A Diamond is Forever

by josey.kris

Emma and Regina save the town from the Diamond Failsafe device, but their magics combine resulting in more than they could've imagined. Medium Burn to Swanqueen

Chapter Text

A DIAMOND IS FOREVER

By: Josey78

***SWANQUEEN***

CHAPTER 1

"I'm so sorry, but I...I can't hold it for much longer." Regina declared solemnly as she looked out at what had become her family much to her surprise. How could they still be here standing with her? Knowing they were probably going to die because she wasn't strong enough to save them. She wanted to scream and cry at the injustice of it all. Just as Regina made the final, and fatal, decision to give into the overwhelming power of the diamond; Emma came forward with a hard look of determination shining in her eyes.

"You might not have the strength alone, but maybe together...we can walk out of here alive." Emma stepped up and placed her hands on either side of the diamond, the tips of her fingers brushing against Regina's. Emma looked over the brightly lit diamond and into Regina's eyes to convey the strength of her resolve and how much she cared for the older woman. If this diamond took Emma's life as well then so be it. Deep down Emma knew all that really mattered was the safety of Henry, her parents and the rest of the town. As much as Emma loved her son and her parents, the Savior knew in her heart that she wouldn't be able to carry on without the woman that was standing in front of her anyway.

If Regina were to die tonight, Emma would have gladly followed her into the afterlife, into the unknown; just so they could have another shot at their friendship, and more. Emma was suddenly submerged into a world of pain as the diamonds magic expanded. The amount of magic pouring into her body from the magic diamond made both Emma and Regina feel as if they were being so magically over-charged, they wished for death; and yet it felt as if a part of them was being stripped away forcefully. Emma's strong legs nearly succumbed to the pain as she cried out in agony.

Regina could not believe Emma, what the hell was she thinking?! Not only was the brunette positive she was going to perish tonight, Emma was going to go down with her! She wanted to strangle the idiot right then and there, if Regina wanted Emma dead she would have done it herself, she wanted Emma to live a happy life with Henry, to have a life they both deserved since it was her fault in the first place that they both hadn't been able to be with their parents when they were young. Regina ruined so many lives already,all because she had been a selfish, bitter and revenge driven fool. Just thinking about it all now caused bile to rise in her throat and her body to shake with anger, mostly with herself. If they survived this, she was going to kill the blonde herself

Abruptly a sharp brought her out of her inner monologue and Regina almost fell to her knees. The diamond was doing something unnatural and the former Evil Queen knew it was going to end well. She felt the diamonds magic super-charging her, and she'd never felt this much magic at once in her veins and God it felt good, but now she was starting to feel out of sorts….she felt as though a part of her is being pulled from her, like there were now these little holes showing up inside her and Regina was becoming quite alarmed. But as the pain started to subside she could feel those dark voids being "filled back up" with something…no….not something, but someone.

Emma started to realize, as the pain ebbed and subsided, that she was being "filled back up" as well. Those dark holes, the ones she always tried to avoid thinking about weren't there anymore, she didn't feel alone anymore and she couldn't figure out what was going on. Opening her eyes Emma saw Regina's beautiful chocolate brown ones looking right back at her. As their eyes met it was like that last piece of their puzzle finally clicked together. In that very moment, they realized what they were feeling, somehow when their magic combined, so had they through mind and soul, in a way. It was easier now...looking at each other to sense what the other was feeling, and where the thoughts were coming from. They were coming from each other and they were strong.

Emma had always admired, hell, been attracted to Regina since the night she first laid eyes on the Mayor. Over time, Emma slowly come to love Regina as a friend, and that had eventually grown into something much, much more beyond friendship despite all of the fighting and torture inflicted on her by the old woman. Emma had always been able to see past the tough exterior of the broken, scared, and vulnerable woman beneath it. But now she knew Regina felt the same way about her, Emma had no clue as to what to do next. Realizing that they probably wouldn't even survive this failsafe device, Emma figured that this moment might the last and only chance to suck up every ounce of courage she had left, and met Regina's gaze for what might be the last time she'd ever see those intense, brown orbs. "Re...Regina! I know we're probably not going to survive this... I know that. I.." Emma swallowed harshly, licking her dry lips and starting again, "Before we die, I need to tell you something, and I'm so, so sorry it took so long for me to say it….but I LOVE YOU REGINA MILLS!"

To say Regina was completely shocked by Emma's revelation would be an understatement. As much as she wanted to respond in kind with her usual snark, Regina didn't have the heart to do anything but confess her own feelings for the blonde as well, damn the consequences. Regina yelled over the noise echoing through the mines, "Emma, my Dear Emma, I love you as well, and I'm..." Regina had barely started her own declaration of love before the diamond grew so bright she instinctively closed her eyes, but before they shut completely she saw Emma's eyes swirling with red. Both women screamed out each other's name reacting to the fear they felt from the other as the last of the magic poured out of the diamond, before it exploded and knock Emma and Regina onto their backs and leaving them both breathless.

Regina was the first to rise and she immediately rushed over to Emma and shook the Sheriff to wake her up, taking careful notice of how their skin began to glow for a few seconds as she touched her. Regina desperately needed answers but right now all she could think about was Emma's well being. "Emma? Emma wake up! Please wake up! I need you…don't leave me…" Regina's voice cracked, as she was trying to reign in her overwhelming and confusing emotions.

Emma groaned as she tried to sit up. She really was happy they had survived but her body felt as if she had just threw herself off the side of a cliff..and lived. Looking up at Regina she let the older woman help her to her feet. "Are we dead? 'Cause I feel like we should be dead, everything hurts." Emma brushed the dirt off of herself and she looked at Regina, both women seeing their eyes for the first time and jumped back startled. Emma wasn't sure exactly what was happening, as she stared hard at Regina; confused. "Uh Regina, what's with the eyes? They're RED! That's...kind of freaky!"

Huffing, Regina replied. "I could as you the same question, yours are swirling red as well dear…and stop freaking out, I feel fine . Surprisingly, given our recent adventure...we should be dead by now and I said stop freaking out!" Regina recoiled from the savior and put her hand over her mouth, she was just as shocked as Emma..who was wondering how the hell Regina knew she was freaking the hell out. "How can I still feel your emotions?! This isn't possible! What did you do, Sheriff Swan!?"

Emma looked at Regina, hurt and anger now coursing through her veins. "What did I do?! No, no, no...what did you do? And I know you're just as scared as I am, I can feel it too! So do us a favor and cut the Evil Queen shit and just talk to me!"

As they stood there trying to stare each other down, they noticed that their eyes were returning back to normal and the constant throbbing ache of magic under their skin was subsiding, although neither knew exactly what that meant. Yet.

Even with the magic cooling down Regina knew she was so much more powerful than she was before,and she had never felt this good...this dangerous, and she loved it. Even at the height of her rage and anger fueling her Dark Magic, this new found power felt like a drop in the bucket compared to what she could feel pumping through her veins now. She started looking around to try and piece together the previous events and when she took a step back to give Emma a good once over her breath caught in her throat. When did Emma start dying her hair brunette….wait, that's not any brunette color, it was Regina's color! She'd know the own color of her hair even it was on a horse. Taking a deep breath because she was sure she wasn't going to like the answer she was about to receive,"Ms. Swan, would you mind telling me if there is something different about my hair?"

Emma's looked over at Regina apprehensively and confused before her eyes widened with wonderment, she saw that a blonde strip of hair that matched her very own golden hair color standing out from the otherwise perfect brunette color. She pointed at Regina's head and swallows once again, "Yeah, ahem...yes... one of your bangs if blonde! Regina, what is going on? Is there some brunette color in my hair as well? You tell me what's going on Regina? What just happened, how can we feel each other like this...and the hair, why do we have pieces of each other's hair on our heads? What does this all mean?"

Regina stood up a little taller and gathered her thoughts, and sorting through Emma's horde of panicked questioning. "This is just a guess let me make that clear, but somehow...I think our magic's combined along with the diamonds magic which resulted in us intermingling." Emma raised a brow and Regina sighed impatiently, "To put it simply a part of me is in you, and a part of you is in me. I think using both Dark and Light magic caused the magic to act strangely, and since magic is tied to our emotions….this happened. I truly have no idea but I will figure this out Emma, I promise."

Emma looked like she was about to hurl at the thought of what all this could mean, but suddenly the calm, and cool, steel like nerves she could feel inside of the brunette helped to ease her fears and she straightened up. "I'm guessing that's why I can feel your emotions right? The fact that since magic is emotion and we merged our feelings have as well." Emma wasn't sure if she was right or not but the feeling of approval and love coming off of Regina meant she was on the right track at least she thought.

Feeling Emma's anxiety and love for her as well, Regina stepped into Emma's personal space and cupped her cheek. "I suppose it is Ms. Swan, and I believe we're going have a lot to talk about, but right now I have something else in mind" And with that said Regina pulled Emma's head down to her own, smashing their lips together in a tentative kiss that started out sweet and exploring, but it soon escalated into something much more passionate and needy. Emma wasn't sure when her hands were around Regina's waist pulling her in close, but neither were complaining. Regina's hands combed through the blondes hair, pulling her deeper into their heated kiss. Moaning loudly into Regina's mouth, Emma bit down on a plump red bottom lip, practically begging for more.

As their emotions grew, their bodies started to glow again lighting up the mineshaft and no sooner had that happened, a certain pixie haired woman got a look at what exactly was going on.

A DIAMOND IS FOREVER

By: Josey78

***SWANQUEEN***

CHAPTER 2

Holding onto her husband and grandchild Snow had to blink several times to adjust her eyes. She was sure that they were about to die when the light from the diamond grew in intensity until she had to close her eyes when a sudden shock wave knocked the three of them back up against the wall of the mine and then the light faded. Snow opened her eyes realizing that they were ok and looked up at Charming. She could see the surprised look on his face as well and was about to pull his head down to kiss him when another reddish light lit up the mine drawing her attention. Turning her head to look back down the mine-shaft towards the light she saw Emma and Regina. Snow did a double take to make sure she was really seeing what she thought she was. Regina was kissing Emma…No fucking way!

With an inhuman shriek she let go of Charming and Henry nearly throwing them out of her way. She barreled down the mine shaft slamming her shoulder into Regina tackling her to the ground with a move that would have made Lawrence Taylor proud. "You EVIL WITCH!" Snow screamed out with such fury and hatred that spittle was coming out of her mouth. Pulling back Snow sent a right cross that connected with Regina's cheek bone splitting a little gash open and nearly breaking Snows hand. "You will leave my daughter alone! You cannot have her!" She screamed as she drew back for another punch.

Charming shook his head to clear the shock at what just happened in time to see Snow land a punch to Regina's face. Rushing over he pulled Snow off of Regina restraining her arms behind her back. "Snow! Snow damn it, stop this! This isn't you! You don't go around tackling people and punching them. Especially in front of Henry!" Charming was having to use everything he had to keep Snow from getting loose while at the same time trying not to hurt her.

Regina looked up at Snow with hatred in her eyes. She wanted to kill her, she had just been willing to sacrifice her life to save everyone in this horrible little town and this is how she's re-payed? Picking herself up while brushing off the dirt from the ground Regina was about to say something when she felt Emma's emotions. She was shocked to feel so much embarrassment, shock and anger emanating from the blonde it made her smile a little, but also shocked her. She turned her head to look at Emma. "Emma, why are you so angry at Snow?" asked Regina.

Emma who was finally standing on her two feet again after being knocked on her ass, not once, but twice said, "Why am I pissed? I'll tell you why I'm pissed. My mother thinks she has the right to run my life or tell me who I can or can't see." Emma turned her head to look at her mother. "ENOUGH! You need to calm down right now before I tell David to let you go and enjoy watching Regina repay you for that punch. Do you understand me Mary-Margaret?" Emma knew using that name let her mother know she was not in the mood to be fucked with at the moment.

Snows struggling subsided some but her voice was still raised "I will not let her corrupt you Emma! She's a witch and a liar! I saw your bodies glowing, I know she was putting some sort of spell on you! How can you be mad at me?"

Breathing in Emma called forth a fireball in her hand so her mother would see her magic at work. She knew from seeing Regina that both their eyes took on a reddish hue when they accessed their magic now and she wanted to prove a point. "She was not putting a spell on me you little twit! She was kissing me! Somehow when we absorbed the magic from the diamonds we were able to feel each other's emotions and well…we kissed." Emma let the fireball go out and looked over at Regina not sure what else she should say.

Henry gasped out loud and pointed to Regina "Oh my god moms! What happened to your hair!? Grampa, you see it too right?" Henry looked at Charming that nodded his head in agreement, then walked up to his brunette mother hugging her. "Look mom." He said reaching up pulling some of Regina's newly blonde hair in front of her face. "You've got blonde hair now! Its sooo cool! And Emma you have the same color as Mom's hair in yours!"

Regina couldn't figure out what was worse, the throbbing of her face or the fact that her son was right, she had blonde hair now. Toying with the strands of hair she looked over to Emma who was still looking at her with those beautiful eyes. She realized what had happened earlier and took a second to collect herself breathing deeply and once again let herself feel what Emma was feeling. She turned her head to look away because she couldn't take it anymore. No matter what they felt she could not be with Emma, she is the Savior and she was the Evil Queen. She didn't get happy endings. Pushing Henry away gently she bent down and looked him in the eyes "I need you to go with Emma tonight OK kid? I'll call you tomorrow…I love you." She kissed him on the cheek and with one last glance at Snow she flicked her wrist leaving nothing but a cloud of red smoke and four very confused people.

***SWANQUEEN***

Chapter 2

The Charming family had walked to Granny's in utter silence. As happy as they were that the town had been saved the repercussions from Emma and Regina's heroics were weighing on them and none knew what to say. Emma walked next to Henry continuously glancing over trying to read his face to figure out what he was thinking, and wasn't having much luck. Snow had a look on her face that said if anyone spoke to her all hell would rain down and Charming was just praying that no one did anything they'd regret. When they got to Granny's it was still pretty deserted, everyone had gone to be with their friends and loved ones thinking the town was going to be destroyed so when the four walked into the diner Granny and Ruby came rushing out to greet them.

"Snow! You guys are alright! What happened? How did we survive?" Ruby ran over to give her best friend a hug but was shrugged off by Snow. "What's wrong with her?" She asked.

Henry piped up first "Mom and Emma saved the town! Mom wasn't going to survive all the magic from the diamond and she was almost out of strength but Emma stepped up and used her magic to help and saved us all!" Henry puffed out his chest as he was talking proud of his mothers. "Oh, and Grams is just upset because she saw Mom kissing Ma…" He said with a wag of his eyebrows and a huge smile on his face.

Ruby looked up at Emma, who was just now coming through the door her eyes going wide and the change in appearance. Ruby rushed over and nearly jumped on Emma, as it was she had both arms around her neck and her left leg wrapped around Emma's right one. Kissing Emma's cheeks over and over she gushed "Emma! You and Regina? I knew it, I knew, I knew it! Leroy owes me one hundred dollars too! He said no way that the Savior would get with the Evil-Queen, but I just knew that isn't how it was with you two…call it Wolfstincs or something, but I had a feeling and I'm happy for ya'll….."

As Ruby did her little happy dance Snow made a sound of disgust and got up and went over to Ruby's jacket that was hanging up. Rummaging through her coat she turned to Ruby yelling. "Where are they wolf!? I know you keep some hidden! I need one!"

"Where's what? Ruby looked confused for a second then a light went off in her head. "Really? You want a cigarette Snow? You never used to when I'd offer before….."

"Goddamnit Ruby just tell me where they are! My enemy and my daughter….the daughter that I love and had to send through that wardrobe because of that witch of a woman and now…now they're in love or something. FINALLY!" Snow found the pack of cigarettes in the inside pocket and just grabbed the whole pack and pushed her way through the crowd of people.

Shaking his head at his clearly distressed wife. "Snow wait!" Charming said turning to run after her.

Outside Charming watched his wife pull a cigarette out of the box and light it coughing slightly with the first drag. "Honey you don't smoke, put that thing out."

"Charming I love you, but right now just don't, I'm not in the mood for any speeches. Can you not see what is happening?" Snow took another long pull on her cigarette and blew it out in a long slow lazy breath trying to get her muscles to un-bunch at the same time.

Charming waving away the smoke from his face lazily looks at Snow. "All I see right now is my wife freaking out about something she cannot control. Snow, I know how you feel, after everything Regina has done and put our family through...thinking of her with our daughter makes my skin crawl, but this is not the way to go about getting her to see our point of view." charming sat down at one of the outdoor tables.

Taking another drag from the cigarette just to annoy her Prince a little more because deep down inside she knew that he was right and it pissed her off. "David, I know you're right but I can't help but feel so betrayed! These feelings they're talking about don't just spring up overnight! Emma has been hiding this from us because she knows how it would hurt us...but I think it hurts more that she would hide it."

David sighed quietly, "Yes it hurts that our daughter can't be honest with us, but after your little display earlier can you blame her?" As soon the words left his mouth, Charming knew he fucked up.

All Snow could see was red, she can't believe David just said that. She couldn't believe he was siding with that evil sorceress over her, after all that they had been through against the Evil Queen! As the rage continued to boil inside of her she dropped her cigarette and stomped the bud out on the ground, imaging that she was stomping on her husband's head. When that didn't help quell her anger she took the pack of cigarettes and threw them at him with all her might. "If you think I'm such a horrible person then you and Emma should just go live with Regina then!" Snow kicked over a chair on her way out of the seating area and headed home. "Don't follow me either!" she yelled over her shoulder, and if it was possible, foam would be spewing out of her mouth like a rabid dog.

Emma was still inside the diner when she heard her mother screaming. She rushed outside to find her dad sitting there alone looking like he was ready to go play in traffic. "David what's going on, why was Mary-Margaret yelling?"

"We were talking about you, daughter, and she didn't like what I had to say." He finally looked up at Emma, marveling at the woman she had become. Through all the hardships of her life she had grown into an amazing woman...one any father would be proud of.

Surprised David would risk Snow's wrath like that Emma grabbed a chair to sit down. Maybe it was time to come clean to her parents. " David...dad, wanna talk about what happened? I could use some fatherly advice and I need to be honest with you."

David looked into his daughter's emerald eyes, "I know I haven't earned the right for you to call me dad all the time but when you do say it I...I feel like I could touch the stars...please, Emma, if you need to talk then please talk to me."

Emma hesitated for a few seconds, knowing what she was about to tell her father could potentially destroy the little bit of family she's been able to enjoy. Taking a deep breath to steady her nerves, Emma opened her heart up for her father. "Dad, I know that you and Mary-Margaret are my parents and want what's best for me but neither of you really know ME, because we've only just found each other. I want you to understand that I'm not trying to hurt yours or Mary-Margaret's feelings, but I can't help who I am or who I fall in love with."

Looking Emma in the eyes David smiled gently in a way only a father could, "Sweetheart I don't want you to be anything you're not, and neither does your mother. You just have to realize we've spent more years under the threat of harm from Regina than not. We can't help but fear the worst when it comes to her no matter how hard she's trying to be a good person."

Sighing, Emma shifted in her seat. "I know, but to me she's just Regina...not this Evil Queen. She's smart, sexy, independent, and she loves my son so much...more than I could've ever wished for anyone to love him."

David nodded his head in agreement at that last statement "Can I ask you something without it coming across as derogatory?"

"Sure go ahead..." Emma responded knowing what was gonna come next.

"Well obviously you were with Neal, but you're attracted to Regina..." David trailed off not quite sure what he wanted to know because he honestly didn't care but he was sure Snow would bring it up.

"Yeah dad, I like women and I like men...truth is I could care less what is between a person's legs. I care about what's in a person's heart...I don't believe in all this true love nonsense everyone keeps spouting here, but if I did I would say Regina is my true love. From the moment I saw her I couldn't get her off my mind...she has invaded my every waking thought for over a year."

"Honey, I only asked so I would not say the wrong thing if asked. Truth is I am the same way, while I never fell in love with anyone other than your mother I can't say I didn't have my fun when I was in my youth. I just want you to be happy, no matter who it's with." Charming reached over and put his hand on Emma's to convey his love.

Stunned at her father's confession Emma put her other hand on top of his and squeezed. "Daddy, thank you for trusting me enough to tell me that, while I'm not ashamed of who I am in the least it is a comfort to know you understand, I just worry about mom."

David giggled and wiped away a tear that had fallen down Emma's cheek. "Snow has no issue with you being with a woman, right now it's just who that woman is."

As Emma and charming sat there talking, Snow had cooled off and was coming back to the diner when she heard Emma and David talking. Afraid she'd interrupt some father daughter bonding time she had hidden herself behind the bushes and was eavesdropping. She couldn't believe these two, how could her true love and her daughter do this to her? They didn't understand how horrible Regina is, how could they? They weren't made to live as a bandit for only god can remember how many years... robbing, scrounging, and fighting for her life all the time. She had given up all hope of living a normal life, falling in love, or just being happy until one fateful day she met the strangest Prince in all of history. She shuddered at the thought of what her life would have turned out like had it not been for him. She thought back to when king George had tried to force her to stay away from charming...her body literally convulsing at the thought of that night, she remembered the taste of bile in her mouth and the complete emptiness inside of her.

The ice queens cold touch had nothing on what had seeped into her soul that night. She had felt so broken inside that she even went so far as to use magic drinking that forgetting potion the imp gave her. She wouldn't wish that on anyone, ever. Now that man she felt so much for, that she is willing to die for, is siding with the Queen that had stolen everything from her. How could he do this to her!? No she was having none of it, she was going to put a stop to this, Emma was her daughter and she wasn't going to lose her to that witch. As she was about to get up and go confront the two traitors Emma started to speak again.

"Daddy I truly love her, like I said I don't know about true love and all that, I grew up here in this world the closest we come to finding true love is a getting mix-tape that has all your favorite songs. All i know is when i breath she is the air in my lungs, when I'm scared she's the blanket that keeps me warm, and most importantly she has never looked at me like I was anything less than her equal. Even in the beginning when we were going at each other, she looked at me, never through me. She has risked her life for me and our son, she's given Henry the life i always dreamed he would have. Daddy, I would die to save her life without hesitation...do you understand now why I cannot let Mom push her away from me?".

Snow fell to her knees behind the bush and had to support herself with her hands...her heart was shattering at the thought of what she was trying to force upon her daughter. She was doing the same thing to Emma that King George had done to her. How selfish and cruel was she? Why did she ever think she could tell her own daughter who to love. As Snow sobbed uncontrollably she felt a hand on her shoulder and looked up to see Emma and Charming standing over her. She sobbed again before standing up and hugging Emma with everything she had. When she spoke her voice wasn't much more than a scratchy whisper but she continued to hug Emma as hard as she could. "I'm so sorry sweetheart, I let my own anger and prejudice control me. If you can forgive me I'd like to help you finally get your happy ending."

A DIAMOND IS FOREVER
SWANQUEEN

CHAPTER 3

Regina was tired...mentally, physically, and emotionally. Having two sets of emotions was draining, she had her own struggle with herself and now she was feeling Emma's struggle and Emma was all over the place. One minute shed be happy, the next sad, and then happy again. It was like she had a built in rollercoaster with a meth head at the controls. Regina had learned to control her emotions long ago because hers went to the extreme, she lost count of how many lives she'd ended or ruined in the beginning because she couldn't control herself at the time. She reached up to wipe a tear from her face as she struggled to control the sadness that was invading her soul. So many things she would like to undo from her past, and at the same time she felt as if she wouldn't change a thing, because everything she'd done in the past had led her here, had led her to her little Prince, and to her Princess as well if she wasn't so scared.

Groaning at the thought of the ridiculous blonde, she threw back the covers and forced herself to get up out of bed, she still had responsibilities no matter how she felt. dragging herself to the bathroom she grabbed her robe and went to make coffee, Henry wasn't here this morning so after starting the coffee to brew she grabbed a blueberry bagel and a cup of orange juice and headed back upstairs to get ready. After a quick shower she padded over to her well stocked closet and took a look around, she kept passing on skirts and blouses she just didn't want to wear those, so since today was Friday she settled on a pair of tight blue jeans and a simple polo type shirt, and picking a pair of her scarcely worn high heel black leather boots she got dressed. When she looked in the mirror she stared at herself for a long time. Her hair was perfectly done in a stylish bun leaving her new blonde bangs hanging off to the side by themselves. She felt comfortable, though she'd always been comfortable in her power suit style clothes, today something just felt different. She mused to herself that it had to be Emma's influence...because only Emma could walk around in clothes that had probably been hanging over the back of a chair from the previous day and not only make them look good but feel like there was nothing wrong with it. She decided quickly that she might not like all she'd picked up from the melding with Emma, but this she was truly enjoying.

Regina checked the time and realized Emma would be dropping Henry off at school, she decided to see if she could get a read how Emma was feeling and concentrated on picturing the blonde in her mind. When she felt Emma's emotions break through her breath caught in her chest, she felt Emma's pride and love for their son bubble up to the surface. She never truly realized how much the blonde cared for Henry, but at that moment she knew Emma would never let him go again. Emma's love for Henry consumed her like her own love for Henry did to herself. In that fleeting moment she fell even more in love with Emma, and wondered to herself if she'd ever be able to love anyone else.

Grabbing a cup on her way out the door heading towards city hall she thought back to Daniel and took a long look at how she loved him and began to realize that yes she loved Daniel, but she could see a difference now. The love she had for Daniel was a pale imitation of what she felt for Emma, with Daniel it was more of an infatuation, something new and exciting to her. As she thought about how she had acted when her heart was broken then, she shuddered at the thought of what she'd be capable of if she gave in and let anything happen between her and Emma. She wasn't sure if she or anyone else would survive that heartbreak…if she were being completely honest she believed only Henry would survive her wrath. She wanted to break down and cry because she knew she'd never be happy without the blonde by her side, but she knew she couldn't trust herself enough to let her be there either.

Walking from her car into city hall she received quite a few glances, even one of Snows henchmen dwarves ran into a signpost because he was staring at her. How Snow could've lived with them she'd never understand. They were all complete idiots and something about them made her skin crawl.

As she got off the elevator to her office Ashley her receptionist dropped the coffee she had and made a very high pitched squeal. "Madam Mayor! I didn't recognize you at first, you look so different. Please excuse the mess, I will get you another cup right away." She immediately went to get another cup for the mayor and made a mental note to call janitorial when she returned to her desk. Stepping into the Mayors chamber she said "Is everything ok, do you need anything else?"

"I'm perfectly fine Ashley and no I don't need any help. I'm supposed to have a meeting with the city council to discuss some plans for the new children's center please make sure we have refreshments in the meeting room...and what are you staring at ma'am?" Regina knew she didn't look completely like herself but the way Ashley was looking at her made her very uncomfortable.

Gulping Ashley stuttered slightly "I'm so sorry Madam Mayor but…but, you look so different. I'd heard that there was something going on when I stopped at Granny's this morning but I didn't pay much mind. Everyone was saying that you and Emma had saved the town, and thank you so very much too. I know that's not enough to express my gratitude for putting yourself in harm's way but I wanted to say it anyway. They said you and Emma had some sort of magical mishap but I never expected..." she trailed off not knowing how best to describe the current situation.

Sighing Regina put her purse in the bottom drawer of her desk and pulled out her leather executive chair and sat down. "Ash, yes there was a mishap...excuse me what is it now? These looks from you are very disconcerting!" Why did she even care how she was being looked at though?

"You called me Ash...like most everyone does, but you've never said it..." Ashley was frightened a little, surely this was an imposter...Regina would storm through those doors any second and fry her with a fireball for letting some Cretan defile her office.

"Ash...Ashley, I'm going to say this once, and after this these looks stop or I'll turn you into a mouse and stick you in the cupboard do you understand?" Regina patiently waited as her secretary nodded slowly and wiped the look from her face. "Ms. Swan and I have seemed to have shared some personality traits with one another through this mishap that's obviously become the latest gossip, so yes I called you Ash due to the unfortunate side effect of Emma's total disregard of proper etiquette and I apologize. I will do better reigning in these lapses. Now will you please go prepare for my meeting?"

Nodding Ashley said "If I may say though Madam Mayor it wasn't a problem, it was just a shock, please except my apology for making you uncomfortable and personally I love the new hair look. I will go prepare the meeting room now and let you know when they arrive." Smiling the young receptionist turned on her heel and quickly exited the room with a huge smile. Oh the blue fairy will love this.

Blowing a huge breath of air out Regina sat back and rubbed her temples wondering if she couldn't just crawl under her desk and stay there...she was not looking forward to this council meeting. The entire council seemed to be made of up idiots. She began to think about what was going to be discussed in the meeting and she tucked the official papers she was going to take back into their folder and sat it in next week's pile. She realized nothing official was going to take place in there today.

****SWANQUEEN****

Sitting at her desk Emma could sense the brunette's anger and Frustration, she pitied who or what ever had caused the foul mood, but at lunch she was going to give her an even fouler one. She looked over at the mirror and rubbed her hands down the sleeves of her jacket and shuddered for the 100the time. Oh yea her and Regina were going to have words.

****SWANQUEEN****

Storming out of the meeting room Regina contemplated setting the whole god forsaken place on fire and watching it all burn! She cursed the day she promised her son she wouldn't take anyone's heart again. After that farce of a council meeting she truly wanted to expand the size of her vault with a wall containing nothing but their putrid hearts. That little weasel of a dwarf Grumpy or Leroy, or whatever the hell he was calling himself these days should just be glad she didn't know where exactly his pick ax was or she would have lodged it deep in his skull, and dear old Granny would be a fur coat if she had anything else to say about it.

Oddly enough the one person she expected to have screamed and yelled didn't...and that made her more nervous than anything. Snow White hadn't said two words the entire meeting until Granny had started in with one of her bullshit lines about using her crossbow on her for some imagined slight. It was then Snow looked at Granny with a look that said she was not in the mood to be trifled and told her to shut her muzzle or she'd shut it for her. Then she told the rest of them to back off as well or she was personally going to end the meeting. Regina for the first time in her life was at a complete loss for words, she had no idea what had caused this but she wanted to thank them very much. Snow still barely looked at her, but when she did there wasn't any hate on her face, but truthfully there wasn't anything else either.

The whole meeting had started off with threats and accusations about her part in the fail-safe device, and then it morphed into a million questions about what she did to Emma and what was going on with her looks. She'd tried to explain it to them as best she could, but even she was at a loss about all of it honestly. As usual, anytime she tried to explain magic to these people they understood very little. She finally gave up and said that she would try and get to the bottom of it as soon as possible but for now she had no explanation. Now she was hungry and irritable and she had been feeling Emma's frustration and anger over something all morning which just made her want to get some food and try to relax and unwind.

Regina appeared just outside of grannies and walked in sitting down at the bar in a huff, she didn't even bother with a menu, she only had one thing on her mind and she was both salivating at the thought and sickened.

Ruby had heard the door chime as her newest customer came in from the very back of the restaurant, her senses were heightened so much that even in the back of the restaurant she could usually tell by the smell of the customer who they were before she even saw them. No she smelled denim and cotton with just a hint of some fruity perfume that sent off a red flag in her head because she'd never smelled that perfume with those other smells...that perfume belonged to the Mayor, it was a hint of Apple and cinnamon mixed with some flowers she didn't recognize but she'd always loved that smell, it was sweet, but subtle. Most women's perfumes always overpowered her sense of smell and gagged her.
Coming out of the back she honestly expected Emma to have wondered in from a patrol looking for a quick bite before going back. Emma was always hungry, if she didn't have her wolf's metabolism she'd be so jealous of the blonde. Emma ate like a 15yr old boy and stayed so thin and beautiful, she was always being cussed by the other women in the town for that. Grabbing a root beer before sliding through the swinging doors that separates the kitchen from the main restaurant she pulled up short when she saw who had actually come into the diner. Regina sat at the end of the bar with her head towards the front door allowing Ruby a few seconds to take a look at her. Ruby knew Emma and Regina were pretty much off limits but that didn't keep her from still having a crush on both. So Ruby took a second to drink in the sight of the powerful brunette in front of her, she was in tight denim pants that were just a shade looser than the ones Emma wears but they still clung to the mayor's shapely legs while she was sitting down, and Ruby could imagine the way her hips would look in them standing up and her mouth watered a little bit. She moved up to the simple Polo shirt that was unbuttoned allowing a generous view of the top swell of the olive colored breasts that the Mayor normally showed off with no shame, she realized this was not Regina's normal attire. In fact she wondered if she'd had to raid Emma's closet this morning. She was so lost in her thought about what that could entail she didn't realize Regina had turned her head back and realized she was being stared at again.

"Oh hell, not you too. I just want to order lunch then go hide in my office, so if you could tear your eyes away from my breasts I'd love to place my order." Regina's words were sharp but not cutting.

Snapping her head up Ruby blinked and said "Regina, I'm sorry you just look great and I thought you were Emma when I smelled the jeans. Hang on I'll go replace this root beer with a glass of water..."

Perking up at the mention of the soft drink, Regina called out to the fleeing waitress "No wait I want that!"

Stopping and turning around Ruby set the drink down and watched as the Mayor took a long pull of the bubbly drink with pure ecstasy on her face. "Can I get you the usual for lunch?"

Begrudgingly Regina stopped slurping the drink and blushed realizing she had been a little too eager for the root beer she said to Ruby "No, let me get a grilled cheese sandwich on whole wheat, and a small order of fries. Oh and please hurry, I want to be gone before anyone else shows up, I've had to put up with stares all day and it's getting on what little patience I have left."

Ruby looked at Regina again like shed grown a second head "May I ask did you lose a bet with someone? Your clothes, the food? The way you almost seemed to make love to that drink, it is all very strange Madam Mayor."

Chuckling a little Regina replied "No I did not lose a bet, but when Emma and I used our magic on the diamond and it merged, I guess I picked up more than just her hair color. Now please Ruby the order...I just want to go..."

She couldn't finish her sentence as the door chime sounded and Emma stepped through the doors. Ruby yelped and stepped back and Regina dropped the fork shed been twirling in her fingers as her eyes widened at the sight of the blonde.

Before them stood Emma in all her marvelous glory. As Regina looked at Emma her eyes darkened with her pupils dilating and her breath hitched in her chest, behind her she heard Ruby damn near start to pant and she couldn't blame her. Emma had on black 5 inch open toed heels, with a dark grey pants suit that was tight fitted in all the right places on, Regina swore it shouldn't be legal outside of her dreams, she had on an emerald green blouse, which made her eye color even more vivid, the blouse was tucked in at the waste and unbuttoned just low enough to show off a red lace bra under it. Her normally beautifully askew golden locks were pulled back in a loose pony tail that was held by a silver and red hair clip, and just like Regina she'd let the new brunette part of her bangs hang loose off the side of her face. She was breathtaking, and the sight of her badge and gun holstered on her hip just added to the perfection to the outfit. To Regina, she was looking at nothing short of a goddess come to earth...that was until she opened her mouth of course.

Emma noticed both Ruby and Regina's stares but at the moment she needed some answers she was scared by what was going on. "Just why in the fuck can't I seem to make it out of my bedroom in my jeans Regina? How the hell am I supposed to chase crooks like this?" Emma held out her arms and twirled on the spot on purpose to let Ruby and Regina both to momentarily see her ass and lose their minds.

"Holy shit Emma!" Ruby blurted out her tongue lolling out of her mouth.

Regina's jealousy and short circuited brain caught the lust in Ruby's voice and she turned to the other brunette growling her eyes flashing red for a moment. "She's mine wolf! Back off!" And sent Ruby to the freezer to cool her off in a cloud of red smoke.

Blushing because she couldn't believe that had actually just escaped her lips, Regina turned back to Emma "Now there's no need to shout Ms. Swan. What seems to be the problem?" The only problem Regina could see was that she was not able to sit Emma's tight ass on the counter and eat her for lunch.

"Regina stop it please, I want to know how bad this is going to get...I...I couldn't even eat my bear claw this morning and the sight of my red jacket sickens me..." a tear slid down Emma's cheek as she sat down next to Regina. Emma just wanted to lay her head on the brunettes shoulder and cry.

Being this close Regina couldn't help but feel Emma's frustration, anger, and love. Regina tried to block it out, again she told herself no good could come of being with Emma. Anyone that loved her always left, either because of something she did or because they were violently ripped from her as Daniel was. "Emma, I don't know, I'm working on it, but I suggest for the time being we stay away from each other. We can't be together, not now, not ever."

Recoiling from Regina Emma's heart felt like Regina had ripped it out and was squeezing it "Why the he'll not?! I can feel how much you love me Regina, why are you fighting it? I will burn that red jacket, I will eat tofu or whatever you ask, just please…."

"Emma it doesn't matter how we feel, your parents would never go for it, the town would revolt, and what about Henry? What would he think of the Evil Queen and the Savior?"

"Henry?! Holy shit, that's all he talked about. How great all of us under the same roof would be, both his mommas together. I'm quite sure he would be fine with it!" Emma answered back emphatically.

Regina was shocked, Henry was on board with her being with Emma? Henry had retreated from their relationship to the point she thought she'd lost her son's affection completely. Now he is saying she was good enough for Emma...her heart nearly burst with joy before she clamped down on it reminding herself that she couldn't let it happen. "Ms. Swan I have told you my feelings on the subject..."

Regina cut off her sentence as the door chimed again and she saw the council members start to enter. With a sound of irritation and a flick of her wrist she was gone, leaving Emma furious.

"Good she left! She is nothing but trouble, I still say she had a part in almost destroying the town." Leroy hollered as he came walking through the door.

"Yea, she's always up to something, I don't care what she says. She needs to be locked up or sent across the town line so she can't cause any more trouble." Dr. Whale chimed in as he stood next to Leroy.

As more people came through the door Emma stood there listening to them continue to spill obscenities and accusations and her anger started to rise. She was dumbfounded by these people, Regina had been willing to die for them, and this was how she was being repaid? Oh Emma understood their reluctance to fully trust or forgive her for the past but to continue to just act like she is the cause of everything that goes bad in their lives or just seemingly making up shit to blame her for. She wasn't sure what to say or do but this needed to stop. She was about to remind them that Regina had just risked her life again when Granny brushed past her carrying her crossbow. Emma turned to Granny and grabbed her arm. "What exactly did you think you were going to do with that?"

Granny looked at Emma in the eye and without missing a beat she said "I had it with me to defend myself this morning in case she tried anything in the meeting, you never know when she might turn on you."

The image of Regina being dead with a crossbow bolt protruding from her chest pushed what little restraint she had on her anger past the breaking point, she grabbed the crossbow from Granny's hands and incinerated it into dust on the spot causing Granny to yell in protest. Not wanting to hear anything more from the old wolf, Emma waved her hand to silence her and turned back towards Leroy who had started spewing more word vomit about how the mayor had corrupted Emma and she let her magic flow...She could feel it's power licking at her skin begging to be let free to avenge what it considered its other half.

Extending her right hand conjuring a fireball she let the magic flow through her and she relished in the feeling, while unknown to her it was causing a few physical manifestations that seemed to put the diner into immediate chaos. Upon seeing Emma's eyes start to swirl a dark blood red and the tint of her hair turn red they could all feel the massive amount of heat being radiated from the blue colored fireball in her hand everyone started backing towards the door unsure of what Emma had in mind.

Emma could see the fear in their eyes and for the first time in her life she relished in it, almost craved it. She could see them trying to back away from her towards the door and she wasn't going to let them run away before she had her say so she froze them all where they stood. "You people are going to listen to me right here, right now do you understand me?" Emma's voice had a strange guttural sound to it that sent shivers down everyone's spine. "I am sick and tired of you all blaming or accusing Regina for every little fucking cut and scrape that you get. She was willing to DIE FOR YOU and this is how you act?!" The heat from the fireball increased again "I'm giving you fair warning that this shit stops now or you'll soon get a taste of the Evil Princess! Regina has done nothing but take your abuse and accusations and whining while still continuing to put herself in harm's way to protect you when the need arises, from now on unless you actually see her commit a crime I do not want to hear another negative comment made about her in my presence. Do you understand me?" Emma boomed.

Everyone shook their heads in affirmative as they looked on at The Savior with fear in their eyes. As she released them from their magical bonds Leroy went to open his mouth and when he did Emma let loose the fireball in her hand sending it Leroy's way and exploding the mug in his hand giving him second degree burns on it and his forearm, singing his hair and beard in the process as well. Dr. Whale yelped as debris from the shattered mug struck him in the shoulder and face not wounding him badly but giving him some pretty good cuts and a little singed hair.

"This is my only warning to you damn people." Emma spat as she threw open the diner door with her magic, nearly taking it off hinges and barely missed smashing into poor Ashley as well.

Ashley jumped back out of the way as the door to the diner damn near flew off its hinges with a burst of scalding hot air and raw magical power. Ashley looked up and turned pale as she saw that it was none other than Sheriff Emma Swan coming out of the diner like hell on heels. Heels?! Ashley did a double take, also noticing the woman's red eyes and softly glowing hair return their normal appearance right before her eyes. She wasn't very experienced when it came to magic and until this morning when she'd seen the Mayor's eyes swirling red when she came out of the council meeting she'd never seen anything like it. She was going to have to make a call to the Blue Fairy as soon as she was done here to find out what was really going on.

Ashley could not believe what she saw when she walked into the diner, there was glass all over the tiled floor from the shattered light bulbs. Leroy and Dr. Whale were in a booth in a corner being attended to by several other people. "Just what happened here? Did Emma have to save you guys from something, it looks like a warzone…"

Everyone turned to look at her and Ruby who had returned from the freezer where Regina had deposited her early took her by the arm and led her over away from the commotion surrounding the two wounded individuals. "No, this was all Emma's doing, Regina had come here after the council meeting to get something to eat before anyone else got here and Emma showed up.

They were talking and Regina was explaining how she didn't think it was a good idea for them to be together and it was upsetting Emma, and Regina just up and left when the rest of the council members showed up. What happened this morning in the meeting to rile everyone up so much? They came in bad mouthing Regina and Emma got angry…I've never seen anything like it."

Ashley looked at Ruby with a confused look on her face thinking back to this morning and truthfully should really couldn't remember hearing anything major except Snow telling everyone to back off from Regina. "Rubes I don't know, the Mayor didn't even take anything official into the meeting this morning, I only heard Snow telling everyone to back off of Regina which I have to say caught me off guard but I figured it was just a thank you for saving the town. I know a lot of people are trying to pin this whole failsafe thing on her and Leroy of course was egging things on but otherwise it seemed pretty civil."

"Well, I don't know exactly what was said between Emma and Regina but I know Emma was not happy, I think she was trying to understand why Regina wouldn't even consider dating Emma. I tell you, those two have been dancing around each other since Emma showed up, I even found out that after they saved the town they made out in the mines! I've been saying for a while now that there was something more between them…..WAIT! Did you just say Snow White actually stood up for Regina?"

Ashley frowned, looking at Ruby sideways. "Yes, that's exactly what happened, I even heard her tell Granny if she didn't muzzle herself she'd do it for her. Maybe Regina has done something to them because I didn't think Snow would ever take Regina's side on anything."

Ruby shook her head in agreement "I know what you mean, she's my best friend and that's so not like her, and with the little display from Emma today maybe we should be worried."

David who came walking in not quite sure what to say asked. "Who….who did this?"

"Your crazy daughter! She's out of control or Regina has got her under some spell!" Leroy shouted at him still holding his burned arm. "She overheard us talking about Regina and maybe locking her up or sending her across the town's line so she couldn't keep hurting people and Emma went nuts!"

Shaking his head he tried to collect his thoughts, he needed to reassure everyone that his daughter wasn't under Regina's influence and why she had reacted this way but he wasn't sure what to say. The damage to the diner and the injuries proved even to him Emma was having a very difficult time controlling herself at the moment.

"Let me say right off, I was there in the Mine and I can assure you that Emma is not under Regina's control, although what I'm about to tell you might make you uncomfortable I would suggest holding your tongues until we can get all this sorted. To save the town, Emma had to help Regina absorb the diamonds magic and when they did somehow they merged magically…from best we can tell their magic is different, stronger…."

"Oh great! The Evil Queen even more powerful! This just goes to prove our point, she has to be controlled or stopped! We have to do something." Dr. Whale said.

David sighed "If you even think about trying something so foolish be my guest, but I'll tell you right now that neither Snow, Emma or myself will have any part of it."

The entire diner gasped in unison. "If you'll let me finish I'll try to explain…." He waited for anyone else to smart off before continuing "As I was saying when they were risking their lives to save you people there was some sort of accident and the two are actually connected even more…did no one notice the what Emma was wearing today? The brunette streak in her hair? Did you all believe that it was some new fashion trend Emma was trying out? Sometimes I don't think that any of you can see past your own noses. They are connected now somehow, Emma told me that night that she is able to feel Regina's emotions, they both found out they have feelings for each other and I believe while they have acknowledged it they don't know how to deal with it, especially Regina."

Ruby looked at David and smiled "What do you mean that they don't know how to deal with it? Henry said that they were kissing in the mine." When the crowd heard this whispers of disbelief and worry circulated the crowd.

"Yes Ruby, Snow even attacked Regina punching her in the face and tackling her to the ground." David nodded.

Cheers went up and a few hoots and hollers congratulating Snow on a job well done were said until they noticed the look on David's face told them to shut the hell up. "Yea, I wouldn't go and congratulate Snow to her face either right now. She's having a really difficult time with this…point is, we're going to need this town's help rather than its condemnation. Both Emma and Regina have put their lives on the line for this town deserve a little leeway here, I'm not asking for you all to start inviting Regina over for drinks, but watch what you say. On the other hand I'm asking you to keep an eye out for them and to call me if you see anything bad happening right away rather than try and interfere."

Ashley piped up "We need to ask the Blue Fairy for advice, maybe there's a way we can undo this, and get them back to normal."

A murmur of agreement. David could see everyone wanted Emma to be back to being Emma, and Regina to back to being Regina just so she didn't have this extra power. "Fine, Snow and I will consult the Blue Fairy soon, in the meantime someone get Leroy and Dr. Whale to the hospital and I'll see what I can do about finding Emma and getting her settled down some.

As the crowd broke apart and Granny started to try and clean up what was left of her diner Ruby pulled David aside "I'm worried about Emma, she was soo angry, do you know what is going on between the two of them? When Emma came in and found Regina here from what I could hear Regina didn't want a relationship with Emma."

"I don't know what all that is about, I know Emma is in love with her and from what she tells me and her mother she's been in love a while. I'm not sure what is going to happen with them right now, I just want to make sure that no one tries to take matters into their own hands because I'm afraid someone might get hurt." David looked over as Leroy and Dr. Whale left the diner and turned back to Ruby to amend his previous statement, smiling sheepishly "Okay, hurt even worse."

****SWANQUEEN****

Emma was still seething. How the hell can town be so ungrateful, they all want someone to save them and are willing to play nice when they're scared or when something or someone is trying to hurt them…then yeah, oh Regina help us, save us! But as soon as the crisis is averted they have some sort of seizure and go right back to being the ungrateful fucking peasants they are. Why couldn't they see how far the former Queen has come, why couldn't they see how much she regrets what she has done in her past and how much she wants to try and do the right thing moving forward? She hadn't lied to her parents when she told them that Regina was just Regina to her, and she understood that some things are going to be hard for the people to move past but that still doesn't mean she is just going to sit there and let them humiliate and bash her when she was around to stop it.

Standing on the edge of the dock, Emma looked down at her reflection in the water, she looked at her reflection in the water and didn't know what to make of herself. She was still Emma but she wasn't…it wasn't bad, just different. She could only imagine what Regina was having to deal with, when she got home herself after all this had happened she spent 3 hours cleaning her room, arranging her closet, cleaning the bathroom, she was really going to have to get her dad to talk to Henry about his aim. Gross!

Emma wanted it all to go back to the way it was, when she didn't think she had a shot with Regina cause at least then she wasn't constantly torturing herself with what if's and it could be. Regina had told her that they weren't going to happen and she could feel the determination behind those words when she had spoken them but she also felt what how much Regina loved her as well and she just didn't understand. The only thing she knew for certain now was she would barbeque anyone that tried to hurt her Queen, and she wasn't going to stop until she had her in her arms for good.

****SWANQUEEN****

Regina sat outside of the school in her sleek black Mercedes, she defiantly enjoyed the luxuries of this world. In the Enchanted Forest she was always using her magic to either keep cool or keep warm and when she'd doze off or get distracted she'd end up sweating through her clothes or freezing, not to mention the constant smell of horse dung….yes she much preferred her Mercedes, and tampons, thank god for tampons if she'd had known about these wonderful things she'd have cast the curse just to have those, granted they were uncomfortable sometimes but that is so much better than what was available in the Enchanted forest. She flipped her visor down and opened the vanity mirror and looked at herself to check if there were any other changes she may have missed but found nothing, just the random lock of golden blonde hair that she had already grown to love in such short time.

Regina didn't know what she was going to say to Henry, she knew he was going to be so disappointed in her for not trying to have a relationship with his blonde mother but she was hoping she could explain it to him so he understood it wasn't because she didn't love Emma, but because how much she did love her, but even in her own head she was realizing what an ignorant argument that was turning out to be because honestly she's pretty sure that even if they aren't together as a couple that if anything were to happen to the Sheriff that everyone's lives that had anything to do with it would be forfeit.

When the bell rang and the children started piling out onto the playground she got out of the car and leaned back on the fender with her arms crossed and her right leg crossed over her left in a very relaxed way and just enjoyed watching her son rough house a little in an impromptu game of soccer or kick ball, it all looked the same to her. After a few minutes she could see he was getting a little winded and the busses were about to leave and she definitely wanted to get gone before they got on the road so she hollered out to Henry "Hey Kid, you ready to go?"

Henry's head snapped to look at his brunette mother that was leaning on her car more relaxed than he'd ever seen her look and did she just call him kid?

THUMP!

Regina pushed herself away from her car when she witnessed the ball make contact with the side of Henry's face and knock him on his butt. When she got to him the other boys were there trying to say they were sorry and thought he was looking…this was Henry Mills, the Mayors kid, they knew who the Mayor was back home and were legitimately freighted for their lives. No way was she not going to punish them somehow.

As they continued to say they were sorry and please don't hurt them Regina waved her hand cutting off their voices. "Go, now and we'll forget this ever happened, do you understand?" Regina said with as much Evil Queen as she could muster and the boys shook their heads fearfully. She waved her hand giving them back their voices and no sooner had she done that, they all ran off towards home, figuring they had enough fun for the day.

"Mom" Henry groaned out as he tried to sit up, "You didn't have to be so mean..."

Waving her hand again but this time over Henry's head Regina healed the slight bruise that would have come up and took his headache away at the same time "Henry Mills, where did you learn to play soccer? I'm sure keeping your eye on the ball was a major point, and besides, I may not be the Evil Queen but I still have a reputation to protect." Regina chided with playful wink.

Henry hugged his mom before they both got up from the ground and started walking towards Regina's car "You distracted me, did you not realize you called me KID?"

"Henry, that is absurd." Regina scoffed, thinking back and missed a step when she realized he was absolutely right... she did call him kid. "I did not mean to, but like I said to Ashley this morning when I called her Ash, I must've picked up quite a bit of Emma's lack of decorum, I'll have to watch myself."

"No! Mom, seriously, I know you're not Emma, and I don't want you to be, but one thing I do like about hers and my relationship was that we can kid around, I have always felt like unless we were in the house I couldn't do that with you, like I had to be all prim and proper all the time…sometimes it would be fun to be able to not be so uptight outside of the mansion." Henry put his arm around Regina's waist and laid his head on her side as he looked up with his best pouty face.

"I'm sorry I made you feel that way Henry, I'm not sure how easy it will be to change my ways but I will try for you kid….damn it!"

Laughing Henry looked up his mom again "I don't think it'll be as hard as you think."

But unfortunately for Henry, that was the last time he saw or heard his brunette mother laugh for a while.

****SWANQUEEN****

NOTES: THIS CHAPTER REFERENCES A SONG

NATALIA KILLS: WONDERLAND
watch?v=Bs2KIRPv5ZM&list=FLLnjXW737TXB-iHlS0TbpOw&index=1
PLEASE WATCH THE YOUTUBE VIDEO IT.

Chapter Text

A DIAMOND IS FOREVER
SWANQUEEN

CHAPTER 4

Emma looked out over the sea of sweat and intoxication that was known as The Rabbit Hole. How Ruby had talked her into coming tonight was still a mystery, she was perfectly content to stay at the station catching up on paperwork or going out on calls...anything to keep HER off of her mind. Ever since they shared their first kiss in the mines after saving the town, Regina had unsurprisingly retreated back into her own little world. She was barely seen outside of her office at city hall or picking up Henry from school. The merging of their magic seemed to have more side effects than just the emotional shock that gave both women bold streaks of each other's hair color, they were empathically linked and it was becoming more and more obvious that Emma and Regina had unintentionally exchanged some characteristics as well. Although those Emma had gotten from Regina seemed to be working in her favor so far, except for the inability to wear her favorite outfit anymore, which reminded Emma that she needed to go shopping for new clothes soon. But right now Ruby was trying to get her drunk and Emma was just not in the mood. As Emma was trying to find an escape route away from Ruby and the alcohol, she was starting to notice that the further away from Regina she was, the ability to sense Regina's moods and feelings lessened, but she could still catch small glimpses of Regina's mood if she tried, but right now it was making her feel exceedingly depressed. Making up her mind to leave Emma quickly finished off the remainder of her glass of wine she had ordered because as of late, she'd recently acquired a taste for wine instead of good ol' fashioned beer.

Emma turned to the wolf next to her, "Ruby, thank you for trying to get me out tonight, but this place is just making me feel worse. I look out on the dance floor and see people dancing and laughing, and here I am thinking about how unsanitary the bathroom is and how gorgeous Regina would look dressed up and dancing." Emma grimaced at the last thought because in her mind all she was picturing was the former Queen in some skin tight dress with it riding up those perfectly sculpted thighs, with her hips swaying to the beat of the music.

Seeing the despair and longing in Emma's eyes made Ruby's heart break. She knew it has been difficult for everyone to accept the events that left the two most powerful women in Storybrooke connected since they'd once again saved the town. Personally she was enjoying seeing Emma dressing in her pant suits and occasional skirts, because anyone with eyes could see that Emma had fantastic legs. Ruby had always had a crush on Emma and Regina, but now seeing the Sheriff dressing up she was constantly trying not to drool all over herself. Ruby had her boy toy she could call, hell she even had a girlfriend for when the mood hit her, but no one could match the beauty of the two women she considered close friends. The fact Emma that brought up the state of the bathroom left little doubt how much she and Regina were linked and much to her dismay she put all thoughts of ever being more than friends out of her mind. She's known the Sheriff and the Mayor had a thing for each other for a long time, and gods how she wished she could just make them both to stop dancing around each other. "Emma, she'll come around soon, I'm sure of it." She reached over and laid her hand on Emma's shoulder with an encouraging smile. "You know how she is, she doesn't do anything easy…ever. Come on have another shot on me and then come shake your pretty ass on the dance floor with me." She winked at Emma with a big toothy grin, while motioning for the barkeep to pour them two more shots of whiskey.

Turning to face the bar and picking up her shot Emma downed it at the same time Ruby downed hers and they both slammed the shot glasses on the counter. Emma dug into her pocket to pull out a 50 and plopped it down on the counter and reached over to hug Ruby. With a tired sigh, Emma pulled back and looked the beautiful woman in the eye, "Thank you again Pup for trying to get me out of this funk, but you go have some fun and have a couple on me. I'm just gonna go home and try to get some sleep. Oh and be careful, don't get into too much trouble this time, I really don't want to have to explain to Granny why you're not at the diner in the morning because you're in jail again for streaking down the street."

Laughing at Emma's jab from the last time she got drunk and forgot where she put her clothes after running as the wolf, Ruby winked at her blonde friend with a mischievous grin. "No promises sheriff, besides you'd just let me go in the morning if I promised you free bear claws, or should I say oatmeal now? It still weirds me out that Regina has started ordering grilled cheese and root beer while you do the salad thing now..."

Frowning Emma looked deep into Ruby's eyes, "It weirds you out?! How do you think I feel? Anyway, love ya wolf...try and have a goodnight." Emma said sliding off the barstool and headed outside.

The night was cool and the air crisp, Emma took a deep breath and decided since it was still early that she'd just walk home. Poofing, as she and Henry call it, was easier but she needed some time to clear her mind for a few minutes. She hardly recognized herself anymore. Besides the fact that she barely wore her jeans and favorite red jacket anymore, Bear claws and grilled cheese her two most favorite foods now caused her stomach to knot up and demand something healthier, she hardly says kid anymore when talking to Henry and she actually likes getting her paperwork done...yea thanks Regina. What few vices Emma had allowed herself over the years now made a voice in her head she didn't recognize chastise her. Well she did recognize the voice as her own but she just never thought she'd hear herself throwing Regina's words back at her. She dreaded to discover what else she had picked up from the former Queen.

Opening the door to the loft she expected to find everyone asleep, so she was startled to find David in the kitchen making popcorn with Henry and Snow on the couch watching Tv.

Looking up from the Tv, Henry jumped up from the couch and nearly tackled Emma to the floor. "Mom you're home! Come watch Doctor Who with us please! Grandma and Grandpa don't understand how it's bigger on the inside!"

Hugging Henry back and laughing at his new found obsession with the time traveling Time-Lord she realized Henry was a little too wound up. Her new found sensibilities kicked in and she looked at David. "Just how many sweets have you let him have?" Her face mirrored Regina's when she went all Mother Goose on everyone "He only gets one soda and just a few snacks and he looks like he's had...oh my god…did I just full Regina on you guys?" Emma searched the faces of her beloved family, noticing their looks of surprise and wonderment. But surprisingly no one looked upset and that made Emma feel even more loved, it was almost enough to make her forget the bout of depression she was feeling earlier.

Henry noticed the look on his blonde mother's face first, and spoke up first. "You know you sounded just like her, I mean it's really scary how much you sound like mom. Are you sure you're Emma?" Henry giggled even though he was trying to pretend being scared, it really just ended up making him look adorable.

"Emma sweetheart, are you ok? You look a little confused. Why don't you come and sit down with us?" Snow was up and holding her daughter's hand to offer some sort of comfort, and to convey that she understood and supported her. After her initial meltdown in the mines Snow had started to come around about what was happening with her daughter and former step mother but she couldn't help but worry about how everything was going to impact their futures.

Shaking her head and shrugging off her mother's incessant coddling, Emma simply headed upstairs. Idiot. Wait, where had that thought come from? She shook the errant thought from her head and opened her bedroom door. She just wanted Regina, if only she could talk to her she knew she'd feel better. Right now though she felt as if a piece of herself were missing, so she tried to reach out to almost instinctually to find Regina despite the distance. When she did touch the Mayor's mind she gasped aloud and crumpled to the floor at the foot of her bed. Regina was in pain, so much pain it stole Emma's breath. She wasn't in physical pain, but emotional pain that tore through her down to the core. Emma laid her head on the edge of the bed clutching her comforter as if it were keeping her from drowning. It was agonizing what she felt from Regina. Emma wondered if this is how Regina always felt. She really hoped not, the thought of Regina in this much pain caused her to cry into the comforter.

"Operation Cupid…" Henry said in a hushed and soothing voice, he had followed his mother up the stairs because he was worried about her and had witnessed her collapse. Now he was on his knees hugging her as she tried to wipe away the tears and put on a brave face for him, but they both knew it was futile at this point.

"Don't you knock young man?" She smiled, hugging him back. "And what is this operation you're talking about?" She asked as she clung to him for support.

Henry held on tighter to Emma when he felt the wetness from his mother's tears on his cheek. It made him angry and sad, he just didn't understand why it had to be so hard for his mothers. They deserved a break just like everyone else! Pulling back and looking at her he said "Operation Cupid mom, I saw this movie the other day with Grandma and it got me thinking. What if we did something to make mom come out of hiding! Something she can't ignore. All she does is go to work, pick me up from school, cook, and help with my stupid math homework..."

Emma jerked up with her mom face on. "Math is not stupid young man, and speaking of, is your homework done?" Emma shook her head again and frowned hardly believing she could say that to Henry. Well she could, but it usually wasn't her saying it...it was Regina. "I'm sorry Henry, continue...er….wait, is your homework done?" She asked again with all seriousness.

Henry still not used to Emma being, whatever this is, gulped and looked her in the eyes. "Yes ma'am, my homework is done...now can I get back to telling you about the operation?" He kept looking at her but put on his best pouty face.

Sighing knowing that neither she or Regina could resist him with that face he makes, Emma picks herself up off the floor and puts her shoes away in the closet before laying down on the bed, propping herself up against the headboard and motioning for her son to come sit beside her. "Yes Henry you may continue now, and I'm proud of you for taking care of your homework without being told too. To be honest I'm glad that some of Regina wore off on me, I never really was able to say how proud of you I am but just know I've always been proud, and you're growing up so fast it scares me."

His heart bursting from Emma's words he jumped on the bed bouncing into Emma causing her to oomph out loud, and layed his head in her lap. Looking up at her as she starts running her fingers through his hair he smiles and continues to explain. "So, all she does is just mope around, once dinner is done she just shuts herself in her office to work, or lock herself in her bedroom, and I think she's been soundproofing the room because it's always quiet. But the other night I got up to go to the kitchen because I was thirsty and passed her room. I stopped to listen and she was crying mom, she kept repeating your name over and over." Emma saw his tears before he had a chance to look away to try and hide them from her. When he spoke again his voice cracked with emotion. "Ma, she's miserable! I don't know why she won't just stop being stubborn! Adults are weird."

Emma couldn't argue there, hell she was one and she still didn't get adults, especially a certain former Queen. Regina baffled her beyond all reason, and yet she found herself smiling anytime she thought of Regina. "Henry, I would do anything to get through to your mom but I don't know how. As much as I love her, I still don't get her. Even with this newfound bonding thing we have going on she's still a mystery!"

Smiling at his mother's declaration of love he didn't think she realized she actually just admitted, Henry perked up, "Operation Cupid! I saw this movie the other day where a guy stood outside the girls room holding up a boom box playing a romantic song until the girl had to come outside, it would be perfect to do to mom. That way she can't ignore it, she'll have to come to the window or come outside. We have to try please, I mean she didn't even yell at me for leaving my shoes on the stairs...it's just not right. So can we do it? Please, Ma, please?" Hope shining in his eyes.

Well aware that denying Henry would just result in him finding another co-conspirator to work with, and to be honest with herself at this point she was willing to try anything to get Regina's attention, so she nodded her head in agreement. "Yes my little prince we can, and I have the perfect song..." Emma wasn't sure if this was the worst idea in history or not, but she was damn sure going to try. She wasn't going to give up unless Regina told her to...and even then Emma was sure she was going to keep trying.

****SWANQUEEN****

Across town at 108 Mifflin street, there were hardly any lights on in the Mayor's house. The big white mansion felt so empty and cold, even the crickets seemed to have gone silent.

Regina sat in the front room with a fire going in the fireplace and an 5 empty bottles of beer and was currently nursing what was left of the 6th. Regina had tried to get a glass of her favorite wine found she couldn't drink it so she had gone back out and had gotten this…this swill. The sad part was as soon as the first drop hit her tongue she had moaned like a bad porno movie actress at the taste. She loved this stuff now and had quickly finished off 4 bottles before she knew it. Now she was drunk and alone. Regina knew she should get up and take herself to bed but every time she closed her eyes all she could see were those beautiful emerald eyes staring back at her so lovingly and open. Damn. She was miserable. All she wanted was to run over to the idiots loft and confess her undying love to Emma, but how could she? Everyone she had ever loved either died or left her, and Regina didn't know which one was worse at the moment. Even Henry had done it to her although she really couldn't blame him after all she had done. Sighing she thought about Emma again and what she had felt from her in the mines and tried to tell herself it could work this time, but it always came back to her fear of being left again. How long till she did something that caused Emma to turn on her and walk out, or some other magical creature to take her away? No...she wouldn't, no, she couldn't survive that. So Regina just continued to sit there and get drunk to dull the pain. She'd be ok, the Evil Queen was always ok...she sighed at the futility of it all and simply gave up. With a flick of her wrist and praying her aim was good she teleported herself upstairs and into bed not even bothering to undress.

Groaning Regina turned over and looked at the clock 9:47 am. Shit she'd overslept, but what had woken her up? Then she felt the vibrations and her head registered the obnoxiously loud noise that was splitting her skull in half.

"...not snow white, but I'm lost inside this forest, I'm not Red Riding Hood but I think the wolves have got me..."

What the hell!? The music was shaking her house, she could actually see her vanity mirror vibrating. Oh someone was going to have a really bad day when she is finished with them.

"...want those stilettos I'm not not Cinderella, I don't need a knight so baby..."

She couldn't figure out why this song was shaking the very foundation her house but she was sure of one thing, someone was gonna pay. Where the hell is that damn...Emma? She could feel Emma, so close...nervous, scared, hope...With a startled gasp, the brunette sprung out of bed and ran to the window. Looking outside at the scene her heart felt like it was going to burst right out of her chest.

"... will you wake me up girl if I bite your poison apple...I don't believe in fairytales, I don't believe in fairytales, I don't believe in fairytales, but I do believe in you and me, take me to wonderland, take me to wonderland..."

Just outside of her house, Emma was holding an old looking boom box above her head, and it didn't take Regina long to realize that Emma was using her magic to amplify the sound, and was staring up at her window. Her hair blowing beautifully in the gentle wind, and she was dressed in her typical painted on jeans that showed off her hips and toned legs, with a white tank top covered by the red leather jacket that had no business accenting her breasts as well as it did. The sight stole Regina's breath away and her heart swelled with love and joy.

"...I wanna show you how good we can be together, I wanna love you through the night I'll be your sweet disaster..."

Regina didn't know where Emma came up with that song but it was like it had been written just for this moment, and just for them. Henry stood off the side of his blonde mother with a sign that read: Can Mom take you to wonderland for dinner?

She looked at the two halves of her heart standing there for all the world to see not caring who saw them and Regina finally gave in. She couldn't and wouldn't fight it anymore. She was tired of being miserable, she knew she didn't deserve either one of them, not after everything she had done in her life, but there they stood. Reaching out to her because they loved her just as much as she loved them. She took a deep breath and let her feelings out of their cage and she knew when Emma felt her do so. The music blared even louder for a few seconds, Emma's magic responding to the feelings that was literally pouring out her heart and into the blonde. Regina's smile grew bigger than she thought possible.

Turning around determined not to waste any more time she went to her vanity, Regina cringed when she saw the state she was in and used her magic to clean and dress herself, going for a dark red silk blouse that hugged her breasts leaving an the top button undone and selecting form fitted jeans that accented her ass and legs. She wanted to give Emma an eye full, to show Emma what belonged to her and her only.

Rushing downstairs Regina opened the front door and froze as she took in the scene, apparently the entire town had showed up between the time she left the window and the time she opened the door, to figure out what all the commotion was about. They apparently had decided this was a free concert and decided to linger around. Snow and David were standing just behind Emma and Henry with smiles on their face, but after Snows display in the mines Regina wasn't sure leaving the safety of her home was a good or bad idea and almost closed the door but Snow locked eyes with her and smiled, giving Regina the "it's ok, and I'm sorry" look while nodding her head towards her daughter. That was all she needed to see.

Flying off the porch towards her blonde goddess, Regina waved her hand sending the boom box to the bottom of the bay surprising everyone at the sudden silence. She loved the song but she couldn't let the town get vibrated into oblivion, she was the Mayor after all. She closed the gap between her and the startled blonde with surprising speed and threw her arms around Emma's neck pressing their lips to together cutting off whatever Emma was about to say.

Feeling Regina slam into her and pull her down Emma moaned into the kiss pulling Regina in flush to her body trying to meld them together while letting her emotions mingle with those of the brunettes the world fell away, all the world consisted of was Regina. Gods she had waited for this moment for two years and she couldn't believe how good it felt. Emma deepened the kiss sliding her tongue across Regina's perfectly sculpted lips begging for entrance. The brunette sensing Emma's urgency opened open up like a flower in the spring time and let the blonde explore her, her hand grasping Emma's hair and pulling her deeper into the kiss. The kiss was rough, yet loving, both women trying to sear the other into their mind and body letting everyone around them know that the other was theirs and theirs alone.

The rest of the town except Ruby, Belle and Granny all gasped at the same time, not only from witnessing the scorching kiss but also from what was happening with the two women. Their skin had begun to glow a shade of red that emanated out from their very core and they both were now floating a few inches off the ground. No one had seen anything like it before.

Henry picked his jaw up off the ground and wrinkled his nose. "Um moms...MOMS! Ewww! My eyes!" He said laughing. Henry was so happy he could explode, but he knew if he didn't calm them down he might get more than he cared to see...and his grandparents, and the rest of the town included.

Regina, hearing Henry's distress, pulled back from the kiss and looked into Emma's beautiful eyes which were swirling red again. Giggling like a schoolgirl caught making out under the bleachers she looked around at the scene and then back to Emma, "Wonderland? Really? You know the food there isn't that safe to eat right? Just ask Jefferson."

Laughing at Regina, Emma cupped her cheek and lightly brushes their lips together once more before getting a playful yet serious look to her. "Well I had to get your attention somehow! You my queen can be quite stubborn."

Holding onto each other they reached over and pulled in Henry for a hug as well and both could feel just how content the other was just holding each other and their son.

Somewhere near the edge of the crowd a lone figure turned and walked back towards town with nothing but fury etched on her face.