Regina Mills was infuriated at Emma Swan for a great many reasons. She had holed herself away from everybody, even Henry – because of what she had done.
But then she heard about Emma's predicament, and while she truly wished she couldn't care less, that she would be able to say to hell with her and leave her to rot...as much as she wished she hated her that much, she didn't.
So, Regina would be attempting to save the Savior. That was new. When she materialized in front of the formidable ice wall, seeing Charming with a walkie, and Hook trying to use his namesake to hack into it, she scoffed. "That's not going to work. Move it, boys." They parted, only slightly jumping at the sudden sound of her voice. Only because the second curse had only so recently broken were they still adjusting to the presence of magic. Well, maybe it was also due to the fools not having any of their own.
Regina wrung her hands as she realized how cold it was, not wanting her fingers to go numb. Stepping closer to the ice wall, she conjured fireballs in both hands, focusing to aim them at the same spot on the wall, before amping up her power to send the flames outward. The flames morphed into something more like laser beams, fueled by all her recent anger and frustrations. It was powerful, and yet, the ice wall only trickled under it, melting quite slowly.
Pissed at her inadequacy, Regina upped the ante even further, to the point where perspiration gleamed on her forehead, even in the biting cold.
Finally, a sizeable hole formed in the ice. Not large enough to simply walk through, but enough for a person of her own slim stature to squeeze through. She approached the hole, sticking her head inside. She saw Emma on the ground, and Elsa standing with a walkie, looking down at Emma with a terrified expression. She seethed at the standing blonde's complete and utter uselessness. "Why aren't you helping her?" she barked.
Elsa jolted, looking at her like a deer caught in headlights. "I-I I tried. I-I'm trying. I. I. I just can't control it. She-She's turning blue..."
That was it! Regina dove the rest of the way through the hole, head first, and landed unceremoniously on the floor of ice, on her stomach. She was exhausted already from the drain of super charged magic, and for the brief moment she let her forehead touch the ice, she considered letting herself fall asleep.
That's when the panic set in. She had been using fire magic for an extended amount of time, which heated her up, and after less than a minute inside the ice wall, her body wanted her to sleep. Emma hadn't been using magic, and had been inside far longer. Elsa had mentioned she was turning blue.
Regina bolted to her feet, dashing over to Emma, who looked extremely weak as she shivered uncontrollably, with a complexion that seemed more translucent than the ice itself. A hard lump formed in her throat. Emma didn't get to do this. Emma wasn't going to die. Not today. Not on her watch. Not ever. She crouched down next to her, placing a hand on her shoulder, trying to stabilize her.
"R...Gi-Gina?" Emma's hoarse voice crackled out, barely there and almost less than a whisper. Her eyes remained closed.
"I'm going to get you out of here, Miss Swan," Regina stated harshly, almost angrily. Hell, she was angry. Angry for making her blood race so fast through her veins. Angry for causing the lump in her throat that made it hard to swallow and talk. Angry at her unclear vision.
She managed to keep Emma still long enough to slip an arm under her side and hoist her up into her arms, holding her in a tight grip. Now she was angry for never wanting to let go.
Regina let her magic carry them away to her home, in front of a roaring fireplace. She placed Emma gingerly down on a couch, then scavenged all the blankets she could manage. She was not shy as she tugged off Emma's jacket that was stiff from the cold, nor the rest of her freezing clothing that followed. She wrapped each limb up in a different blanket, wrapped one around her middle, and another one around her entire body. She held the thickest blanket closed at the base of Emma's neck, her hands trembling with the effort, considering all the rest of the blankets beneath it weren't exactly thin, either.
Emma cracked an amused smile, some of her color already returning. "I know yo-you're p-p-pissed at me...b-but can… Are you s-so enraged you can't hold still?" She thought it was funny. Her mind was addled more than usual, but she was pretty sure she would find it humorous in her normal state of mind.
Regina pursed her lips and sat down on the couch next to her, wrapping her arms around her, clasping her hands together around her side so the blonde could no longer see how unsteady they were.
It wasn't until several minutes later, close to or even passing an hour, when Emma was warmed up and looking far more alive that Regina let out a sob that couldn't be suppressed.
Emma's eyes widened, unsure what to do, still wrapped up in blankets, and still being held. "I-I… Damn, I don't have any good icebreakers." Suddenly, she was shoved away, nearly into the arm of the couch.
"Fuck you, Emma!" Regina did not appreciate the pun at all, unintentional or not. She choked on air and let out another, ragged, sob. Tears streamed down her face. "You could have died! You – You were going to die! If I hadn't shown up when I did – those idiots were going to kill you! What the hell were you even doing in there, Emma?!"
Emma's eyes widened. She struggled to sit back up in a regular position. She hadn't quite seen Regina snap. Not like this. The last time she had seen her snap, it had been in an eerie, almost out of body experience type way. Regina had seemed haunted, and had sounded hollow and empty. This time she sounded passionate, she was tethered to the world around her. And, maybe not entirely surprisingly, pissed at her, it seemed. "I...I didn't die?" she tried placating meekly.
"Thanks to me!" Regina roared furiously.
"Thank you?" Emma tried again.
Regina broke down even harder. "You don't get it! I almost lost you!"
Emma blinked a couple times. "Regina?"
Regina glared at Emma through her now red-rimmed eyes. "You would have died. You, who brought back Robin's dead wife. You, the reason I was even with Robin in the first place. You...who chose the damned pirate that wears more makeup than I do and never bathes! If you died – I – I couldn't have hated you. And I need to hate you, because you won't let me love you – or anyone else!"
Emma's jaw dropped. "I..." She sighed. "Regina, let me out of these blankets, please."
Regina didn't know why, but she listened. Emma kept one blanket to wrap around herself like a towel, keeping her decent.
Emma opened her arms. "Come here, Regina."
Regina dove into her arms, letting out all her tears and sobs when she felt Emma's arms close around her.
Emma let her cry it out, holding her as tight as she could manage. "You're going to be okay. This is going to be okay. I promise. I have a plan." She pressed a soft kiss to the top of her head.
Once Regina was all cried out, she lifted her head to look at her. "What plan?"
Emma cupped her cheeks, stroking the remainders of her tears away, then gently kissed her forehead. "We're going to start this all over. Clean slate."
Regina's eyes widened in a frenzied panic, her hands unthinkingly gripping onto the towel, as it was the only thing Emma was wearing. "No-No-No-No-No! I don't want to forget you."
"What?" Emma shook her head. "Not that kind of clean slate, Regina. I promise. I'm going to leave as soon as I am able, find Killian, and end it. Then… You'll see tomorrow."
The next day, at 8:15 PM, Emma Swan strolled up Regina Mills' walkway wearing her signature leather jacket. It was, in fact, the exact same outfit that she had worn when she first arrived in Storybrooke. She got to the porch, and knocked on the door.
Regina pulled the door open, wearing damn near the exact same outfit she had been wearing when Emma had first shown up on her doorstep with Henry. She cocked her head to the side curiously.
"Are you Regina Mills?" Emma asked cockily.
Regina played along, crossing her arms. "Yes, I am. And who might you be?"
"Swan. Emma Swan." Emma held out her hand. "I'm about to be your girlfriend."
Regina tutted, shaking her head as she stepped forward and grasped her hand. "Au contraire, Miss Swan." She squeezed it and gave it a firm shake. "We'll be married someday."