AN: Chapter two is a bit longer than one. Again, this is a slow burn, but I promise it will be worth it. Please let me know your thoughts on it.
Disclaimer: I do not own Once Upon a Time or any of the characters.
Chapter Two: Letting Her In
By: EvilMillss
Emma laid silent in a room at Granny's. She hadn't moved from the bed in three days. Three days ago, was Hook's death. She laid in the old bed with her curls slightly tousled. She hadn't even moved to change her clothes, still in her jeans and a white long-sleeved top. She refused to go home with Mary Margret, "too many memories", she said then walked to Granny's. She was a mess. A complete and utter mess. She couldn't sleep, all she had done was cry until there were no more tears left. She was broken, in need of a savior herself.
Meanwhile Regina had also been quite frazzled. She wanted to go to Emma; although Snow insisted otherwise, telling that "she needed some space." But Regina knew better than anyone being alone only makes it worse. "It'll destroy her." Regina thought. But why? She asked her self why she cared so much about this woman. Why did her heart break for the heart-broken? Why could she never take the sheriff off her mind? She wasn't sure why. But her brain couldn't stop her heart in this moment. She had to see her. She wasn't going to let Emma suffer. Not alone at least.
Regina showed up in the hallway of Granny's, right in front of Emma's room. She paced back and forth a little; she was nervous. "Why am I nervous? Why do I even care? She wouldn't care if it was me? Or would she?" Regina yelled at her brain for making this so damn complicated. Her heart told her to stop second guessing herself and just go to Emma. It was the spark they held between them that made it impossible for Regina not to care. It was like there was some strange force drawing her closer to the woman. So, before she could think again, her hand was pounding against the door. "Emma... Emma please let me in." Regina said softly. There was no reply. Maybe I should just leave. She doesn't want to see me. Why would I think she would let me in when she doesn't even want to be around her own mother? I should leave. Regardless, she knew how Emma would be feeling right now and she knew Emma shouldn't be alone. "Emma, I know. I know you are hurting more than anyone can imagine. I know how it feels when...your heart...shatters to pieces...and you think you'll never be the same again..." Regina said a little quieter, and almost weak sounding, thinking of her own heart-break. "But Emma please, just let me in. I just want to be there for you. Maybe it's crazy coming from the Evil Queen but I want to be here for you." Regina paused and had a few tears in her eyes she would never admit to having. "Please. Emma. Let me in." Regina waited a few moments, but there was no reply. Just as she was about to leave, she heard a wooden door squeak. She turned to see that the door was cracked open. She's letting me in, Regina thought with relief. She slowly walked into the room, heels clicking against the wood floor. She closed the door and took her first look at Emma. "Oh, Emma" Regina whispered delicately. Emma looked absolutely broken. Her hair was tangled, it lacked its shine. Her skin had lost all color, she was almost grey. Her bright green eyes lost their gleam and there were dark circles underneath them, showing her lack of sleep. She looked like she lost all the life in her. Like she had lost all hope. Regina slowly moved towards the woman. Emma was sitting up with her legs dangled off the side of the bed, her back slumped over. Regina sat next to her softly as possible as if she was sitting on a bed of glass, afraid of breaking it. She knew how the broken woman felt. She knew the heartbreak. "Emma, I'm so sorry." She whispered quietly, her words filled with comfort. As Regina examined the fallen savior her own heart broke for her. This wasn't fair Emma never deserved this...Maybe I deserved it. I killed thousands of people, tore people away from their homes, and ruined happy endings of countless people, but Emma, no. She's a hero. Her heart, while it may have a sliver of darkness, she is pure. She is light. Why is this happening to her? Regina thought. She didn't know how to make this horrible pain go away but she was going to do everything she could to help the savior get back on her feet again. The blonde finally let a few tears escape her. "Why?" Emma said so broken and so quiet the queen could barely hear her. "Why did I let it happen?" Regina tried to speak but was interrupted by Emma's voice. "I did this." Regina stopped Emma right then. "Miss Swan stop. You did not cause this. He did this for you. For everyone." Emma's eyes met the mayors sternly. "Regina," Emma spoke in a low and angered voice. "I killed him. I murdered the person I was supposed to build a life with. I plunged a sword into him. I KILLED HIM!" Emma yelled with a hoarse voice as she began sobbing. There was a deafening silence that followed Emma's words. Regina leaned her head a bit closer to the saviors and spoke softly. "Emma, darling, you cannot blame this on yourself. There was no other way. I know heroes always seem to find the 'perfect' way out, the 'perfect' solution but there was only one solution to this Emma. You did as he wanted. You let him die a hero." Emma shook her head, maybe a small part of her believed Regina, but she couldn't let this go. "I should have been the one to die—" The queen halted the sheriff from speaking one more word. "Emma stop. I am here to help you, and comfort you all that I can, but I will not, for one second, hear you say that. You are here for a reason. You're not just the savior. You're a daughter. You're a wonderful mother whom Henry could not go without. You're a hero. You're a sheriff. You're my" Regina stumbled on her words for a moment. She's my what? Friend? Regina stopped her mind from wandering further. "You're my friend. Emma you may not realize it but without you," Regina did not even want to imagine a world without Emma Swan. She was not sure why this woman meant so much to her, but she knew her life would change without Emma in it. And not for the better. She continued gently, "everyone's lives would be deprived of a light that we all need. You let him be the hero he wanted to be Emma. I know it is incredibly difficult to understand right now and it may be for a while, but it will get better and I am going to be here to make sure it does. I have been through this before and I know how bad it hurts. But unlike I was, you are not alone Emma and you never will be." Emma stared at the queen's sympathetic soft face. Does she really believe I am that important? She needs me too? I'm not alone because of her... She gets me. She always has. The blonde's mind fluttered and she managed to speak again softly, "Thank you, Regina." Regina smiled warmly at the savior as she stood to leave the room. "You will get through this Emma. I promise." She left and shut the wooden door quietly behind her. Emma did not feel as lonely as she did before Regina came. Maybe Emma was beginning to let her in.