Warning: Electroconvulsive therapy. (Some is factual, some is for dramatic purposes.)


Your mind tricked you to feel the pain
Of someone close to you leaving the game of life

So here it is, another chance
Wide awake, you face the day
Your dream is over...

Or has it just begun?


"Mom, you need to get over here now!" Henry whispered harshly into the phone. "Emma is trying to kill us all!"

The line clicked before the dial tone was heard and Regina stood frozen in shock until her mind registered that her son was danger. The phone slipped through her fingers and clattered to the carpeted ground before she vanished from the room in a plume of purple smoke.

Raised voices drifted through Mary Margaret's apartment door that Regina appeared in front of and she took a moment to collect herself before she carefully turned the knob and pushed the door open. The image displayed before her rocked her to the core and she couldn't prevent the sharp inhaled breath she took at the sight of Emma holding a bloodied knife over her cowering parents.

"Emma," Regina called out in a soft tone as she raised her hands in a surrendering gesture. "Emma, look at me."

The savior's sleep-deprived eyes glowered at the intruder until she realized it was Regina. Her expression altered to one of delighted relief before she released the knife from her grip and ran to the older woman's side. The brunette allowed the crazed sheriff to embrace her as she returned the hug in kind, knowing it was what Emma needed at the moment. Glancing over the savior's shoulder, her eyes locked on Mary Margaret as she held a wounded David in her arms. The scene seemed almost surreal as it reminded Regina of a time long ago, a time when she reveled in the sight of a dying prince in his beloved Snow White's arms, but now; now it just made her sympathetic and almost regretful.

"I have to rid myself of them, Gina, in order to stay with you I have to kill them all, but it's hard…so hard because they seem so real," the savior whimpered out as she clutched tighter to the mayor.

"It's alright, Emma; it's going to be alright. Maybe killing them isn't the best way to go about this," Regina offered as an answer, knowing she had to play her alternate world's personality in hopes of calming the younger woman down.

"I'm tired, Gina…so tired."

"Shh, rest now. It'll all be over soon," Regina cooed as she held the blonde's head against her shoulder in a comforting gesture, the way she used to comfort her son when he had a bad dream. With one arm wound securely around the sheriff's waist, she continued to stroke the blonde tresses with her other hand until she felt Emma's body go slack with unconsciousness.

"I'll be right back," Regina indicated to Mary Margaret before she vanished with the savior in a magical cloud.

"Gina," Emma mumbled out as they reappeared in the guest bedroom at the mansion. "Don't leave me."

"I'll be right back, I promise. Get some rest," the mayor ordered while she tucked the savior into bed.

The blonde yawned before she snuggled down into the sheets and fell fast asleep. Confident that Emma would be out for awhile, Regina teleported back to the apartment.

Snow looked up with pleading eyes as David remained still in her arms. "Heal him...please?"

Regina noted how sickly pale he was as blood continued to pool out of him at a rapid rate. She quickly made her way over to his side and magically healed the deep knife wound to his abdomen. She watched as the wound stitched up and mended together before David blinked open his eyes and smiled.

"Regina," he sighed as Mary Margaret held him close. "Thank you, Regina."

"Where's Henry?" the mayor questioned in concern.

"Right here, Mom," the boy answered as he descended the steps cautiously. "Is Emma gone?"

"Henry," Regina greeted in relief before she held her arms open as an invitation to her son. He wasted no time as he ran to her side and slammed into her. "She's gone, sweetheart. I took her back to the house," she explained while she hugged Henry tightly to her body as she kissed the top of his head.

"Regina, I don't know how to begin to thank you. Emma was completely out of her mind! She grabbed a knife from the kitchen and threatened Henry's life, so we stepped in and tried to reason with her, but then she just stabbed David like it was nothing! Her own father!" Mary Margaret recalled in shock.

"I don't even know how she got out of the house without me hearing her, but I assure you it won't happen again," Regina indicated. "Thank you for protecting Henry."

"Can you fix her?" Henry asked.

"I plan on trying my best. Mr. Gold gave me a potion to give her, but it's only solves part of the problem. I haven't quite figured out how to handle the rest."

"I don't understand; what else do you need to do?" Henry probed.

Regina looked over at David in confusion, but a slight shake of his head indicated that he didn't tell the boy anything. Taking a deep breath, she looked to Henry and explained, "Emma needs to decide where she wants to live for the rest of her life, whether that is here with us or in the other world with the alternate versions of us."

"But she said we're all dead. Why would she want that?"

"Even though she doesn't have you or her parents, she still has happiness with her brother August and…and me."

Henry scrutinized his mother. "But if you're alive and making her happy…what exactly are you to her in the other place?"

Regina felt her cheeks flush pink as she pursed her lips. "I'm…well I'm her wife, Henry."

The boy pondered the information for a moment before he shrugged indifferently. "That's cool. It makes sense anyway."

"What do you mean by that?" David asked as his curiosity was suddenly peaked.

"The savior should save everyone, including the Evil Queen. I used to think Emma and my mother were enemies, since that would be the ultimate hero ending, but then Mom changed and I don't know, it'd make more sense for them to be together as the happily ever after, wouldn't it?"

"I suppose it would," Regina surprisingly agreed to the shock of the other two adults. "Listen, I need to get back to the house. I'll visit you later, if that's alright with your grandparents."

"You're welcome here anytime," David offered before he held up a finger. "As long as the Evil Queen is left behind."

"She will be," the mayor replied. "I'm going to attempt to make Emma understand her choices and hopefully by tonight I can get her to make a decision. I'll let you know of the outcome."

"Regina," Mary Margaret started. "I know you and I have a lot of bad blood between us, but I also know that you wouldn't harm my daughter. David told me what Gold said and as difficult as it may be for me to accept that you are Emma's true love, I know that there is nothing that any of us could do to change that. So please, if you can convince her to stay in this world where she belongs, I promise you that I won't get in the way of whatever may come to pass between you and my daughter."

The mayor was stunned by Mary Margaret's willingness to accept her ties to Emma, but as Snow indicated, there was bad blood between them and Regina wasn't quite ready to pretend they were family, much less friends. The best she could offer the other woman was a curt nod before she pulled away from Henry and vanished in a purple cloud.


"Emma? Emma, open your eyes. Focus on me, sweetheart."

The sheriff blinked her eyes open and was surprised to find Regina hovering over her in an unfamiliar room. August stood silently beside her wife and she smiled at her brother before she realized she couldn't move her arms or legs. Her brow wrinkled in confusion as she tugged back and forth before the brunette laid a hand on her chest to cease her actions.

"You're strapped down for your own safety," Regina explained before she looked to the doctor on the opposite side of Emma. "Dr. Palmer is concerned with your frequent trips in and out of reality. It was different when you were catatonic and living in one world, but now you're awake in two realities and that's causing you to have severe sleep deprivation, which could lead to permanent damage in your brain."

"What are you talking about? What's going on, Gina?" Emma questioned as her voice wavered in fright.

"Dr. Palmer suggested we start a treatment regimen right away and I agreed to it. It'll help to stop your delusions and hopefully keep you lucid in this reality. Wouldn't you like that? To spend more awake time with me and your brother?"

"Let me go…please," Emma pleaded with her wife as she ignored her questions. "You're scaring me."

The savior could see the doctor and two nurses out of her peripheral vision, but she couldn't tell what they were doing. Regina's eyes swam with tears as the blonde struggled once again against the bindings.

"I'm sorry Emma, I really am, but this is for the best. I love you," Regina murmured as she briefly kissed her wife's forehead.

A nurse indicated to the brunette that they had to leave and Emma watched as her loved ones were escorted out of the room before her eyes flashed to the doctor that towered above her.

"Emma, I'm going to be honest with you. Most of the time we give patients a sedative before we do this procedure, but due to your recent events, you've exceeded your limit; anymore and we could risk putting you into a coma. Now, we've already injected a muscle relaxer, but you're going to have to tough this one out on your own and for that I am sorry, but it's the best chance we have to keep you somewhat stabilized," Dr. Palmer explained before he placed something cool against her temples.

"I don't understand? What are you going to do to me?"

"Have you ever heard of Electroconvulsive therapy or ECT, more commonly known as electroshock?"

The blonde's eyes widened and her breath hitched. "No, please don't do this!"

"I'm sorry Emma, but your wife has power of attorney and she signed off on it," Dr. Palmer stated before he pried the blonde's jaw open and stuck in a rubber mouthpiece. "Try not to think of the horrors you might have heard about ECT. It's actually come a long way and I'm certain that after two treatments a week for the next month, you'll be able to think more clearly and sleep better, without flipping between your two worlds of reality."

Tears leaked out from the corners of her eyes as she felt the prongs being placed against her temples. The sound of the machine whining up and the clicking of a dial being turned had Emma pleading through muffled sobs.

"I promise we'll use the sedative on the next round. Now, you're going to feel extreme pain, but I promise you it'll be brief. You should pass out when the seizure starts," Dr. Palmer reassured her before he nodded to a nurse to flip the switch.

A muffled scream tore from her throat as the electricity raced through her body in penetrating torrents. Her limbs contorted angrily against the restraints as her taunt muscles recoiled in pain. Within seconds, her body started to shake violently from the induced seizure and she mercifully blacked out.

"Emma! Come back to me!"

Her eyes snapped open in an instant before she drew in a lungful of air. Panic overwhelmed her entire being as she tore herself away from the woman beside her and flew to the corner of the room. Regina sat in stunned silence for a moment at the sheriff's actions before she got up and cautiously approached the savior's balled up form. She noticed that there was a circular red blotch on the younger woman's temple that she swore wasn't there a moment ago.

"Look at me, Miss Swan," Regina demanded as she watched the other woman shiver uncontrollably.

"N-n-no! You had me shocked! I c-c-can't trust you!" Emma stuttered out as sweat broke out along her hairline. "S-stay away f-f-from me!"

The mayor was speechless at the blonde's confession before she realized in disbelief that the marks on Emma's temples were from the other world. Biting back on the need to comfort the distraught woman, Regina managed to keep her cool as she got a little closer and softly murmured, "That wasn't me, Emma; that was your wife. You're back in Storybrooke."

Regina's words didn't have the desired effect she had hoped they would so she resorted to a different approach. Risking bodily injury, the mayor reached out and grabbed the blonde by the upper arms before she hauled up to her feet. Emma struggled at first against the brunette's grip, but she finally succumbed to the older woman and relaxed as she allowed Regina to take her hand and guide her down the stairs, leading the sheriff into the dining room.

"Stay here," the brunette ordered as she seated Emma at the dining room table.

She propped the swinging door open that led to the kitchen before she entered it and walked to the stove. Turning on the tea kettle, Regina went to work on making the concoction, putting two drops of each vial into a mug before sticking a teabag into it. She kept a watchful eye on the blonde in the other room, but Emma remained motionless in the chair.

The mayor couldn't help but feel like she was about to go into battle against her doppelganger as her eyes returned to the circular mark on the sheriff's temple. The idea that her alter ego had willingly allowed electric shock therapy made her realize that the other Regina was becoming more desperate to keep Emma alive in the other world, and that irked her to no end. For reasons unknown or reasons that she refused to believe, Regina knew she would be devastated if Emma decided to choose the other life.

The whistling of the tea kettle shook her from her reverie and she quickly poured the hot liquid into the prepared mug before she added a little milk and honey to sweeten it. Carrying the remedy carefully over to Emma's side, Regina placed it down in front of her before she sat beside the mute savior.

"I need you to listen to me and listen carefully," Regina started as she placed her hand upon Emma's arm. "Your symptoms are getting worse. This cup of tea will cure you of the delusions you are suffering from because of Cruella's spear and allow you the freedom to think with a rational mind, but there is a catch."

"There's always a catch," Emma mumbled in response without looking at the woman beside her.

Regina was relieved that the sheriff was actually paying attention before she explained, "You need to pick what reality you want to permanently reside in. Once you have made that decision, you need to seal it with a kiss."

Bloodshot eyes glanced at the mayor. "You're telling me that I can make a choice in what world I want to remain in?"

"Yes."

Emma pondered this for a moment before she asked, "What would happen to me, if I chose the other life?"

"You would remain in a catatonic state for the rest of your existence," Regina answered.

"Is that what would happen to me in the other world if I were to decide to stay here? Would I return to what I was before I woke up?"

"The other world is a delusion of your mind, so I would assume everything would disappear. However, if you want to believe that the other world is just as real as this one, then yes; I would assume you would suffer the same dilemma in that world as well."

"Is David okay?" she asked in a small voice.

"He's fine; I healed him," Regina stated.

"I don't know what to believe anymore," the younger woman confessed as she eyed the mug wearily. "Once I drink this, how long will I have to make a decision?"

"Twenty-four hours."

The sheriff glanced at the brunette with a suspicious glare. "Are you the person I have to kiss in order to seal the deal?"

"Yes," the mayor confessed. "Whether it is me in this reality or your wife in the other reality."

"Why you?"

"Do you really want to know that answer?" Regina challenged.

"I do."

The brunette sighed heavily before she muttered, "Apparently, you are my true love."

Laughter suddenly bubbled out of the other woman and Regina scoffed in frustration before she leaned back and crossed her arms.

"Of course you would find that funny," the mayor retorted.

"I'm not laughing because of the craziness of it, I'm laughing because it was the only answer I could come up with as to why you are my wife in the other world," Emma explained. "Of all people, it just made no sense that you would be my spouse...unless there was an underlying reason. True love; the only magic powerful enough to transcend realms."

Regina opened and closed her mouth a few times as she struggled with the unexpected emotions that Emma had conjured up. She finally cleared her throat before she murmured, "When you were in the Enchanted Forest, Dr. Whale brought my dead fiancé back to life, but he wasn't the same. The heart that Whale used turned Daniel into this horrible creature. He ended up attacking Dr. Whale and he almost killed Henry."

"Why am I just hearing about this now?" Emma questioned in slight anger.

"I'm sorry, did you want me to tell you this at Granny's when everyone was a breath away from stabbing me in the back, or when you were in the process of trying to murder your parents?"

Emma scoffed before she grumbled, "Continue, please."

"Daniel managed to fight through the darkness and for a few precious moments, I had my fiancé back. I told him I loved him and to stay with me, but he told me to let him go and to love again." Regina dropped her gaze to stare at the table before she continued, "At the time I didn't understand why he would say that to me, but now I think he might have known all along that he wasn't in fact my true love."

Emma stared at the brunette with widened eyes as she tried to find the right words to say, but nothing would come out. Regina took the blonde's silence as indication that she didn't reciprocate the blossoming affection that the mayor herself felt, so she roughly pushed the mug towards the sheriff and snapped, "Drink the tea and decide," before she abruptly stood up and left the room.

Confused by Regina's words and the conflicting feelings about which reality she should choose, Emma continued to sit there for what could've been hours, staring at the tea cup and wishing it would give her the answer as to what path to take. Finally, she came to the conclusion that she should just follow her heart.

Quickly downing the now-cold tea until it was gone, Emma took the empty cup to the kitchen and placed it in the dishwasher. She felt the magical tea start to work as both realities broke apart in her mind as separate entities, allowing her to look rationally at both worlds in order to make the right choice. She realized her decision to follow her heart was still the right path to take.

The blonde ignored the need to go look for Regina as she wordlessly made her way up to her bedroom. Closing the door, she rested the back of her head against it as she tried to quell the tears that threatened to spill. Her decision had been made, but now she had the difficult task of letting go.

It was time to say goodbye.