Wish Foundation to help children with life threatening medical conditions, such as your son. Ms. Blanchard is an old friend and she wanted me to meet Henry and you," Regina's chocolate eyes found hers and Emma stared back for a moment before taking another sip.

"I've heard of the organization," Emma replied cautiously.

"Good. Tell me about Henry," Regina prodded as she settled into her seat. Emma placed her forearms on the table, feeling a bit uncomfortable under the intense scrutiny.

"Well, he was diagnosed last May, and it's pretty much been a battle ever since…"

"Let me stop you, Ms. Swan. If you please, I want to hear about Henry, not his illness," Regina took a breath, and Emma realized how long it had been since she had had a normal conversation about her son that wasn't related to a doctor's visit or a progress update on his condition.

"You'll have to forgive me, Regina…it's just been…" Emma trailed off, peering down into her cup. She always found it difficult to talk about Henry. There was a definite divider in her thoughts: pre and post disease. In a way, the first nine years of his life had been overshadowed by the cancer. She had taken the healthy years for granted and now that the stakes were higher, time seemed more precious.

"Take your time," Regina laced her fingers around Emma's and looked on with compassion. Emma took another breath and started again.

"Henry is strong. He's smart and resilient and he loves to read comics and fairytales. He has a wondrous imagination, and he's really been a trooper through all of this…I can't say the same for myself," Emma mumbled the last bit and pulled her hand back from Regina's. It was too distracting. Again, she realized just how long it had been since she'd touched someone other than Henry. Regina had a way of comforting her and unsettling her on a deeper level all at once.

"Marvel or DC?" Regina asked nonchalantly, seemingly ignoring everything else Emma had mentioned.

"Um…Marvel…he's super into the Avengers. He wants to be Captain America for Halloween this year," she smiled at that and Regina raised an eyebrow.

"What do you like to do, Emma?" Regina inquired while ducking her head and leaning in. Emma noticed she was looking at her fingers fidgeting and tapping against the table and she quickly put both hands around her drink.

"I work…spend time here with Henry. I read a lot about his condition: the research papers, prognosis, and articles to try and stay informed. Sometimes there are so many decisions about what to do and other times we're completely at the mercy of the doctors.

"You don't like other people telling you what's best for your son. I understand that," Regina licked her lips and took a long draw from her coffee cup. "I'd like to meet Henry, if that's okay with you?"

"What exactly do you do, as a wish granter?" Emma's interest was piqued. She wasn't one to open up easily, but Regina was making it difficult to use her usual methods of deflections that she had mastered to keep people from getting too close. Anyone who had tried she had to shut down. It was the only way she felt like she could deal with everything: stick to a routine and keep her thoughts on surface level logistics and semantics.

"I get to know you and Henry. I work closely with him and figure out what his wish is, and then I do whatever is necessary to make his wish come true," Regina stated in a matter of fact manner. "I've granted wishes for 28 children, Henry will be the 29th. I think he's an excellent candidate."

Emma processed the information, "You can meet him, and I'm not sure what he'd want for a wish. How did you get into the organization and become a wish granter?"

"I can't have children of my own, and this is my way of giving back. Each and every one of the children I've met and helped grant their wish has felt like family to me in a way. I hope that you and Henry will come to feel the same."

"If you'd like to meet him tomorrow, I'll be here in the morning. I need to go and get ready for work tonight," Emma checked her watch. She had some time before her shift, but she was going to need another cup of coffee before she went into the diner.

"Excellent, I am looking forward to our visit, and having the chance to chat more with you as well," Regina smiled and extended her hand. Emma reached back and shook it again. She was still a bit wary. She worried again that Henry would get his hopes up and then things would fall through. That was a recurring pattern recently.

Sighing loudly, Emma pushed her chair back and stood up. "Thank you, Regina. If you want to stop by in the morning, it's usually the best time for catching Henry when he's feeling up for a visit. I'll be here after my shift around 7:30."

"That sounds perfect. I'll see you both in the morning."