She rushed towards her car and barked at them, "Get in! Both of you, now!" Regina and Henry weakly asked each other, "Where are we going…" but they both got into the yellow bug as commanded. Emma started the car and peeled onto the main highway in the opposite direction of town.

Regina looked at Henry in the back seat and then to Emma. "Where are we going?"

"We're leaving."

"Ma, what do you mean, we're leaving?"

"Leaving Henry. I'm taking my family away from this all, all of this craziness, out of Storybrooke."

"Mom! She can't be serious. Ma, you can't do this… you're the Savior, you can't leave people behind."

"Enough Henry, I am done. I've been playing a part to fit expectations and I am done. All I've ever wanted was to not be alone, have a family that loves me, and I love them and give them all that I never had. I clearly have that and I will protect you at all costs. I am still being a Savior to my family and I say we are leaving."

"Mom! Ma can't do this! What about grandma and grandpa? What about everyone else and their happy endings?" Henry pleaded with Regina, but she had her eyes fully fixed on Emma, saying not a word, seemingly undisturbed by the situation. Henry was right. She should be talking sense and reasoning into Emma, demand that she pull over and reconsider; accuse Emma of reverting back to her old ways of running when things got difficult. But Emma was running WITH her family, out of protection. Somehow Regina didn't want to stop this flight; they have been fighting for so long. This selfish act spoke volumes to Regina; it told her Emma cared for her family, they are on the same page when it came to Henry, and Emma wants to do this not just for Henry, but for her too. She wants to protect her, Regina Mills. She had always wanted this Emma, how could she stop her now?

But clearly she and Henry were not seeing eye to eye, and he was frightened. "Emma, we can't leave."

"Yes, we can, Regina…"

"No, literally we cannot. The Evil Queen put up another barrier around Storybrooke that I have been unable to break, remember?"

Emma growled, but she didn't slow down. She sped up. Henry yelled, "MA, STOP! We can't speed through the barrier. You're scaring me!"

"Henry, we are not driving through. Trust me. But we are still going to the border."

Regina turned to Henry. "Let's see what Emma has planned, ok? But Emma, please slow down. The border isn't going anywhere."

When they reached the town line, Emma abruptly stopped and jumped out of the car, storming towards the town line. Henry scrambled out of the car after her, "Ma, please don't touch the barrier. Come on, let's go back." Regina got out and stood with them at the line.

The orange line. The three of them stood staring at the orange line for what seemed to Henry like forever. Emma eventually broke the silence, "Regina, I think we can bring it down together. Why didn't we think of this before? Our magic together is strong… it always has been. How could I have been so blind as to why? I've always felt the intensity of our magical connection… felt at home with you whenever we connected in that way."

Regina's smile grew wider and wider at her revelation. She always felt the same. "Together, I think we can break this barrier, Emma."

"WAIT!" Henry stood between them. "I do believe the two of you can do it. You two can do anything, but this? We have to go back."

Emma says to Henry as she takes his hand, "Kid, remember when we were in New York?. You sensed I was feeling lonely. I told you I was missing something. I had been having dreams that were pointing to someone, something that was missing. I couldn't shake the feeling that our family was incomplete, though all we had was each other. You told me that you were feeling the same and you had been having dreams too. Deep down, we knew we were missing Mom. New York was a pretty good life. Now we can be a complete family there. Us. Our family is all that has ever mattered."

"But grandma, grandpa, Neal, HELL! even Auntie Zelena and Robin are family, too."

"Henry! Language…" Regina clips.

"No mom, why are you not backing me up? Why are you not talking sense into her? Tell her this is wrong! We cannot abandon them."

"Henry," Emma pleads, "We are immediate family first and that comes first. Snow and David have Neal. Yes, they love us, but I've been trying to recover a relationship that they think they should have with me. I walked into Mary Margaret's' life as her friend, then I became the Savior. There has never been any time to get to know me in-between curses, jumping realms, or facing whatever the next evil is. They know nothing of who I was, or where I came from, or how I survived in this world. It's hard for me to share all that with them without them feeling guilty. So we pretend nothing before that matters and I play along–daughter, princess, Savior. I love them, but that's not a real family to me. You and Regina see me for me; I'm not just your Savior. You are the family I need to protect right now."

"Henry," Regina interjects, "I'm not sure I can disagree with Emma on this. I understand why you want to leave, Emma. Being Savior is taking its toll on you clearly. You've seen your death. Now there is an opportunity to have a happy ending of your own and give at least two others a happy ending, too. How much more obligated do you have to be when it can end in your death? If I can be certain that you are doing this because you want me and want to return my love, be a family with Henry until your dying day, then I will try and break this barrier with you and we will all leave together. I love my friends, my family, but Henry, you come first, and so does Emma. I think everyone will be fine if we leave."

Henry's jaw drops. "Mom, you can't be serious. I have always wanted us to be a family, but not like this…"

Regina peers into Henry's distraught face and instantly regrets what she said. Regina sighs, pinching the bridge of her nose. "Damn it! I WANT to convince myself, but this is not a true act of love, Emma, we know that starting our lives this way will just end in regret and disaster. We cannot cheat destiny."

"My, my, my… you're such a pathetic do-gooder. Maybe you should change your name to Snow White the Second."

All three follow the voice behind them and see the Evil Queen.

"Perhaps Emma and I could walk away together instead, your better half after all," the Evil Queen flirtatiously says looking Emma up and down like she is something tasty to devour.

Emma peers into the Evil Queen's eyes. Those eyes, so familiar that usually fill her with warmth and affection, but these eyes carry a wildness and sense of chaos that she has not seen in Regina's eyes since the first time they met. She charges at the Evil Queen, "This conversation doesn't concern you! You need to go!" Emma says sternly.

"What's wrong, my dear? Should it be so hard to make a choice? Love isn't easy, but I'll let you in on a little secret that could make that choice easier. It's me who has always loved you more." The Evil Queen advances towards Emma, reaching for her jacket lapel, but Emma backs away. Hearing the Evil Queen say she has loved her more sent Emma's mind whirling and her nerves shaken. She doesn't know what to make of hearing that. The Evil Queen is not Regina, but she is. Regina already told her she loves her and that the Evil Queen loves her too, so this news isn't new, but, "I can't… I really should be used to these unusual situations, but I just can't." Emma begins to back away from the Evil Queen. The Evil Queen sees the vulnerability and moves forward grasping for Emma, but Regina and Henry put themselves between them.

Regina stares pointedly at the Queen and says, "Just because I am trying to help Emma make the best choice doesn't mean I love her less–on the contrary. We have always loved her as one, equally."

"Then why did you split us? There is no we any longer when you did that."

"I regret it very much. If I could unite us again, I would."

"And risk having Emma and Henry love only half of you? That's why you split us in the first place, trying to rid yourself of the undesirable, dark, flawed parts. The parts you thought that maybe Emma was holding back from? Get rid of the villain and maybe you'd get your true love, your happy ending? Tell US that isn't true?" The Evil Queen turns to Regina, Henry, then Emma, "We wouldn't be in this situation if you had only said you loved us completely as we were. Remember that day in Neal's apartment when we spelled out how conflicted we were, being pulled between good and evil, not knowing how to live like this? Regina thought, oh, let's be vulnerable, maybe we will get a reaction out of Emma that will give us hope to pursue our love. But all you seemed to care about was squashing me and you believed Regina could do it, you couldn't let her stray. But then you supported our split and encouraged her to annihilate me. By all accounts, my love should have died and I should have annihilated you." The Evil Queen's sneer quickly turned into a smile. "Maybe mother was right, love is weakness and I am very weak for you. Emma, don't you see how I must love you more; you wanted me destroyed, but I survived, and I still don't want to kill you. Come with me, Emma."

Henry yells, "She doesn't love you!"

"Like you don't love me? Go ahead, Henry, say it."

But Henry is silent. Regina looks like she is at a loss for words. How do you argue against yourself? She turns to Emma looking full of confusion, defeat, and pain, "I'm sorry I caused this."

"Don't apologize to me, Regina. She is right." Emma explains, "That day in Neal's apartment, I realized what a shitty friend I had been. You were going through so much inner turmoil on top of Robin dying, and I was nowhere to be found. I consumed myself with Hook, feeling guilty he survived and Robin didn't. As I listened to you, I realized how unfair it was that Hook was alive, but I pushed those feelings aside and was a coward to be there for you. I leaned into my relationship with Hook because my parents supported it. You were single and vulnerable, I wanted to do nothing more than to rescue you, tell you how maybe I could make the darkness go away by embracing you completely, loving you and accepting you. I should have told you that day I never was turned off by your dark side from the day I met you. But instead I kept silent, and then I let you split yourself because it seemed like the easiest way out for everyone. I let it happen because I refused to be your Savior."

"You supported me the best you thought at the time. You're just the Savior, not perfect," Regina tells Emma.

Emma grimly laughs, despite the situation. She looks at the Evil Queen. "I can't choose. To say I don't love you, we know that is a lie. When I first met you Regina, the Evil Queen was there. And despite how you despised me and tried to run me out of town, I could never bring myself to hate you. I always encouraged you to be your best. I didn't mean for you to think that meant getting rid of your darkness. I accepted you as you were. I fell in love with you completely. I won't be leaving Storybrooke. I can't leave any part of you behind." She turns to Regina and falls into her arms. "I'm so sorry Regina. I need to be stronger for you," she whispers into her ear.

"You don't have to apologize to me. We have both been hiding from each other and not forthright. We made this mess together, but together we are stronger," Regina tells her, embracing her.

The Evil Queen looked on at the two of them speechless and stunned. She just brought them together and lost the upper hand. Henry was pretty sure that they were not going to be leaving Storybrooke, and all thanks to the Evil Queen trying to interfere. She just convinced Emma that she was not pointless.

Regina finds herself in a state of tears but in the arms of her love. Emma finds it hard not to cry either, but does, releasing so much pent-up stress, relieved to be in the truth. Regina's embrace is the most secure feeling she has ever experienced. How could she have run from this for so long? Regina begins to loosen her embrace on Emma, but she is not ready to let go. Regina says her name softly, so she relents. Regina doesn't pull back very far. Regina looks into her wet green eyes and wipes tears from her cheeks. Never did she think she would see returned love in those eyes. Regina's eyes drop to her lips and without a second thought, she kisses her.

As soon as Regina touched Emma's lips, Henry and the Evil Queen witness a magical glow surround Regina and Emma, then a rainbow emanating from their embrace, and a swift breeze of true love's kiss.

"I knew it!" exclaims Henry! "MOMS!" At Henry's cry, Regina and Emma parted lips and turned to him. "She's gone. She was just next to me watching you kiss and then she vanished like a ghost!" Regina and Emma both stare at him with surprise and confusion, a little bashful that he witnessed his moms' first kiss. Suddenly, Regina's hand flew to her chest, startling Emma and Henry. Henry reaches for Regina's hand, "What's wrong, mom?" Regina looks at the both of them, her eyes asking them to give her a second before she paused thoughtfully, then her eyebrows shoot up as she looks back at them. "She's back with me. I feel her," and her eyes dart to Emma, looking worried.

"I broke your curse!" Emma says with a broad smile. "Don't look at me worried, Regina. I told you. I love you completely."

Henry gives his moms a moment and goes to the line, sticking his foot over it. "Hey! The barrier is gone! But we still aren't leaving, right?!?"

Emma gives a deep sigh while looking at the orange line on the ground. She puts an arm around Henry, "It would be wonderful to be able to go back to the beginning and pretend that when you brought me here, and I met your mom, we all got along and became an instant family, end of story. But, I was brought to Storybrooke for other things. I still have you and your mom. I am thankful for you two because you make this adventure worth-while. Every story where the hero tries to run, they are always brought back to complete their mission OR they lose more than they should have if they just stayed, so I suppose I should just keep my ass here," Emma laughs. "What do you think?"

Henry asks her, "You may understand, but you really don't want to stay. How is this going to affect your power as the Savior if you don't believe in yourself?"

"When you see yourself die… I have been in so many near-death situations, but I never foresaw it. That's a game changer; something inside changes, kid. I have a different look on the situation, and I can't let fear overcome me, you're right, Henry. But I think I believe in myself more now through love," Emma says as she looks at Regina.

"We all have roles we need to redefine," Regina adds. "I have a hard enough time accepting that others think of me as 'hero' and now I have the Evil Queen back, she's bound to try and bring me down. I need to focus on the love I have from you two as my strength to believe in myself."

"I think I understand that pressure. I ask myself often what does it mean to be the author? I'm not mad at you, Ma. I just want to be your voice of reason."

"And thank you for being that and believing in me. So the voice of reason says I am to keep my butt in Storybrooke?" Emma grins wryly at Henry as he turned to her and pulls her in and holds her, "YES! I'm not letting you go!" They laugh in their embrace, while nearly falling down.

Regina's eyes tear up at this moment as she witnesses what is the beginning of a whole new them as a family. She can still feel the vibrations from the true love's kiss. She knows it has changed them all for the better and has made them stronger together to face anything as the Savior, the hero, and the author.