Disclaimer: I don't own OUAT or any of its characters. This story is for entertainment purposes only.
"He looked right through me."
"Because he doesn't remember you."
"You clearly do… Why are you here?"
"Storybrook, a new curse, missing year… what do you think?"
"No what I mean is, how did you know to come back?"
Regina pinched her eyes shut, preventing hot angry tears from pooling in her eyes. The morning's conversation played like a broken record in her mind. She should have known she wasn't going to get a good night's sleep after running into two ghosts from her past. Two important people in her life she wholeheartedly believed she would never see again.
Minutes ago she had nearly succumbed to a nervous breakdown. After tossing and turning in bed, she made the mistake of walking into Henry's room. The brunette recalled the sound of her heart – the incessantly erratic pounding that refused to go away as echoes of memories flooded her mind. She could still feel the constant weight on her chest, an ominous cloud that threatened to suck the precious air out of her lungs.
She had just begun to accept that life would never be as it was before. She would never again see the son she loved so deeply and unconditionally. She would never again see the woman who had the ability to both excite and anger, frustrate and amuse her all at the same time.
She had finally begun to accept that her heart, her soul, would never feel whole again.
She stood frozen in the middle of the room that had remained untouched since the day of Pan's curse. Tears continued to well and threaten to spill over. Disheartened with the scene, Regina poofed herself away to her vault. As much as she hated to admit it, she was frustrated with the world, with Emma and Henry, and with herself.
It shouldn't be this bad. She knew it was a price. It was HER curse and it was a price that SHE had to pay. Living without them had been unbearable. Seeing Emma and Henry and knowing the son she had raised for over a decade didn't know who she was had made the mere task of breathing damn near impossible.
She stood over a large chest; unlabeled bottles of liquids, powders, and talismans neatly lined up organized in a fashion only Regina could decode. Despite her agitated state, her fingers worked deftly, seeking out the appropriate ingredients for a potion she needed to create. A potion that would quell her inner demons. A mouthful of magic that would blissfully numb the radiating pain in her chest.
"Took me a few minutes but I finally figured out how to unlock the door." The blonde proclaimed proudly, leaning against the stone wall. "Not that I'm complaining or anything…"
Regina's hands paused, her body inhaling a sharp breath at the sudden yet welcome interruption. She had been so engrossed in her task that she didn't hear footsteps coming down the cobblestone staircase.
"Protection spell…" The brunette stated, finally returning to her previous task. She hoped that despite her previous tutelage, Emma wouldn't figure out what she was in the process of creating.
"Guess I'm not so rusty with the magic after all." Emma gently pushed herself of the wall, moving to stand inches behind the older woman. She nudged Regina's arm playfully, instinctively knowing she had to try to lighten the mood. "It HAS been a year… For a minute, I thought I was going to have to use my overly developed muscles to break in."
"I let you in, you idiot." Regina weakly smiled. She placed down the vile of liquid she had been holding and turned to connect with the blonde. It had been unintentional, but somehow her subconscious knew that Emma would need to be allowed past the magical barrier. "How did you know?"
"You really going to ask me that question?"
Regina shook her head. She should have known of all people, Emma would be the first and only to find her. Ever since they had returned from Neverland, the pair had shared an inexplicable bond - a link that surpassed telepathy and bordered on the verge of divinity. Even wiped memories and a year apart couldn't change that.
"Look, I'm sorry about what happened in the diner. I should've realized you were going to be there. And about what I said…" Emma gaze shifted downward, he eyes focusing on her feet which were nervously shifting weight from side to side. "I just wasn't sure if you were the 'old' you or you know… you."
"And what's the verdict, Miss Swan. Is your super power rusty as well?"
"Never! You forget, I've raised our pre-teen son all by myself for the last year." Emma smiled at Regina's snide remark, moving closer to the brunette, fingering an errant curl and tucking it away from sorrowful eyes. "We'll find a way. Henry will remember who you are."
"When I broke the curse, I thought everyone would loose their memories. I forced myself to believe it would be easier to let you two go because Storybrook would have never existed. Our time together… my time with Henry… would have never existed." Regina shook her head, the mere notion of loosing them again causing her to nearly loose her resolve once more.
"But I remembered… I remembered it all. I was fully prepared to pay the price but somehow I ended up back here… we all ended up back here." The brunette inhaled, attempting to prevent a choked sob from rising in her throat. "I have these… memories."
Emma continued to stand inches away from Regina, her eyes filled with concern. Slowly she reached down, gently intertwining porcelain fingertips with olive. She gave a gentle squeeze, willing the brunette to continue.
"They're dreams really… not sure if they are actual memories. I have this vivid image in my mind. We had returned to the Enchanted Forest and we were travelling on foot back to my castle. At some point I separated from the group and found myself in a clearing digging a hole. I was going to bury my heart… I just couldn't stand to feel it anymore..."
"Feel what?" The blonde asked gently, her thumbs continuing to stroke small circles on the back of Regina's palms.
"Loss… pain… I believed I was never going to see Henry ever again." Regina shook her head slightly, knowing she had intentionally omitted the woman standing with her. "Your mother found me and stopped me."
"Though normally I loathe Mary Margaret's uncanny ability to appear at the wrong time. I'm glad that she did."
The former Evil Queen smirked sadly. Leave it to Emma to make light of any dire situation. Suddenly an idea dawned on Regina. The brunette gently released her fingers from the blonde's grasp and started walking deeper into her vault.
Emma followed slowly and watched with curiosity as Regina made her way towards an oversized chest of drawers constructed from the deepest colored rosewood. The darker woman's hands emanated a faint violet glow from carefully manicured olive fingertips.
"What are you doing?"
Emma watched intently as Regina's palms moved upwards, her fingers burying deep into the cavern of her chest and ripping her heart out. The dimly glowing organ beat steadily while cradled in her palms. The blonde frowned, her gut sinking to the floor as she recognized the depth of the older woman's despair.
"I had dreams too…" Emma quietly revealed, stopping midway across the room for fear of startling Regina into doing something irrational. "They were images really… just scattered pieces of memories I didn't know I had. Some of them were so vivid. I could see the night sky in Neverland and feel the pull of the moon as we moved it together. I could feel your hand in mine just before Pan's curse hit… your eyes when Henry and I finally walked away…"
Emma approached slowly and nuzzled up behind Regina, her arms gently snaking their way around the brunette's hips before gingerly cradling the hands that held Regina's beating heart. The pair stood there staring at the pulsing organ in wonder as patches of darkness slowly gave way to radiant crimson rays light.
"I dreamt of you, of this town, almost every night. I'm sure Henry did too. How could he not? It may be buried, but deep inside I believe he knows who you are."
"I can't trust myself… I need you to take this. " Regina whispered, leaning into the blonde's embrace. Slowly, she released her palms, gently placing her heart in the cradle of Emma's hands. "At least until we can figure out how to bring our Henry back. You're the only person I trust with it."
Emma gazed at it, cradling it reverently. She could feel each pulse ripple through her skin and straight to her core with every rhythmic beat. Lightly kissing Regina on the cheek, she lifted her palms and tenderly placed the beating organ back into its home in Regina's chest.
"It belongs in here…"
The pair stood in silence, porcelain hands reverently covering the point where Regina's heart had reentered her body. Emma's leaned forward drowning in a sea of raven locks… the sensation all too familiar yet distant all at the same time.
Feeling Emma surround every piece of her, Regina finally gave in. The tension in her body finally releasing as she allowed her weight to settle into the blonde's secure embrace. Having her heart back in her chest, Regina finally became overwhelmed with emotion causing streams to slip from pooling chestnut orbs.
"I just want things to go back to before."
Emma held Regina tighter, her lips ghosting a sensitive ear. "We'll get our son back."
"How can you be sure?"
"Because I'm The Savior… And after all that has happened, I still believe. I believe in you and me. I believe in all the things we've done and all the things we're going to do."
"I've missed you both so much." Regina turned in Emma's arms, her right hand reaching up to caress the taller woman's face. The brunette leaned in slowly, placing chaste kiss on thin pink lips. "I love you."
The three words came as nothing but a mere whisper. It had been the first time either of them had proclaimed those three magical words. Regina wished she had the courage to say it before Pan's curse. She wished she could hit the rewind button and take back the lost year, a year the three of them could've been happy together as a family. Until now, they had both been too afraid.
"I love you too." Emma whispered her declaration in return, emerald eyes connecting with depths of chocolate. "And Henry does too… even though he may not know it yet. We've lost a whole year with you. We can't let any more time pass. We'll get him back… we HAVE to."
The two paused, the cavern filling with deafening silence. Regina buried her face in the crook of Emma's neck, enjoying the overwhelming sensations that have evaded her for the past year. It was with Emma she found her strength and it is through Emma's unexpected return that she will find it once again.
"I need to find a way to replicate the memory potion." Regina finally stood tall, speaking with a new sense of purpose. Gently breaking out of Emma's arms, she turned to a book splayed open on a stone ledge, instantly becoming transfixed on the text on the parchment. "Emma dear, make yourself useful and look around. See if you can find Henry's book. Perhaps it can help us discover who is behind this curse."
"Anything for you, your Majesty." Emma grinned, walking past the brunette and gently brushing her fingertips across the swell of her lower back. Regina smiled in return as Emma walked towards a stack of dusty books in the corner of the room. "Regina?"
"Yes, dear?"
"It's good to be home."
-FIN
A/N: I know there might be a few things that were a "reach" but I'm hoping this was written as realistic to the episode as possible. Thanks for the read! Constructive criticisms are MORE than welcome :-)