Title: All in a day

Author: mikipau

Rating: T

Fandom: Once Upon A Time

Pairing: Regina/Emma

Disclaimer: I do not own Once Upon A Time or the characters there within, I'm just borrowing them from time to time with a promise to return them unharmed and hopefully a little bit happier.

Summary: Follow Regina, Emma, Henry, Mary Margaret and Ruby as they take on something far more evil, but just as surreal as Henry's fairytale theories. AU. Regina/Emma - SwanQueen

A/N: This story consists of 11 chapters, which I will post continuously over the next couple of weeks - enjoy!

It hurt. It hurt badly. Regina tried to open her eyes, but the white hot pain splitting her skull into a thousand aching pieces forced her to shut them again - instantly. She groaned, attempted to move, but a soaring pain in her arm made it near impossible. She couldn't remember where she was or what had happened. From seemingly out of nowhere a cool hand pressed against her forehead, accompanied by a soft shushing sound close to her right ear.

"Regina, you're alright, but you have to stay quiet, okay? We need to stay as quiet as possible."

She tried to place the voice, tried to remember - anything. She fumbled for a name; instead the visual of a blonde woman with green eyes came to mind. Emma. The voice belonged to Emma Swan, Storybrooke's Sheriff, and the birthmother of Regina's son. Henry! She felt cold dread grab hold of her body, her heart nearly stopped, only to a moment later race wildly against her ribcage. Mindful of the somewhat desperate warning about keeping quiet she whispered. "Where... where's Henry?" Her throat hurt as well. What the hell had happened to her?

"He's fine. He's sleeping."

"What happened?" She tried to move. With the help of a strong pair of arms she was soon sitting up, leaning heavily against the wall behind her. Taking a deep breath she tried her luck at opening her eyes again. As the world around her came into focus she saw Emma crouched in front of her. She had a cut above her eye, close to her temple, it had bled into her hair, darkening and clumping the golden strands together.

Regina looked around, seeing Henry asleep on the floor, head resting on Mary Margaret's lap and a red coat draped over his small frame. Ruby, the assumed owner of the coat, was sitting next to them - slumbering with her head on Mary Margaret's shoulder. They seemed to be uninjured, although they all looked pale and exhausted.

"What happened?" She had so many questions. "Where are we?"

"Don't you remember?" Emma looked worried as she leaned closer, gently touching a sore spot at the back of Regina's head. It hurt, but not as much as the pulsing in her arm.

"Do you feel queasy?"

She shook her head slowly, careful not to cause the now dulled ache to intensify. Her confusion must have been apparent as Emma finally answered one of her questions "We're in the attic above Granny's Inn." She was whispering and casting worried glances around the room, as if someone, or something, was going to jump out of the shadows and attack. Reaching her hand out, she touched Regina's upper arm lightly. "Can you move it?" She tried but the attempt only made her wince.

"You took a pretty hard blow, but I don't think it's broken. I was more worried about your head, but you're awake now so hopefully it's not anything worse than a light concussion. May I have a look at your arm?" Dumbfounded, Regina didn't have time to answer before her arm was freed of the sleeve of the jacket she was wearing - Emma's awful red jacket. The presumptuousness made her usual anger towards Emma rear its head, but right now she felt too weak and disoriented to do more than glare indignantly as her arm was pressed and prodded. The fingers touching her heated skin felt cool and Regina relaxed slightly. She closed her eyes, letting the impromptu exam continue while she herself tried to jog her memory.

Nothing.

She couldn't remember a thing.

She opened her eyes again, glancing at the other three occupants in the room. Ruby and Henry were still out, but Mary Margaret met her gaze, giving her a concerned look. Regina frowned. She didn't like it. She didn't want Mary Margaret to feel anything close to worry or sympathy for her. Her resentment was derailed as Henry lifted his head, blinking rapidly a few times before his eyes focused on her.

"Mom!" He quickly got to his feet and ran towards her, but a warning glance from Emma made him halt and instead he carefully tip-toed the rest of the way. He sat down, almost on her lap, reaching his arms around her to hug her carefully, mindful of her bruised arm. His actions warmed her, making it hard for her to hold back the tears that suddenly sprung to her eyes. She swallowed them down, placing a soft kiss on the top of her son's head. He hadn't been this freely affectionate towards her since he was a small child, and definitely not since he'd dragged Emma back with him to Storybrooke.

A loud crash was heard from below and they all jumped. Ruby looked terrified as she grabbed hold of Mary Margaret's hand. Emma took two fast strides towards the room's only window. She moved the curtain an inch to the side and peeked out, shoulder pressed to the wall and gun at the ready. Regina hadn't noticed the weapon before now and she stared at it, taking in the way Emma held it at her side, muzzle facing the floor.

A tense silence wrapped itself around them like a suffocating blanket. Henry pressed his face into Regina's neck, his tears wetting the collar of her shirt. She stroked her hand up and down his back, comforting him as best she could. She tried again, but came up unsuccessful with filling in the blanks in her memory. Not knowing what was going on set her teeth on edge. She was always the one in control and right now, confused and hurt, she felt completely off balance. Being vulnerable had never sat well with her and as she forced the feeling down she felt the familiar protective walls come up, turning her into the strong, capable woman she and everyone else had come to expect her to be.

She placed another kiss on top of Henry's head and then gently pushed him off her lap and onto the floor. Getting to her feet caused dizziness to wash over her, but she ignored it, biting down on the nausea and steadying herself with a hand against the wall. Willing her feet to move, she reached the opposite wall in a few shaky steps. She glanced out the window from over Emma's shoulder, and what she saw made her blood run cold.

The memories that flooded back into her mind were like a maelstrom threatening to pull her under. She gasped for air, reaching for the shoulder in front of her to keep from falling to the floor. Emma let the curtain fall back into place, once again covering the window and the horror beyond. She turned to face Regina, the seriousness of the situation visible in the determined set of her jaw. Regina felt her throat constrict, panic filled her and she pushed at it, quenching it as she let two strangled words out.

"I remember."