She swept her mouth into another burning kiss as their lips both curved upward into tearfully blissful smiles, bringing her hands down on Emma's hips to pull her in, eliminating the space between their bodies as Emma ground her hips inside Regina's open legs, nearly identical groans of pleasure escaping both women.

Neither one noticed the puff of purple smoke behind them.

"Wench!"

Cora's shout startled them apart, but Emma remained steadfastly in front of Regina, her chin jutted upwards in defiance and her arms held out protectively.

The older woman laughed a cold laugh. "Are you really so foolish as to think I would hurt my daughter? There's really no need for such gallantry, dear girl. But really, I would like a word alone with her before I deal with you. You can wait outside."

And with a swish of Cora's wrist, Emma found herself on the streets of Storybrooke, right outside her office.

Her first instinct was to run back up to the office, but she knew it would be futile in the long run.

Regina had kissed her, had said she loved her - her body and mind were still spinning quite out of control - which means, Emma surmised, that she would be okay if Emma followed through on the plans she had outlined to Regina.

The blonde set off at a run.

"Mother," Regina said evenly, desperately trying to keep the trembling out of her voice.

"Regina, darling," Cora began warmly, but the younger woman knew what lay underneath her syrupy tones. She tried desperately to mask her urge to vomit in terror.

"What were you doing with that foolish girl? Surely you don't love her?" Cora's tone was calm, but Regina felt the danger in it.

"Come now, Mother, do you really think I've learned nothing from you?" Regina's voice was as cool and collected as her mother's. She only hoped it was convincing. "Ms. Swan brought me here under the pretense of being concerned about Henry. She proposed an alliance, and in so doing, she confessed her love to me. I decided to take advantage of her attraction. It will only make our work easier in the long run." She attempted a wicked, patently Mayor Mills smile.

"Oh, my daughter," Cora advanced on her, still positioned on the desk, but legs closed now. "I'm so proud of you. You've done so well. But I'm afraid you still haven't perfected the art of lying. Not to me, anyway."

Cora's eyes were deadly, and Regina saw no way out.

Breathless, Emma reached Regina's not-so-secret vault. Yanking open drawer upon chest upon drawer, she finally found what she was searching for: Cora's heart, glowing strongly in its box.

Cora's not stupid. Regina has love written all over her face, she thought, scared but also immensely proud and still quite giddy. I'll never get back there in time.

Rumpelstiltskin's words cascaded over her. Magic is about emotion. You must think about who you are protecting.

Closing her eyes and visualizing the shocked look of someone who hasn't been loved in far too long in Regina's eyes the moment before they kissed, and the glassy, ecstatic look in her chocolate eyes when she told her - sounding more like a teenager than any mayor or queen ever had - that she loved her, Emma let herself simply feel.

Moments later, she was standing behind Cora, back in the Sheriff's station. Not a moment too soon, it seemed, as Cora was advancing on a very wide-eyed Regina.

Plunging her hand into Cora's chest, Emma's wrist felt oddly contracted, the pressure of Cora's flesh kneading her flesh unpleasantly. She felt rather than knew when her heart was in place, and yanked her now empty hand out, wringing it unnecessarily to rid it of the odd feeling of having just placed a heart back inside someone's chest through their back.

"Mother?" she heard Regina ask, hope riding in her voice as a radiant smile spread over her face.

"Regina," Cora breathed in a voice neither Emma or Regina had ever heard before, and the blonde stepped back happily as mother and daughter embraced, Regina sobbing over Cora's shoulder and mouthing a whole-hearted "thank you" to her new lover as she did so.