Robin took the stairs leading down into the crypt two at a time. Emma struggled to keep up with him, the protective instinct in her wanting to tell him to be careful, but all she had to do was remember Neal dying in her arms to keep her lips closed. Nothing could have kept her from him, so who was she to tell Robin to slow down?
If he had not known the truth, he would have broken down when he first laid eyes upon her. The curse had done nothing to diminish her beauty; in fact, it had enhanced it. There was no anger or hurt or fear in her features, only peace. He immediately recognized her dress as the one she'd worn during their afternoon in front of the fire. It felt like a lifetime ago, not just a couple of days. He rushed to her side and looked down at her before touching her cheek with his fingertips. She was as cold as ice and white as snow. He understood why Emma had assumed she was dead. Anyone who didn't know about the curse would have thought the same.
He turned Regina's hands over and, finding what he'd known would be there, lifted the one that had been resting on Henry's blanket to show Emma the small red dot on her index finger.
"The first time I met Regina, she had just lost Henry forever," he said. "She was heartbroken. She made a sleeping curse to use on herself.. She told me it was the only way she could survive losing the one person who could possibly wake her from it. But the Wicked Witch stole it from her before she could use it. After that, she made it her goal to destroy Zelena, and I hoped she'd forgotten about the curse."
He softly kissed Regina's palm and laid her hand back down. Candlelight caught in the pin over her heart, and a sound not unlike what a wounded animal would make ripped from his throat. A robin, guarding her heart, just as he had done. Laden with the knowledge of what had happened to her first love, he could see just how difficult it must have been for her to trust him with it. She had literally laid her life in his hands that night. As his eyes roamed over her frozen features, he felt the weight of that trust on his shoulders. It was one that he wanted to carry. He imagined her heart as an animal, a lion to match the one on his arm. Few got to see the kitten underneath the teeth and the roar. Caring for her was an honor he would gladly spend the rest of his life proving that he was worthy of.
Emma digested his story. It was hard for her to imagine Regina wanting to curse herself. She'd known that she loved Henry and would do anything for him, but she would rather be trapped in an eternal nether-realm rather than deal with losing him? That was entirely next level. Even as a foster child Emma had never considered anything that drastic.
"So she told you that the only way to break a sleeping curse is with true love's kiss?" Emma asked. He wouldn't be there if he didn't think he could do it, obviously. She had to assume he knew that true love strong enough to break a curse has to come from both sides, from both people. Otherwise what he was about to attempt would fail, and they would both have to live with their guilt and regret. And she would still have to tell Henry.
"Yes, she did," he replied. He looked down at Regina again, the beautiful woman that he loved. She once said that her son was her only true love. They'd never exchanged the words, but he had felt them in her kisses, in her caresses, in the way she held his hand. Tinkerbell had told Regina that she was destined to be with him. It was his turn to show her that their time to be together had finally come.
He couldn't bear to see her lifeless for a moment longer. He closed his eyes and pressed his lips to hers, willing the love he felt for her to fill his entire being. Wake, my love. Come back to me.
A wave of energy radiated out from them in a circle, flowing through Emma and out of the room. Marian, hiding just outside the doorway, covered her mouth with her hand to keep from audibly gasping. So this was what he had been wrestling with. He'd fallen for another – the very woman who had sentenced her to death. First the Evil Queen had taken her freedom, and would have taken her life - now she was taking her husband.
His face was mere millimeters from Regina's when her lips parted and she drew a breath. Her eyelids flew open, and as she exhaled her fingers flexed in his grip. So close, she could see only his eyes, but she immediately knew who it was who had broken the curse.
"You woke me," she said with surprise but not disappointment. "How did you know?"
He held up the hairpin for her to see. "Did you honestly think I wouldn't recognize this?" he asked.
It wasn't about recognition - he was never supposed to see it in the first place. "How did you find it?" she asked.
"I did," Emma said, and Regina's head turned to the sound of the voice. "You must have dropped it."
Regina looked back at Robin and reached up to gently cup his cheek. She had missed those eyes, and the way they looked at her, as if she were the most beautiful thing he'd ever seen.
"I tried to save you from having to choose," she said softly. She'd felt that the only anguish stronger than her own must have been his. And while there was nothing she could do for herself, she'd tried to act on his behalf. She wanted him to be happy, just like she wanted for Henry.
"You did," he said, using his hand behind her neck to help her sit up. "When Emma told me that you were dead, I couldn't help but think of everything I would miss about you, and all of the things I had wanted that would never happen. I had dreams for the future, for us and for our boys. That's when I knew."
She'd shown him that there never had been a choice – he couldn't live without her. He'd lived without Marian, he knew he could survive it. He'd mourned her and laid his love for her to rest. She would always be a part of his life, but she was his past. Regina was his future.
"Knew what?" she asked as she laced her fingers through his.
"That my heart had already chosen you," he said. She could see herself reflected in his watery eyes. Her heart was still growing accustomed to beating again and already it felt so full it might burst. She could practically feel the darkness inside it starting to recede. His love was light, and it would help her reclaim what she'd lost.
"I'm sorry, Regina. I should have told you," he said softly and pressed his forehead to hers. "I'm in love with you."
She took his face in her hands and a tear of pure joy silently slid down her cheek. "I love you too," she said. The words she had feared uttering aloud for so long rolled off her tongue with ease. Professing her love to Daniel had been a death sentence for him, and because of that she had not let herself love again. Not until Henry, and her love for him had been the opening of a window in the high walls around her heart. For Robin, she created a door.
Emma heard a shuffle behind her and looked to see Marian, tears streaming down her cheeks, just before she turned away and disappeared.
"Sorry to interrupt, but Robin? I think there's something you might want to take care of," Emma said and jerked a thumb toward the door. She mouthed 'Marian' and his eyes grew wide. She'd followed them. Of course she had, she'd always been a stubborn woman who suffered from a terminal case of curiosity. He regretted that the chance to tell her the truth on his own terms was lost, but at least witnessing his and Regina's love break a curse would mean she could not deny reality.
"Go after her. I'll be alright," Regina said, a soft smile on her face. She had no fear of what might happen between them, and nothing would ever make her doubt his love. Robin kissed her forehead, thankful that he'd fallen for someone so understanding, then hurried after his wife.
"So…" Emma started, a small smile on her lips. "I guess you can't really be mad at me any more, huh?"
Regina swung her legs off of her perch and lowered herself to the ground slowly. Her body was rapidly waking up, but the last thing she wanted was to fall over and have to rely on Emma to help her up. She looked at the other woman and raised an eyebrow.
"I beg your pardon?" she asked.
"Well," Emma said, "it looks like instead of coming between you guys, I just brought you together." She felt pretty proud of herself, when all was said and done. She'd saved Marian's life and motivated Regina and Robin to profess their love for one another. She'd always known that doing the right thing would work out for the best. She stood with her hands in her back pockets and waited for the gratitude to rain down.
No, you idiot, I did that, Regina thought.
"I suppose you're right," Regina said, forcing herself to smile, the insincerity of it being obvious. She had to change the subject before she said something she would regret later.
"What day is it? Does Henry know where I've been?" Regina brushed off the back of her dress and took a cautious step forward, testing her legs. She felt a keen need to see her son.
Emma shook her head. "It's Monday, and he's at school. All he knows is that I'm looking for you. He's worried about you, though." There would be time later for asking Regina just what in the hell she was thinking in bowing out of his life. It was not a subject Emma was going to forget any time soon. For the moment, though, she let it drop.
Regina nodded, ignoring the subtext in Emma's words. She was obviously unhappy with her for upsetting Henry. Considering the fact that Emma's opinion was at the bottom of her list of things she cared about, her disapproval did not bother Regina in the least.
"I trust that you can keep this between us," Regina said. "There's no point in upsetting Henry over something that's already over. Don't you agree?"
Even though Emma hated lying to Henry, she had to admit to herself that she had been doing it all day. So she nodded in agreement despite her misgivings. Besides, if she did tell him the truth, it would make her look petty, as if she were trying to sabotage his and Regina's relationship.
"Good. Now if you'll excuse me, I'm going to go pick my son up from school, make his favorite dinner, and help him with his homework before tucking him into bed." Feeling sturdy once again, Regina walked past her and out of the room. She couldn't spend another second in that house of the dead.