Swirling time

"Regina?" Emma knocked on the mansion's closed door for a third time as she worriedly looked around the property, trying to see anything that would led her to believe that the brunette woman had decided to go out. However, from Regina's Benz to her drawn curtains everything seemed to point that the former Queen was still inside.

After a couple of seconds Emma rose her hand and knocked once again, this time more gently. Nothing came from the other side; nothing that would signal that Regina was indeed aware of her being there. Which was strange since after their talk yesterday night Emma had had the impression that the former Queen wouldn't be too opposed to see her. For a short period of time at least.

Caressing her pendant with her other hand Emma let her raised one rest on the wooden surface of the door, trying to listen to anything that would clue her if she should stay or not as worry started to crawl up her throat. As silence grew thicker she tentatively tried to work with her magic, the one that had reacted to Cora. Mirroring what she had seen from Regina, she tried to replicate the posture, trying to concentrate into that "something" she had felt. However, nothing came from her and so she grunted, angry to herself while letting the stance go.

"What if something has happened to her?" She wondered, the same worry as before starting to swirl inside of her. The thought, she argued, wasn't so far-fetched; it had been less than a week since Regina had almost been hanged by Storybrooke's citizen. She would always bet in the brunette's favor but Regina had looked sad and tired last time she had seen her. Maybe, she added while eyeing the closed door, she had been attacked. Or worse.

Not even bothering to stop and wonder where her panic came from Emma reached for a small skeleton key she had pick pocketed from the brunette's own keyring. Glancing once at her back and checking that only her bug could be seen between the bushes that flanked the small path that linked the house with the road, Emma turned back to the house door and pushed it while using the key. For a second it almost seemed that it hadn't worked but, slowly, the door gave in, allowing Emma to enter into the darkened hall of Regina's mansion.

Waiting for a second Emma strained her ears, trying to hear if a set of angry footsteps were already coming to her. Nothing, however, came to her and so cleared her throat, calling for Regina and biting her bottom lip when that received the same silence than before.

The drawn curtains and eerie silence seemed to embrace her as she went to the living room, half expecting for Regina to jump on her as she scanned the tidy place in where everything seemed to have a place for its own. Glancing briefly at the pictures proudly displayed there, the blonde halted on a couple of them in where the woman was holding Henry, the kid not seeming older than a couple of months. Emma sucked on her breath as she looked away, feeling as if she was prying into something that wasn't hers to begin with.

And, she reasoned while she went to the kitchen, finding it as empty as the living room was, was. Henry had come with them after the dinner, not offering any more explanation but a shrug when Emma had asked him how he was and if he had any problem with his other mother.

"It was Regina who told me to keep him with me." David had later revealed once the boy had already fallen asleep. "I didn't truly ask her why but I think she felt that he would be better with us."

Emma had stared upwards, at her own room in where now Henry slept and had nibbled her bottom lip, thinking again on Regina's jittery smile and lasagna; how she had come and stayed even after everyone had treated her as if they didn't see her. That's what had -more or less- motivated her to go to the brunette's house. Leaving the kitchen and ruling out any other room of the ground floor she stared at the staircase. She had never been there and she had the feeling that Regina wouldn't truly let her in, as much as the brunette seemed to be warming up to her.

Taking a big gulp of her and calling for the older woman just in case, Emma started to go up the stair, trying to see if anything but the sound of her own breathing disrupted the silence. Nothing happened.

The first room had its door ajar and Emma only needed a glance inside to see that it was Henry's; the comic books giving him away. The second door was a bathroom and the third something that seemed almost like a storeroom. The fourth, however, almost seemed to twirl on its hinges slower than the other ones, the darkness that awaited inside blinding her until her eyes got accustomed to it, a gasp falling from her lips as she distinguished Regina lying still on her mattress, her posture strange enough to not even let out a shadow of a doubt that she could have been sleeping.

"Regina!" This time she whispered, entering into the room and swallowing as she took on Regina's unseeing eyes. A part of her mind already knew but she took her pulse, shivering at the coldness of her skin and choking a sob as nothing but silence answered her. No heartbeat, nothing.

Regina was dead.

The idea hit her like a train, leaving her speechless and, strangely, more devastated that she thought anyone would have thought she would be. Soon, however, her brain kicked in and she eyed around her, trying to see what could have happened. Nothing, no trail or blood, a farewell note, footprints or anything that could work as a clue welcomed her and so she soon found herself staring at the woman's body once again, taking into the grimace of pain that marred her face. Something had happened, her fear-addled brain whispered, something that hadn't left a trace behind.

She almost smacked herself, the answer blaringly obvious and yet alien to her; Magic. Gold had already tried to kill Regina once, perhaps he had tried again.

And, she thought while fishing her phone from her back pocket, calling for an ambulance while she mentally thought on the quicker way to get to Gold's pawnshop, if he had succeeded she was going to make him pay.

"I know what she is, Whal… Okay, Frankenstein. Just take care of her, okay, put her in the morgue if it's easier but don't even dare to do nothing to her. Understood?"

Emma growled as she entered into Gold's pawnshop, angrily putting her phone back on her pocket while letting the door close at her back. The small place felt dustier than before and for a moment she found herself straining to hear something. She hadn't let herself think too much on Regina's death. She didn't want to. She was going to make Gold fix whatever he had done. She truly didn't know much about magic after all; she could be under a curse. And, she thought before wandering to the center of the shop, if that was the case Gold was going to tell her how to wake her up.

"What can do for a member of the royal family?" As always, the man came unexpected and the blonde swirled to her left only to catch what felt like a smirk tugging the old man's lips before he arched his brows, an almost good impression of genuine curiosity masking his smugness. Emma, however, didn't have time for his games and so she approached him, pointing at the general direction of Regina's house.

"Cut the crap." She started, teeth gritting. "What have you done to her?"

For a moment, Emma believed she had managed to truly surprise Gold. Then he tilted his head and stared at her in a manner that made her think of a bird of prey.

"I beg your pardon."

Emma growled and this time she could almost distinctly feel the same warmth that had filled her chest when Cora had tried to grab her heard. It was now mostly directed to her fingers but she didn't see a thing when she quickly glanced at them so she kept going, moving a tress of her hair out of the way before pushing her weight against the counter Gold was using as a parapet.

"I mean Regina. I found her…" She chocked on her words; the idea of "dead" feeling all too real all of a sudden. Shaking her head, she tried again. "What have you done to her?"

Gold's eyes narrowed before they widened once again, sudden understanding dawning on him.

"Miss Swan." He said while raising both of his hands, the lapels of his coat shinning under the lights of the shop. "I may know what happened to our not-so-beloved mayor but if that's what happened… I'm afraid there is nothing we could truly do."

Emma tightened her hands into fists, the memory of Regina smiling at her, awkwardly, filling her mind. She had once thought she hated the woman. She, however, had made a promise to Henry and by the time both Snow and she had managed to cross the portal she had realized that there was a lot of the other woman she truly didn't know. Like her relationship with her mother for example. That alone had kept her awake during her days on the Enchanted Forest. Regina wasn't only a villain and the small moment they had shared had been enough for her to start trusting in that. As flimsy as it could be for any other citizen on Storybrooke. The idea of her being dead didn't sit well on her.

Breathing heavily and starting to feel her phone buzzing on her pants -no doubt either of her par… of Snow and David already knowing who Whale had put into the morgue and asking for details- she stared at Gold and asked the question she suddenly realized she truly wasn't sure she wanted to know.

"What happened then?"

Turned out Regina was stupid. That was the only thought on Emma's mind as she parked the bug in front of the other mansion in the entire Storybrooke, one that gave her chills as she stared at it, the memory if coming out of it running and screaming bloody murder still on her memory.

Stupid but heroic, her mind let her know as she clenched her hands around thin air. She doubted she would have been as brave as her, sucking an entire curse.

"There must be something we can do." She had said to Gold as the man finished his story. He had shrugged and shaken his head.

"I'm afraid dead is dead dear. No one can bring back those who have died. Believe me, our beloved Queen already tried that."

The thought had left Emma on the verge of punching the man's teeth out. She, however, hadn't and she had left while dialing Snow, not letting her speak and telling her that Henry couldn't hear about Regina's demise.

"I mean it, don't tell him. I will…" She had stopped on her tracks, car keys on one hand, the other busy holding her phone. Shaking her head, she had kept on talking, a plan forming on her head. "If he asks just tell him this is part of the Operation. He will understand."

"But, Emma!"

Emma hadn't let Snow finish and so she had entered her car, throwing the phone to the shotgun's seat before heading towards were she now stood; the Mad Hatter's house.

She, at first, had briefly thought on the nuns that, apparently, were fairies now. She didn't truly trust them though and doubted that they would even consider helping her into reviving the woman they only saw as the Evil Queen. Jefferson, however, didn't have the same moral code that those supposed fairies -that much had been stated when he had abducted her- and he had been able to use magic.

And she needed that, she thought while she knocked on the main door of the house, Regina's silhouette burning her mind as she did so, someone who knew how to use magic but wanting to break those so-called rules Gold had babbled about.

Jefferson answered after a couple of seconds, his brows furrowing for a moment before he let his usual mask cover his features. He didn't look as lost and sleep-deprived as he had seemed the first time Emma had meet him but he still had the same aura around him, the uneasiness settling on Emma's gust as he crossed his arms, never ceasing on staring at her.

"Emma Swan." He intoned mockingly. "Or it's White now? Nolan perhaps? With royalty one never knows."

Emma felt the same anger she had felt with Gold less than an hour ago when he had done a similar statement. Royalty be dammed she really didn't care what those fairytale characters thought about it; savior or not savior, daughter or not of Snow White she was still Emma Swan. Narrowing her eyes, remembering that she needed help from the man in front of her, she mirrored his pose.

"And what about you?" She answered, hands clenched and the ticking of the clock echoing on her mind. "Mad Hatter or Jefferson?"

The man hummed and nodded to himself before turning towards the inside of the house, signaling Emma to enter.

"Good one." He finally replied as Emma followed him, glancing at every dark corner while doing so. "Jefferson will suffice for now. What do you want?"

That threw Emma off; she had expected at least fifteen minutes of pointless witty comments from the man but he didn't seem very interesting on that. Sighing, Jefferson pointed at his uncovered head as he spoke again.

"As crazy some people think I am I'm not stupid. No one comes here. Now more than ever. So, you either are here because you want to taste another cup of tea… -Emma shook her head- or you want to ask something for me. Your charming father took my hat though, so I don't really know what you want me to do."

"I was on that room." Emma replied promptly. "I know that you had more than one."

Jefferson smiled mirthlessly before resuming his steps towards a door Emma remembered well. Above their heads, she could hear the shuffling of another person but she chose to say nothing, remembering very well the story Jefferson had told her the first time they had met. The man didn't comment on them so Emma merely followed him until she found herself staring to the stack of hats she already knew very well. Some of them -she realized- seemed to have been changed. Others, however, seemed the same and so she caressed the felt's edge of one of them, moving her hand away as soon as Jefferson cleared his throat.

"What do you want me to do?" He somberly asked, the circles around his eyes seeming to grow more pronounced as he spoke. He didn't look like the lunatic he had once seemed but Emma suddenly wanted to have told someone who she was going to visit.

Too late for that, her mind said and so she squared her shoulders, grabbing the badge on her waist while doing so.

"I want you to travel back in time."

The thought had come to her as she had left Gold's shop. Regina had taken the curse and for that she was dead. If dead couldn't be raised she then needed to change that moment, making it different so the brunette didn't end up swallowing the curse. Easy.

Jefferson stared at her before chuckling.

"You are not the first who has asked me something similar." He answered cryptically as Emma stared at him. "However, even if magic has returned I really can't 'travel' in time. I can open a window but you won't be able to 'rewrite' the story."

Emma narrowed her eyes and hummed. She didn't know an ounce about magic, the man could easily be lying to her. She, however, didn't truly have any other option. And she very much intended on rewriting the story.

"What do you need?" She asked. If that was the only thing she could use she was going to use it.

Jefferson shrugged.

"A very precise moment. I'm not a time machine. I can only link myself to scenes for fleeting moments so you need to be very sure of the moment you want to go and let me do my job."

Emma eyed the man, waiting. All her years on the system told her that Jefferson wanted something and he didn't disappoint her as he kept on talking.

"I will help you on one condition though." He said, picking the closest hat and playing with it as he spoke. "I want safe passage outside Storybrooke. My daughter and I. We will leave and you won't stop us."

Emma didn't know if that was possible; if Storybrooke's curse on its inhabitants was even lifted. She, however, could have promised the man the moon for what she cared and so she nodded.

"I will look into it. Shall we?"

Jefferson rose the hat above his head before lowering it again.

"Guide the hat." He enunciated. "Grab it and let it spin. It will open a portal for us. Magic here is different so I doubt we will be able to cross."

"I will be able to communicate to the other side?" Emma asked, a part of her wondering where had she lost her mind. She shushed that part however; she didn't have time for her doubts.

Jefferson doubted but nodded.

"You will. Ready?"

Emma nodded and took the hat, feeling silly for it but fighting that feeling as she focused again on the moment she had felt herself fall into swirling vortex.

The hat trembled and began to spin, falling to the floor in where it kept spinning, creating the same vortex Emma was thinking about. At the other side, at first, vague figures appeared, attending to Jefferson's keen eyes. After a few seconds, however, the silhouettes became clearer and soon Emma found herself staring at an exact copy of herself with Regina at her side. The background was shadowed by the purple that tinted the vortex's other side and so she couldn't see anyone else but her memory was clear and she shuddered at the memory of the battle and the wraith they had encountered.

"I see something!" She heard her other self screaming at Regina just to be warned by Snow's voice somewhere where Emma couldn't reach. She had milliseconds.

"Regina!" She screamed, hoping for the brunette at the other side to see her. The older woman narrowed her eyes but looked into the vortex, her eyes widening at her sight before she eyed her intrigued. "Don't let me jump! You hear me? Don't let me…"

Suddenly, the memory of her protecting Regina from the wraith came into her mind, at the other side of the vortex a floating figure becoming clearer as it came nearer both her back and Regina's face. A face she found herself relieved to see.

If she told Regina to not let her fall into the void then the brunette would fall. If she didn't fall she would never know more about Regina, she would probably keep thinking of her like Snow and David told her she was like. She didn't like that.

Jefferson kept staring at the hat, his fingers curled like claws. A movement of her hand and the vortex began to shrink.

"Regina!" Emma screamed, the other Emma already turning towards her, beginning to shield her from the wraith. She was out of time. "Don't swallow the curse! Don't let it happen! You hear me! Don't…"

The vortex closed on her, making her realize she was kneeled in front of where it had been, worryingly close to have been her the one who could have fallen through it if it had been possible. Furibund, she looked at Jefferson as he picked up the hat noncommittally.

"What did you do?!" She screamed, getting up and coming closer to him, all her uneasiness forgotten as she fought her will to grab him by the scarf he still wore around his neck. "You closed the portal!"

Jefferson didn't battle an eyelash.

"I told you, magic is unstable here. But, for what I saw, what you wanted to do wasn't that important."

Emma clenched her jaw as he eyed her in the same mocking way he had previously eyed her.

"You wanted to help "our" Queen. I wonder what must have happen I don't know about for that to happen… Could I ask mighty savior?"

Emma bared her teeth and turned towards the exit, not even bothering to say anything to him. Jefferson followed her until the main door, screaming behind her, asking her to tell him. Emma, however, didn't and as soon as she was safely inside her car she drove away towards the closer stop she could fin near his home.

There, she grabbed her phone and eyed her missed calls, doubt dawning on her. She didn't know how time worked, how magic worked, how mad hatters worked. For what she knew she could have only be losing time instead of talking with her son about his other's mother…

She growled and pinched the bridge of her nose; she didn't want to have that conversation. It was Regina the one good with words. As much as it pained her, as much as she pretended that to pain her, it was true. She wanted to be on Henry's life but she didn't want to take him away from Regina. Not after what she had seen. Not after the sight of Regina's body…

Henry's name appeared on her screen and for a second she halted, not doing what to do. She didn't know if her plan had worked, didn't know if Henry was calling so he could ask her why she had tried to lie to him. With a heavy sigh and her other hand on the steering wheel, she picked up the call.

"Yes?"

At the other side, instead of crying, she heard the kid's voice, warm and chipper like every other day.

"Mo… Regina called me, she told me to tell you to go to visit her?" Henry sounded doubtful but happy at the same time. Luckily for him he didn't realize that the other side of the line was dead silent. "Also, can I be at Pa… Grace's today?"

"No!" Emma squeaked out. "How… how about she comes to the apartment instead? I'm sure Snow won't mind."

Henry didn't say anything but a hum and Emma knew the conversation was almost over. Trying to sound as normal as possible she kept on talking.

"When has Regina called you kid?"

Henry sighed. "About ten minutes ago? More or less. Why?"

"Nothing." Emma replied, a giant smile on her face. "I will go and see what she wants okay? See you later kiddo."

"Okay!"

Henry finished the call, what he didn't see, however, was Emma's smile as she put the phone away and drove towards Regina's mansion.

"Don't be nervous, don't be nervous…"

Emma sighed and closed her eyes, stopping once again just a second before she actually knocked on the main door of the mansion. She had been there for over five minutes now, unable to knock and let Regina know she was there. A part of her didn't know what to think of her morning; Gold's talk seeming like forever ago. It, however, had happened and so she was scared to knock on the door, half expecting almost, to be answered by silence.

"Come on." She muttered before taking a gulp of air. She needed to check if she had succeeded, if she had managed to turn everything around.

The door opened and creaked, making Emma almost jump backwards as the unmistakable eyes of none other but Regina Mills eyed her.

"Want to stay there any longer? If you want that I must tell you that I have sprinkles and I won't hesitate on using them."

Emma swallowed but shook her head, the sight of Regina -dressed impeccably- contrasting against the one she had seen not so long ago.

"So?" Regina prodded further, one brow arching.

"May…" Emma cleared her throat. "May I enter?"

Regina hummed and let her in, quickly leading Emma to her office, the one the blonde had seen during her first night at Storybrooke.

"There are moments." Regina began as she went to poured two healthy serves of cider on two tumblers. "That I found myself admitting that I was wrong."

She turned and offered one of the glasses to Emma which the blonde took with shaky fingers. Regina was alive, her mind chanted. Her plan had worked.

"I'm rarely ever wrong." The brunette said with a smirk, her red lips curving, amused. "But I can be. And today… I want to toast to that. To a woman that saved me. And trusted me."

Emma followed Regina and rose her cider, almost chocking on it as the older woman winked at her.

She was in trouble, she realized. Regina was alive and she was in trouble.

And, she added as she drank the rest of the cider, she was perfectly fine with that.