Maybe it was the subtle nighttime breeze. Maybe it was the twinkling, deep blue abyss that hanged above her fading eyes. But even as she lay nearly slain on the blood dampened street, Regina had never felt such perfect peace and bliss in her centuries long life. For a moment she thought back to her earliest memory where she wildly picked sunflowers in the royal garden. Then she remembered her first love Daniel... then Snow as a child... the years of heartless revenge... the curse... Henry's sweet face... and finally, the Savior. Her life was indeed flashing before her eyes.

"Regina! Regina, c'mon!" Emma panicked as she shook Regina's weakened shoulders. "Regina, stay with us."

The blood was profuse. Aladdin's blade pierced through Regina's heart. Emma knew there was no way of saving her, but she refused to accept the horrible truth.

"Mom! Henry! Someone, please help!" The Savior bellowed into the night.

The Charmings, Hook and Henry promised to take cover while Regina and Emma fought the Evil Queen and Aladdin. It wasn't until Emma's cry for help that they hurriedly returned to the street turned battlefield and soon to be deathbed.

"Is that Regina?" Snow asked as they trotted away from safety. "Regina!"

"No... Mom!" Cried Henry.

Henry crouched opposite Emma while the Charmings stood over Regina beside him. Realizing this was a close family moment, Hook receded off behind them a few yards away.

"H-" Regina cleared her throat as best as she could, "Henry." She faintly whispered. He clasped his mother's hand in his own.

"Yes, mom?"

"You always... believed in me. Even..." she coughed, "even when I didn't deserve your faith."

Henry's eyes welled with tears. He placed his quivering lips onto the back of his mother's dying hand.

"Always remember... that I always loved you... and always will love you."

"I- I promise. I will." He struggled to respond. "I love you, Mom. Please, don't go."

"I must." Regina slowly shifted her neck and eyes to her left where Emma still crouched beside her with frantic eyes. "Emma."

The Savior's mouth was gaped and was seemingly in shock. Emma's job was to save everyone, to give them their happy endings. Now the woman who raised her child, the woman she promised she'd give her happy ending to, was bleeding to death beneath her. She felt helpless.

"Regina." Emma took the trembling hand Regina offered.

"You made me a promise, to give me my happy ending," her words were much easier now, "and that's exactly what you gave me."

Emma finally broke out of her shock and tears spilled into her eyes.

"No! This is not your happy ending."

"It was always going to come to this, Emma. But you... you gave me what no one else could. You gave me a child. You gave me a family." A single droplet trickled down from Regina's eye to her hair. Emma pulled Regina's hand into her chest and hugged it close.

"I'm so sorry, Regina."

"Don't... don't apologize, Miss Swan."

Emma smiled through the ocean of tears that soaked her face.

"Don't Miss Swan me."

"We've been through too much."

She faintly smirked then loosened the grip she had around Henry and Emma's hands, her fading eyes closed entirely and her ultimate sacrifice was finally complete.

"Regina!"

"Mom! Mom, no! Please come back!"

A weeping Snow knelt beside Henry and wrapped an arm around his shoulder.

"It's going to be okay, Henry." Snow murmured.

"No, it's not! She's dead! My mom is dead!" Henry buried his face into his late mother's neck and wrapped his arms around her pallid face.

David knelt beside Emma who still held onto Regina's lifeless hand.

"I'm sorry, Em-"

"It wasn't supposed to end this way. It can't end this way."

"Sacrificing herself for her family is the only way Regina would have wanted to go. She was a hero. Let that be the memory you hold on to."

Emma lifted her eyes from the terrible sight and looked upon her mother's crying face, then beside her at her father's teary eyes. Her eyes widened.

"You're right. Regina was a hero. Then she can still have a happy ending."

The Charmings exchanged a puzzled look.

The Savior relinquished Regina's hand, reached out and clawed her way into the late Queen's chest. Henry pulled away as he felt his mother's body jolt from underneath him.

"Emma, what are you doing?" Snow asked.

"Fixing this." She then ripped out Regina's battered and dim heart. There was no life left in it, yet Emma handled it ever so delicately, as if it was a fragile newborn baby. She gently placed it in the bag she had attached to her side.

"Henry, look at me." Emma gripped both of her son's shoulders and glared intently into his broken brown eyes. "We're going to save your mother. But you have to trust me, okay?"

He nodded without question. Emma reciprocated.

Without warning, Emma fixed her hand into another claw and jabbed it at Henry's chest in an attempt to take his heart. But a purple force field of lightening bolts repelled Emma's hand and pushed her back onto her heels.

"Ahhh!" Henry writhed.

"Emma!" Snow and David cried in unison.

"No... why didn't it work..."

"Emma, stop this! What are you doing?!" Snow demanded as she held onto her grandson.

"You two share a heart. Regina's only been gone a minute it can work!"

"It won't work. Mom protected my heart after Pan stole it."

Emma froze, but only for a moment.

"Then I'll do it."

"No!" Snow cried.

"Emma, no, you can't." Exclaimed David.

"I have to! I promised her a happy ending and it's not dead in the middle of the road! There is always another way." Emma peered around at her loved ones. They were silenced by her furious outburst.

"Swan, you-" Hook tried to approach.

"Stop. It is my heart, it's my choice and I will do with it whatever I want. You hated Regina so this is not up to you."

The pirate's eyes softened and realized resistance was futile. Emma would do whatever she could to save Regina. The realization was paralyzing, but he once again receded away.

Emma turned back to her mother.

"If it doesn't work, I need you to put my heart back together and back inside me, okay?"

Snow nodded without protest.

The Savior fixed her eyes back to Regina and filled her lungs with the crisp night air. For a moment she was motionless. A few seconds passed before Emma slowly raised her hand and dug her fingers into her chest. She dropped her jaw and squeezed her eyelids shut in great agony. Inch by inch, the Savior's pure, glowing heart emerged out of its cavity. Her family eyed it in awe of its glory. Emma took one final look at her loved ones before taking each side of her heart. She then twisted the sides in opposite directions forcing it to snap in half with a sound reminiscent of rocks colliding. Emma pushed the left half back inside her chest with shockingly little hesitation.

The Charmings and Henry knew Emma cared for Regina. Of course she did. They've known each other for 5 years and have a child together. But this was somehow different. Snow split her heart to save David, her one true love, a love powerful enough to break any curse and create a Savior. Sharing a heart was a sacred rite between two people who can't live without each other. It was a great sacrifice that no one thought she'd do for Regina. Yet here they were, watching as Emma was not just willing but anxious to give half of herself to the mother of her child. Snow found herself giving Emma the same look she gave Regina when she brought Emma's baby blanket to Granny's diner.

With softened eyes and shaky breaths, Emma placed the second half on Regina's chest. Henry interlocked his fingers with Snow's, Snow clasped David's hand and David held on to Emma's back. The family braced themselves, waiting to be complete once again.

The Savior gently pressed down and her heart disappeared into Regina's chest. Her father instantly took her hand, but Emma eyes remained glued to Regina's face, not so patiently waiting for any sign of life.

"Regina." A deep voice echoed somewhere in the distance.

"Who's there? Where am I?" Regina asked. Wearing her old garb from when she was just a teenager, Regina was standing on a grassy plain with fog thickly draped around her. She could barely see her own hand if it wasn't for the bit of sunlight peeking through the blankets of clouds.

"Regina." It called again. The voice sounded familiar.

"R-Robin?"

"Regina." He voiced once more as he emerged from the fog.

"Robin!" Regina ran to the bandit and wrapped her arms around his neck. He returned the warm embrace. She unclasped him for a moment to assuage her curiosity. "Robin, what are you doing here? Where are we? What is this? I was just-"

She paused then realized where she just was.

"I... I'm..."

"That's right. You're dead." Robin explained in a soft tone.

"But I can't be dead. What about Henry? What about my family I can't leave them."

"Oh, but you must. Your time has come."

"It hasn't! Who's going to protect them when I'm gone?"

"Emma can protect them. She's the Savior."

"Emma." Regina's mouth fell open and eyes widened. The mere mention of Emma's name struck a strange chord in her. She placed her hands on her chest.

"What's wrong, Regina?"

"I don't know. I just... feel something."

"Take my hand. Come with me and you can finally be with me forever. Just like we always wanted."

Regina was still clutching at her chest. She didn't quite understand what she was feeling, but she knew she couldn't go with Robin.

"Regina, isn't this what you wanted? A happy ending? True love and eternal bliss?" Robin placed his hands on the sides of Regina's face.

"Of course it's what I want. But this isn't a happy ending, Robin. True love is sacrifice not leaving your family to selfishly prance around in some celestial realm while they continue to suffer."

"That's just it. No more suffering. No more pain. No more misery. It's just you and I happily."

Regina lowered Robin's hands and hugged them to her chest.

"Robin. I do love you. I really do." Her eyes began to well. "But I have a family. And if suffering is what I must do to protect them and be with them, then so be it."

"At what cost? You walked to hell and back for them only to have your lover killed and even yourself."

"It's what I chose!"

A silence fell over the foggy space.

"I chose to sacrifice myself. I chose go to Hades. Everything I have ever done for my family has been my choice. That's what it's always been. Choice. And I choose to go back."

An earthquake erupted at their feet and cracked open the space between them.

"What's happening?!" Regina yelled over the rumblings beneath her.

"It's your choice! This is goodbye, Regina!"

"Robin!" She cried.

"You will have your happy ending!"

Regina gripped Robin's hand for as long as she could but the ground was now completely separated and moving further and further apart. If she held on any longer she'd fall into the black, endless abyss that opened up.

"I can't hold on!"

"Let go, Regina. Just let me go."

"Robin!"

Regina's half of the ground receded backward and the fog enveloped her once again. Robin disappeared into the pale clouds. Thereafter, everything turned a blinding white. It was as if someone was shining flashlights directly into her eyes.

"Mayor Mills? Mayor Mills, are you with us?"

Regina was clawing her way back to consciousness as Dr. Whale flashed the pen lite on and off her pupils.

"C'mon, Madam Mayor. You don't give up that easily."

The room was doing somersaults but the Mayor finally was able to blink some of it away.

"There ya go. You lost a lot of blood, Madam Mayor, but you're gonna be fine. You've got a strong heart in there." He winked.

Not only was she terribly weak and dizzy, but the oxygen mask on Regina's face was tight and uncomfortable. But they were friendly reminders that she was indeed alive. In her stiffened, motionless state she silently thanked goodness.

"You can see her now. But not for long." Regina heard the doctor say.

"Mom!" Henry cried, wasting no time. He didn't know his exclamation made her head pound in terrible agony, but she didn't mind. Seeing her son's face was all that mattered.

"Henry." She somehow mustered while smiling underneath the mask. The reunited mother and son embraced on the hospital bed and sobbed in great relief.

"I thought you were gone."

"So did I." She chuckled.

"Don't ever scare me like that again."

"I won't. I promise, Henry."

He pulled away placed a gentle kiss on her forehead. They smiled at each other for a moment.

"Regina."

Regina looked up.

"Snow."

Snow walked over to Regina and gave her the warmest embrace she'd ever given.

"Welcome back." She whispered into her ear.

David followed in and took Regina's hand after Snow pulled away.

"This family would never be complete again if you checked out of here. Don't let it happen again." He kindly smirked.

She weakly returned the gesture.

"Where's Emma?"

The Charmings and Henry exchanged a nervous look.

"She's... she's getting you some water." Snow began. "We can't have ourselves a thirsty hero, can we?"

"Is she okay?" Even in her worst condition ever, she knew something was off. Regina wasn't buying it.

"Yeah, of course," said David. "You're just a little edgy. Don't worry about it.

"Alright, alright. I think that's enough visiting for now. The Mayor needs her rest." Dr. Whale interrupted.

"No, I don't."

"The doctor's right, Regina. We need you well. But don't worry, we're staying right outside in the waiting lounge."

"No no, Snow. Go home. Sleep. I don't need guilt on top of the pain I'm already in."

"Nope, we're staying. No objections."

"I-"

"Sleep well, Regina." Snow grabbed David's hand and lead him out of the room.

"Goodnight, Mom. I love you."

"I love you more, Henry."

"Not possible."

They smiled.

The incessant beeping from the machines woke Regina up for the second time that night. By now it was at least 2AM. Frustrated, she removed the mask from her face and tried to sit up. But the room was still somersaulting. Instead she reached for the water at her bedside and sipped to quench thirst. As she leaned back over to put the cup down, Regina saw out of the corner of her eye a figure blocking off the light.

"Hey, who's-"

"Regina..."

"Emma."