A/N: Thanks for the follows and favorites! It made my day. The next chapter will be less limbo and more Storybrooke/Fairytale Land. Enjoy!


Chapter 2: Least Likely to Break

"Regina?"Mary Margaret's eyebrows rose in shock. "How were you able to see her?"

Emma smiled slightly. "I saw her in my sleep. I ended up in some limbo place as soon as I drifted off and was hanging over a cliff for a while before Regina came along and saved me." Her growing softness towards the woman made her mother's eyes widened after she shrugged it off as if it were no big deal. "I'm fine and alive," she reassured the fair-skinned woman. "Besides, we have bigger fish to fry. Regina said that Gold, er, Rumple once told her that the only way two living beings could enter the world of limbo was if the two souls were somehow connected…I filled in some of the blanks of course."

Mary Margaret's shock wore off the longer she listened to her daughter recount her semi-psychic dream. She raised an eyebrow curiously. "And you two don't know how your souls are connected?" Emma shook her head, causing the woman to sigh. "Of course not. Did she at least say anything useful for us about how to get out of here?"

Blonde tresses shook again. "No, but she did say to meet back there in ten hours and that she needed to talk to Gold. I'm guessing he might know how to kill two birds in one stone."

The pixie-haired brunette tilted her head. "How do you mean?"

"He will know how to help us get back home and how to get rid of Cora." Emma smirked; an expression Mary Margaret instantly realized resembled Regina's.


The bell above the pawn shop jingled loudly around the quiet interior, followed by a sound of sharp heels rapping against the floor. Gold smiled to himself as he moved from his office to the front room. He limped over right behind his showcase, resting his hands atop of his cane. "Well, isn't this a surprise. What can I do for you, Madame Mayor?"

Regina placed both hands palm down atop of the showcase separating them. "That's former mayor now. I'm sure you've heard they've asked me to step down this morning. I want you to tell me all you know about limbo."

"I've already told you about it, dearie."

"Only the one detail that two souls are connected in some way, but you haven't said how they are connected."

Gold gave her a sly smirk. "That's for me to know and you two to find out. But that's not why you're here, is it? If you were there," he pointed his finger at the woman. "Then that means you spoke with Miss Swan."

Regina knew better than to ask the man how he knew that. He was clever and always riddled with secrets. Him knowing how exactly she and the Savior were connected just added to that list. Instead, she nodded in confirmation. "I did. She and her mother need to find a way out of there as soon as possible, but there is an obstacle in their way that holds the last key item they need. One that only you know how to get rid of."

The slimy man didn't hide the curiosity from his expression. "And what would that obstacle be?"

"My mother." The brunette leaned forward, dropping her voice. "I would say helping them by making sure she doesn't cross is more than enough of a fair deal for us?" She raised a perfectly arched eyebrow as she pulled back.

Rumple had recovered from his shock as quickly as it came. He brooded over her next choice of words carefully before dignifying a response. If he were to help Emma and Snow White prevent Cora's arrival then it would save him a lot of trouble - especially now that he had someone to lose and was so much closer to finding his son. And Miss Swan does still owe me that favor. He nodded. "Very well. Limbo, as you very well know by now, is a place the dead go, but it can also be achieved when one goes into a deep sleep. When two souls are connected, such as yours and Miss Swan's, once one goes there the other follows as soon as they fall asleep. Every pair has a different limbo; they can create it however they want to."

That explains why I could use magic. "So how is it we were able to touch each other when we're clearly in two different worlds?" Regina asked, not bothering to hide her wonder.

Gold smiled. "Simple. While you two are in limbo, your souls are on the same plane." He shrugged, not waiting for her think over his answer before continuing. "If they want to get rid of Cora, they will have to travel to my cell and retrieve the squid ink. It was how Snow White and her precious Charming captured me. The ink will immobilize her long enough after they follow her to Lake Nostos, get the item back, and jump through the portal home."

The former mayor straightened her back, a regal smirk resting upon her plump lips. "Thank you Mr. Gold."

"One more thing, dearie," Gold called out as she turned to leave his shop. He waited until she paused with one hand on the handle, her head turned slightly towards him, indicating that she was listening. "Why the sudden eagerness to help them return home?"

"For my son." Brown eyes locked on to brown for a brief moment before she broke the contact and left the shop in haste.


It didn't take long for Regina to reach the apartment David and Henry were still calling home. She hadn't thought about David preventing her from seeing her son until she'd already knocked on the door and was greeted with the acting authority of Storybrooke. "Regina." He said taking in the perplexed look she wore.

"Is Henry here? I want to tell him that they're okay." She peered over his shoulder into the loft to see if she could spot her son anywhere.

David moved aside as his eyebrows furrowed in confusion. "Who's okay?" He asked.

A smile graced the former mayor's lips, one that never had the pleasure of making it to the surface before. "Emma and Snow. They're okay."

"They are?! How do you know?" A voice from behind startled them both. Regina rushed forward and knelt down in front of Henry.

"I spoke to Emma in limbo." She then added to clear up his confusion, "It's a place the dead goes. Living people can reach it when their connected soul goes there first or vice versa. Emma said that they were fine and to tell you that she loved you."

Regina rose to look at David. "Gold told me of a way for them to get rid of my mother and how they can get home. I told Emma to meet me back there in ten hours before-" Regina hesitated, feeling the disappointment succumb her happiness again. "Before she was woken up." She finished, hoping David and Henry didn't catch her slight pause.

Brown eyes glanced down at her watch, noting it was getting late. "I should go. It's almost time." Her head swiveled to her son. "I'll see you later."

"Tell Emma that I love her too." Henry called out as she turned. She stopped and gave him a half smile before exiting the loft.


Since it was just her in an empty house, Regina didn't bother going about the usual preparations for making dinner. Instead, she made herself a salad and took it into the living room, finding it too lonesome to eat at such an oversized table now. She tried to read a romance novel she had picked out from her study, but found that she couldn't focus on the words. After her fifth attempt at reading the second chapter, Regina threw the book down beside her with a heavy sigh. All she could think about was why she was so excited to have spoken to the very woman she'd hated since the first day they'd met.

And why she had deliberately told Emma that she'd needed her. Since Daniel, Regina needed nobody and longed for no one. She was the Evil Queen. A woman who exerted power single-handedly countless times; who showed she needed no King.

But Emma isn't a King. Not even a Queen. Hell, she isn't even the Princess she is supposed to be.

Regina shook her head, banishing the thoughts from entering her mind again. She went about the rest of the evening readying herself for bed. The Queen had just closed her eyes when she felt herself being pulled in the place she'd been brought to the night before.


Brown eyes scanned the unappealing wasteland surrounding her, frowning when there was no sign of the blonde yet. She moved closer to the edge of the cliff to make sure the woman hadn't fallen over it again. When she didn't see any body hanging on for dear life, she began to busy herself by redesigning their setting.

She had settled on replicating her study, fixing herself a glass of apple cider when the familiar scent of vanilla filled her nostrils. With a deep inhalation, she turned around to meet staring green eyes. "Miss Swan. Would you care for a glass of cider?"

"Got anything stronger?" Emma asked, smirking at how similar their interaction was to the first time they'd met.

Plump lips curved into a smile as she turned back around to fill another tumbler with whiskey. She stepped forward and handed the glass to the sheriff, taking a sip of her own choice of beverage as she sat down on the couch. "So how do you like the change of scenery? I'd figure you'd appreciate having a surrounding that didn't send you over a cliff again."

Emma laughed at the joke, sitting down next to Regina. "I like it. Makes me a bit homesick though." She admitted, neither missing the sadness that seeped through. Silence fell between them, each woman enjoying the familiar presence of the other. It was the blonde who broke it first. "So, did you learn anything from Gold that might help us?"

Regina nodded. "I did. He said to get the squid ink from his cell. Your mother will know where it is. Then follow my mother to Lake Nostros, it's a lake that is rumored to be enchanted; it can bring anything back to life – unless someone is dead of course. After, use the ink to immobilize her and take the ashes."

"Then we can throw it in the water to open a portal, hang on to the compass and jump down the Rabbit Hole back to Storybrooke." Emma concluded, filling in the rest then raising the glass up to her lips.

Brown eyes narrowed. "You wouldn't be calling it the Rabbit Hole if you knew how completely different the two ways of travelling are."

The blonde rolled her eyes. "Of course that exists too. Did he say anything about how we're…you know…?"

Regina shook her head. "He knows how we're connected, but he told me it is something that we will have to figure out ourselves. You should get going, dear. If you think I'm evil, my mother is much worse." She started to rise to refill her glass, but stopped when she felt a hand on her arm pulling her back down gently. Her eyes stayed fixated on the remaining contents in her tumbler as she waited for the woman to speak.

Emma sat her glass down on the table with a sigh, running a hand through blonde curls as she tried to find the best way to bring up what was on her mind since she'd been woken up. "The last time we were here and I was waking up…you said that you needed me…did you mean that?"

Her breathing hitched, but she didn't say anything for a good minute. She finally lifted her head, wide eyes meeting emeralds. "You heard that?" She asked finally, closing her eyes when she got a nod. "I...I suppose I did, yes. You were the only one to protect me from your parents and the town. I know it was because you promised Henry, but I was touched by it nonetheless. Since you fell into Jefferson's hat, I've probably lost my son for good, lost my job, and what little happiness I did still have intact."

"Are you saying that you miss me?" Emma smirked, teasing to hide her surprise at the admittance. She really was trying to change.

The older woman scoffed, holding her head up regally. "Absolutely not, Miss Swan. I am merely saying that I was thankful for your protection even though I didn't ask for it." Regina explained nonchalantly.

"Of course. Anytime then." Emma shrugged. "So…you've told me how Henry and the town are more or less, but you haven't told me about how you are feeling since this entire thing happened."

Regina looked at Emma as if the blonde was completely deaf. "Can you not hear properly, dear? A five-year old child can tell that I am a miserable mess. My curse broke, I've lost everything I held dear; my son, who sees me as the Evil Queen and nothing more, hates me, my job, my control... I couldn't even rest at night because my thoughts were focused on you. I've spent the past few months trying not to use my magic unless it's to do with getting you and Snow back. All I have left is a house much too big for me, my magic, and this, whatever this is, with you while I sleep soundly for the second night in a row."

It wasn't until Emma had pulled the glass from her hands, sat it on the table, and replaced it with her own that she realized she was shaking from an overflow of emotions. Soon enough, Regina found herself sobbing into the blonde's shoulder as she wrapped her arms around her neck. Emma didn't say anything. All she did was wrap her arms around her waist and rub the small of her back in a circular motion soothingly.

Emma hadn't expected the very woman who never showed a sign of weakness to come crumbling down in her arms. Then again she was beginning to discover a new side of Regina Mills in just the two nights they'd interacted with each other. For some reason the only urge she had was to comfort the woman. After all, some of what she was going through was partly her fault. She pulled back to study the woman when she felt the sob quieting. She wiped away a few stray tears with the pad of her thumbs, smiling softly when puffy brown eyes met hers. "Feeling a bit better now?"

Regina nodded, forcing a weak smile that didn't reach her eyes. "Thank you." Her voice was raw from crying. She reached out to pick up her cider but was beaten to it, nodding a silent "thank you" as she took it from the pale hand. The brunette downed the glass quickly, greeting the quarter-empty glass of whiskey that she was handed as a replacement with her lips.

After a moment of silence, brown eyes contacted green. "You should go. I'm sure Snow is waiting for the good news. Oh, and Henry said that he loves you too." This time, her smile was stronger, reaching her eyes fully as she slipped out of their close embrace.

The younger woman only nodded, pulling the older woman back into her arms, laying her back against the arm of the couch so that Regina's head could rest on her chest. "Just five more minutes, Gina. Please?" She murmured against brown locks, smiling into them when she didn't object to her plea.