Regina stormed into her study and started flinging books off the shelf. The unshed tears made it impossible to focus on names or titles. But when she found the right one, she'd know. The anger and panic rose like bile in her throat. "Where is it? Where is it?!" She shouted between clenched teeth.
"Regina, what are you doing?"
She spun around wildly.
Her back straightened. "What are you doing here, Robin?" She spat out.
He stood in the doorway looking at her with a sad, pained expression.
"After…. After everything that happened, I thought maybe you wouldn't want to be alone."
"What gives you the right to think you know what I want? All I want right now is to fix this. I need to fix Emma… I need…"
"Regina… you can't…"
The anger flashed in her eyes.
"You have no idea what I am capable of." She was shouting at him, "Henry needs his mother. This town needs their savior. I need.…. I refuse to give up on her. Ever since the curse broke she has been on my side, has had my back. She has saved me time and time again, from this town, from myself. When everyone else wanted my head on a stake, she protected me. When I started feeling the darkness creep back in, she was the light that brought me back. Even when I pushed and pushed, she never left…." Regina balled her fists up and choked back the sobs. "She promised me my happy ending."
That broke her. The tears were now falling uncontrollably. The sobs shook her violently as she backed against the wall and sunk to the floor, pulling her knees up close. "She fucking promised…" was all she could choke out.
Robin knelt beside her and embraced her. Leaning into his shoulder, she sobbed harder. There was no way to stop this. The tears were coming too fast, too hard. Regina could feel herself breaking from the inside out. If it wasn't for Robin, for Zelena. If it wasn't for the road trip. If they didn't bring Lily here. If Emma wasn't such a damn fool, trying to save everyone, all the time. If Gold hadn't planted that seed of darkness in her head. If the dagger wasn't right there. If I could have gotten there sooner, I could have talked her down. If I could have seen what was coming. If I would have known. If. If if . "You can still have your happy ending." He broke her train of thought and tried to give her a comforting grin. Her head snapped up and the tears stopped all at once.
"NO! No, not until I fix this." With that she was on her feet and back at her bookshelf.
Robin sighed, defeated. "Regina, we don't know if she's even still..."
"DON'T YOU DARE!" She hissed. "So help me, Robin, I will save her if it's the last thing I do." She spun on him, with a frenzied smile on her face. The Evil Queen charged at him, pointing a finger directly in his chest. "If I lose her, this town will WISH for the old evil queen back. Emma sacrificed everything for those idiots. For me. And all they are doing is sending my old flame to babysit me. I will destroy everyth…."
With that Robin shook his head and turned to walk away. He knew she wanted him to be scared, to run in fear, to warn people. To stir everyone up to do something, but what could be done? And maybe he should be more scared than he was, but all he could see was the pain in her eyes. He now understood what Regina saw as the happy ending Emma promised. And it wasn't him. It was never him. Turning around one last time, he reached in his bag, and handed her the one thing left. It was meant for Hook or maybe even Snow, but he saw who it rightfully belonged to.
Regina's face melted from vengeful anger to the deep, sorrowful pain of a girl whose heart had just been ripped from her chest. She took the red leather in her hands carefully, slowly stroking the leather. She closed her eyes and clutched it to her chest, letting the tears stream down the wet tracks. She bowed her head into the coat. God, it smelled like her. Just like her. It was as if she would open her eyes and she'd be standing right there. She could tell her then. Tell her everything. Tell her the only happy ending she ever needed was for her to never leave her again. She promised. Promised, damn it. She wasn't here. She was supposed to be here. Emma promised her a happy ending and she needed to tell her that she already had it.