Hey guys. How are you?

Sorry for the long delay with this chapter.

My laptop became shit after the last update and I swear I'm about to throw it against the wall one of these days and that's one of the reasons I'm late because there are days when this thing just doesn't work at all.

Anyway, I'm already in search of a new one.

This chapter is a bit shorter than the others, but equally important.

I know you'll probably want to kill me by the end of this chapter, but don't worry, I'm already writing the next one.

I still haven't received the corrected chapter from my beta, but I wanted to update this story for you, so I hope it do not have too many mistakes.

That's it for now. See you soon.

When Emma woke up the next morning she groaned as she felt her head aching and instantly regretted the large amount of alcohol she drank the night before. She pulled the duvet over her face covering it because of the light coming through the window.

"Good morning, Emma. There's an aspirin and water on the nightstand." Regina said softly so as not to make the blonde's headache worse.

"Could you close the curtain?" Emma grunted gently with her face still covered.

The brunette laughed weakly and got up to attend Emma's request. "Here." Regina said as she sat on the bed, handing her aspirin and water. "You'll feel better after you take this and enjoy a warm bath."

"Thanks." Emma took the duvet from her face and couldn't help a grimace of pain. Even with the curtains closed the light still entered the room.

"Henry is already awake." Regina took the glass of water and placed it on the bedside table again. "He just got out of the shower and apparently it's not as bad as you."

"Oh, that's such a compliment." Emma grumbled, burying her face in the pillow.

"It's not my fault if you decided to drink almost a whole bottle of whiskey last night, Miss Swan. Now get up and go take a shower because we have a long trip ahead. In the meantime, I'll prepare breakfast for us."

Regina smiled weakly and without thinking much of what she was doing, she leaned toward Emma and kissed her forehead before leaving the bedroom. The blonde lay for a few more minutes enjoying Regina's gesture and remembering the day before. Ever since she'd been in Hyperion Heights, everything had been so intense and happening so fast that she barely had time to stop and think about everything. Even when they lived in Storybrooke, things didn't happen so fast. Even in the worst weeks she could always take time out for herself and put her thoughts in order. That was one of the reasons she had managed to avoid taking Regina for so long. Every time she felt she was about to lose control and pin Regina against the nearest wall or bent her over her desk and take her or just take that smile off her face with a kiss, Emma would shut down somewhere and stay there until she could order out her thoughts.

With a frustrated groan she got up and went to take a shower, as Regina had suggested. They had a long day ahead and the sooner they left this town, the better it would be. Emma had no idea what awaited them in San Francisco besides knowing that it was Zelena. If the redhead was under the curse things might not be so easy since Regina mentioned that she hated her. This was clearly something caused by the curse, for she was almost certain that the Mills sisters had been at peace since... She shook her head to brush away those memories and let the hot water wrap around her body, relaxing her almost immediately. A few minutes later, Emma left the bath and changed, realizing that there were two suitcases near the bed. One was hers, which she brought when she left Storybrooke to come to Regina and the other was probably the brunette's. She smiled to herself and left the room to find Regina and Henry for breakfast.

"Oh, there you are." Henry smiled at the sight of her approaching. "How are you feeling?"

"Good morning, kid." Emma sat next to him and bumped her shoulder against the his gently. "I'm feeling better now, but when I woke up I felt like I was hit by a truck."

"Roni's drinks are really strong."

Emma and Regina looked at each other silently, both remembering the night Henry had brought Emma to Storybrooke and the dose of apple cider they'd shared before the blonde said leave, saying she'd be back in Boston and then the bug rolling on the road and Emma waking up at the police station the next day with Graham saying pretty much the same thing. They both looked away with this memory. Each for a reason. Regina, for regretting what she had done to the hunter and Emma because, for some reason, she missed him sometimes. Graham was good.

"Oh, Henry!" Sabine's voice broke the tension that was forming, and Regina smiled relieved by the presence of the brunette. "Good morning, Roni, Emma."

"Good morning, Sabine." The three of them said almost at the same time.

"Sabine, we need to take a short trip, can you and Jacinda take over the bar?" Regina asked gently.

"Sure, Roni." The brunette sat down at the table with them and accepted the piece of pie that Henry set before her. "Are you alright? I mean... the three of you traveling suddenly... did something happen?"

"I need to see a friend in San Francisco." Regina simply replied. Any other information she gives could be risky and puts them in danger. She knew that Drizella would make no effort to have her revenge on her mother. And Gothel... well, Gothel was already dangerous enough on her own, but having Drizella by her side and her blind thirst for revenge could be even more risky. That was why she was going to Zelena. She needed her sister's help.

"Hum... alright." Sabine looked suspiciously, but said nothing. Roni was helping her and Jacinda more than she could ask and she couldn't deny a simple request like that.

They finished the rest of the breakfast in silence and then the three said goodbye to Sabine and left for San Francisco.

Emma turned on the radio and left it at some station and instantly regretted it. The song that filled the bug seemed to have been tailor made for her and Regina and their whole story. When she went to change the station, she felt the brunette's hand over hers silently asking her not to change. Emma nodded softly and tried to focus on the road and the long hours ahead.

Regina stared at her from the corner of the eye. Emma stared at the road ahead of them, but she could see her taut jaw beneath pale skin and the way her eyes became incredibly clearer and seemed to shift to a blue-green as the sun reflected on them. She watched the shadows that the lashes formed on the cheekbones, the small freckles she had scattered over her cheeks, and she felt an almost unstoppable urge to touch his skin and caress her face and before she could give way to his impulses she turned him. face to the window and focused on watching the road. Emma was breathtaking. From the back seat Henry watched them both in silence and he felt a strange sensation; as if he had already witnessed this sort of scene between them times enough in his life. He felt as if he knew exactly what was going on between them, but at the same time he couldn't identify exactly what it was. When Regina turned her face to the window he felt his heart ache with what he saw in the brunette's gaze. There was so much love in them that he could almost touch. He noticed Emma's tense shoulders and knew she was struggling to stay focused on the road and not turn around and watch the brunette at her side. Henry felt something in his chest every time he was with them. It was as if he felt complete, as if he were with his family and that made his heart ache because it couldn't be true. He grew up in the system, without a family, without mothers, without anyone.

Suddenly he noticed that Emma was singing along with the music, in a whisper that did not exceed the sound coming from the speakers, but the tears that threatened to trickle down her face seemed to sound louder than any other sound around them. She turned to look at Regina at that moment, and as she did so, the tears fell silently down her face. It lasted no more than a few seconds, but it was enough for Henry to feel that he was invading Emma's very intimate moment and turned quickly to look out the window.

Most of the trip happened in silence as they couldn't talk about Zelena or the curse before Henry.

When they arrived in San Francisco it was night and then they went to a hotel near the place where they would meet Zelena the next day.

"I suggest you rest well tonight, Emma. Tomorrow we have a long day and you didn't let Henry or me drive on the way here." Regina said in a worried tone. She could feel the tension in the blonde's body and she wanted to offer herself to make a massage, but how could it end? Probably somehow disastrous between them. No. She would do her best to keep her hands away from Emma's body.

"I'm sorry if that made you worried, but I had to keep my mind occupied." Emma sighed wearily. "Many things have happened in the last few days and I barely had time to organize my thoughts and I need to make some decisions."

"I'm sorry for dragging you into the middle of this mess."

"You don't have to apologize, Regina." Emma looked at her and a warm smile spread across her face for the first time that day. "Actually, I'm glad you called me that night." The blonde rose and approached Regina, touching her face gently, as if to memorize it. "I promise everything will be fixed. Everything will be fine."

Regina felt her heart pounding madly at this closeness. The warmth of Emma's body, the soft touch of her hands on her face and her breath against her neck were not helping at all in the decision to keep her hands off her. Regina didn't trust her voice to speak so she just nodded, once again placing all her trust in Emma.

A faint sound of knocking on the door took them out of the moment and Emma walked away to find Henry on the other side of the door. He held two packages of food from a restaurant near the hotel and smiled extending one toward Emma.

"I wasn't sure what you could want so I got lasagna." He said when the blonde gave him room to enter. "And for dessert I brought apple pie. I hope you don't mind."

When they heard Henry say that he had some lasagna and apple pie, they both felt their hearts beat faster, and Regina struggled so that her eyes wouldn't get wet with tears threatening to fall. Emma smiled weakly behind him and then asked him to put the packages on the bed while they set up the small dining table.

"It looks delicious, kid." Emma approached, helping Regina tidy up the small dining table in the corner of the room.

After the three of them were settled on the small table Henry finally spoke. "So..." He began, tentatively between one bite and another. "What will we do tomorrow?"

"We're going to the gym." Regina sighed. She had never been too fond of physical activity, but if that was the only way to get to Zelena, so be it.

"Do not tell me she works at a gym." Emma asked with wide eyes and barely able to contain the laughter. "I can't wait for this."

"Do not push your luck, Miss Swan."

"Okay, and what's the plan?" Henry asked after wiping his mouth with his napkin.

"The plan is that you and I are going to talk to her while Emma is looking for another friend of ours, that, I hope, will be working with my friend."

Emma gave the brunette a confused look. Regina had not mentioned anyone in Zelena's company, and she really had no idea who she might be. Before she could ask, she saw the brunette mutter, 'I'll explain it to you later,' and just continued savoring her lasagna. It wasn't as good as Regina's or even Granny's, but in the hunger Emma was in, it was something of the gods.

After they finished the meal they still talked for a while until Henry withdrew with the excuse that it was already late, and everyone needed to rest after the long day's journey before they took up the gym the next day.

"So..." Emma turned to Regina as the door closed behind her. "Who is the person with Zelena?"

"I think you'd better sit down." Regina sighed. She cursed low under her breath for not having had time to talk to the blonde about it better.

"You're making me worried, Regina."

"There's no reason to worry any more than we already are, but maybe it's a little shock for you when I tell you who the person is with Zelena and why." The brunette indicated the bed and Emma sat looking at her in confusion. "As you know, time passes differently on some realms and that's why so many of us do not age and-

"Do not make me think about age now." Emma interrupted with a nervous laugh.

"I think I should get right to the point, then." Regina sat on the bed, leaning against the headboard, and crossing her legs in front of her body. Emma's gaze wandered slowly down her long exposed legs before her and unconsciously licked her lips. Her gaze wandered from the brunette legs to her waist and torso - covered by a light tank top and Emma felt her throat dry as she noticed the fabric did not leave much to her imagination - and finally her eyes met Regina's. The brunette had her cheeks flushed, but there was a fire in her gaze and she could barely hide what Emma's hungry gaze had caused in her.

"So..." The blonde cleared her throat and, reluctantly, looked away from the brunette before her.

"After that day you and the pirate came to visit Henry and I decided that I would stay with him there, we went on some adventures and in one of them we ended up going to Oz..." Regina sighed, running her hands through her hair. "And in this adventure for Oz we found Ruby, but she was alone. Dorothy had died a few years ago and she continued to take care of the kingdom with the help of Mulan and the other witches. When we met she asked if she could leave with us because it was very difficult to stay there and remember Dorothy every day and then she left with us.

Emma stared at the brunette with wide eyes and her thoughts raced trying to take in all the information she was receiving. She couldn't imagine what it was like to lose her true love forever. That was probably capable of destroying a person.

"Some time later Zelena ended up going to one of those realms too and joined us. Robyn was already a little girl of about seven at this time and my sister thought it would be better to find some place to settle down instead of jumping on adventure in adventure and surprisingly Ruby offered to go with them. When we met again some time later they were together and... they said it was something related to wolves and witches and how they are interconnected. It is a kind of true love but different from which we know in the Enchanted Forest."

"So, you're telling me your sister and Ruby..." Emma still stared at her with wide eyes, but a smile was spreading across her face. "Nice."

"Nice?" Regina raised an eyebrow in disbelief. "Of all I told you is all you have to say?"

"Actually, I'd love to hear about your adventures, but I do not think it's the time for it. And if Ruby could find another love after Dorothy and if Zelena is happy with her then that's all I need to know right now. "

"You always surprise me, Emma Swan."

Regina settled into the bed and patted the empty side, indicating that Emma should lie down next to her. "Drizella and Gothel made Zelena hate me again when they cast the curse and our meeting will not be the easiest."

"I hate this brat." Emma murmured as she lay down beside Regina. "Uhm... Regina." The blonde called low. "How do you intend to wake Zelena and Ruby from the curse?"

"When we found out that Drizella was planning something, Zelena and I prepared some of that potion that brings the memories back and we keep it with us. Of course, as long as we are under the curse we will not remember it or where we keep, but once one of us is awake... "

"You can waken the other." Emma finished for her. "So why not use this on Henry and the others? They could be together again, and the curse would not be broken, and everyone would be out of danger."

"Unfortunately, that's not quite the way it works." Regina sighed, turning in the mattress to look at Emma. "You don't think this was the first thing I thought when that brat woke me?"

Emma shrugged slightly. She cursed herself for never having learned much about magic and spells and things like that with Regina. The truth is they have never had much time for this. Always had a new villain to fight, a new curse.

"Every spell, every curse is different from the other, it's unique. Drizella is more powerful than you can imagine, and she's not alone in it. Gothel is even more powerful and they have a legion of witches by their side. I risked too much calling you, but I had to do it. I couldn't keep our son away from his family alone. I knew that the only person who could give me strength, help me, support me... it was you, Emma. "

Emma felt her heart pound madly in her chest with the closeness and words Regina had just said. She stroked Regina's face ever so gently and the brunette sighed at the touch. Since Emma had appeared in Hyperion Heighs they danced around each other like that. Soft touches, caresses they had never before imagined they could someday make, and the warmth of their bodies always so close. Emma slid her finger slowly over Regina's lips, tracing their contours gently. She stopped over the scar in the corner of her upper lip and slowly ran her finger through it.

"I've always wanted to touch your scar." Emma whispered, and the brunette closed her eyes, letting a sigh escape her partially parted lips. "I always wanted to know what the story was, but I never had the guts to ask because I was afraid it might be accompanied by a painful memory and I didn't want to make you relive it just to satisfy my curiosity."

Regina remained silent for a few moments, only enjoying Emma's caresses, letting herself be carried away by the soft touch of her fingers sliding slowly against her skin. She thought that if with only that, her body was on fire, she didn't want to imagine what would happen if she and Emma were to have something more intimate. She took a deep breath and opened her eyes slowly. "I got that scar when I was little. I was walking through the forest and I saw some young boys mocking a little boy. I yelled at them to leave the boy alone, but they just ignored me. When the older one pushed the boy and he fell I simply went over them and attacked him with a piece of tree trunk that I found next to me. Of course, that wasn't the smarter attitude since the boy was a lot bigger than I. He took the trunk off my hand and slapped my face with the back of his hand and he was really very strong as it cut my lip. Even with all the pain I was feeling I was able to stand up and hit a kick in his lower parts. Then the other boy and I ran off."

Emma laughed and pressed her forehead against Regina's, caressing once again her scar. "We have a rebel here. Who would say."

"Oh, shut up, Emma."

"You have no idea how much I want to kiss you now." Emma said in an almost desperate whisper.

"Believe me, Emma, there's nothing I want more right now, but we don't-"

"I know." The blonde closed her eyes tightly and turned, not wanting Regina to see the tears she couldn't contain.

They remained silent for a long time and when Emma finally turned around again she noticed that Regina had fallen asleep. She got up carefully so as not to wake the brunette and took her cell phone, sitting at the window of the small bedroom and watching the night unfolding in the warm California. The device seemed to weigh a ton in her hand as she thought about the decision she was about to make. That could change everything, especially between Regina and her.

Emma thought about her childhood, always alone and without friends, she remembered her teenage years and Lilith and how she had gone wrong with the only person who really wanted to be her friend, she thought of Neal and how she loved him and how he changed her life. Emma remembered the time she spent in prison because of him and how she felt even more alone, but how she managed to get up when she left. She remembered Cleo, the woman who helped her and that because of her Emma had become a bail bondsman, and how everything changed afterwards. She remembered the night Henry appeared at her door and took her to Storybrooke and then she set her eyes on Regina for the first time and how she had felt at the sight of the brunette. Regina was the most beautiful woman Emma had ever seen in her life. The most beautiful, the most attractive and the most irritating. All the moments with the brunette seemed to run in her head like a movie and she closed her eyes and let herself sink into the memories. In every moment, in every touch, in every word unsaid. She could have avoided so much if she'd had enough courage to face her ghosts.

When she looked at the display of her cell phone the phone dialed almost 00:00 a.m. and she debated for some time between calling up Killian and solving it at once and hoping to sleep for a few hours or wait until the next morning. After a few minutes pondering her options she finally unlocked her cell phone and dialed it. The pirate answered after the fifth ring, his voice hoarse from the drink and his angry tone. 'That will not be easy,' Emma thought and took a long breath before speaking.

"Killian?" She whispered, and her voice seemed very loud in the quiet room.

"Do you know what time it is, Swan?"

"Oh, good evening to you too, Killian. Yes, I'm fine." She said sarcastically.

"You left me with just a note saying that your family needed you. I AM YOUR FAMILY, EMMA! I have been your family since the day we were married. Henry is a grown man who can handle himself alone and as far as I can remember he was with his dear mother."

"Do not talk about my son or Regina." Emma said between clenched teeth. "I neglected them too much because of you, Killian, I abandoned them because of you!"

"You did no more than your duty as a wife, Swan. You should have given me a happy ending, but instead you were selfish all the time." Killian shouted.

If Emma closed her eyes she could see his image perfectly in front of her. His blue eyes twinkled dangerously with a barely restrained rage, his face and neck red and if she was in front of him, his good hand would be closed in a tight fist at the side of his body. She felt a shiver run through her body, but not a good one. She knew what would come next if they were face to face and thanked for not being there.

"You have rejected me almost every night since we came back from that damned realm when you insisted on going to visit your son and tell him that you were pregnant! You lost our son!"

"Are you implying that the blame for what happened is mine?" Emma asked incredulously, her voice rising sharply with the anger rising in her chest. She then remembered the brunette sleeping on the bed next to her and looked at her quickly, worried that she had woken Regina with her voice.

"Of course, it's your fault! If you had not rejected me we would not have argued, and things would not have happened that way, but you seemed to be always looking for a reason to fight me and make me feel like the worst person in the world."

"All I did was for you, Killian! I went to the underworld to save you, I dragged my family there because of you! I left Henry and Regina when they needed me the most and why, Killian?"

"I did not ask you to do any of this!" He screamed, and Emma could hear the sound of something pounding against the wall and breaking. "Just as I asked you to let me die instead of turning me into the Dark One! After destroying my life, you just left me because of that little brat and that-"

"I swear to God, Killian, if you mention my son or Regina again-"

"You what, Swan? You're too weak to do anything, that's why you abandoned your family, that's why you left the Evil Queen. You couldn't bear the thought that she was a better mother than you!"

"It's over, Killian." Emma said trying to show calm in her voice. "Thank God we have nothing legal to officialize this marriage. It will save me a lot of trouble." Emma felt her body shaking violently. She knew she was about to have an emotional breakdown, but she would do whatever it took to stay firm while that call lasted. "I hope you're paying attention because this is the last time I'll say this: it's over, Killian."

"You can't do this to me, Emma. I love you."

"No, Killian, you don't." Emma took a deep breath and then went on: "Just so you know, I don't care if Regina is a better mother than me. The only thing that matters to me is that she's an incredible woman. A woman who went through so many things in her life and found the way of light and love again. A woman who deserves all the love in the world and who deserves a happy ending."

Before he could say anything else she hung up and finally let the tears she was holding fall free across her face. Her body shook violently, and she couldn't breathe right. She could feel her heartbeat quicken unhealthily. She knew what it was going to happen, but she couldn't move and leave the small armchair she was in. That feeling of her heart beating too hard, her senses growing hazy, her stomach feeling ice-cold. It was then that she felt a soft, worried touch on her shoulder and when she turned around, there was Regina.

I hope you enjoyed.

Let me know what you found and what you think will happen in the next chapter or what you would like to see in it.