A/N: So sorry for the long delay. I love the new dog, but adjusting to him has been really exhausting. Thanks for being so patient!
Emma: Enchanted Forest
Emma waited, leaning against the bars, but Hook was far too busy flirting with the brunette in the next cell to notice her. Well, trying to flirt. The other woman was clearly having none of it.
"I always knew I'd find you behind bars someday," Emma finally said. She was growing impatient, wanting to get this over with. Wanting to get back upstairs to Regina, mostly. "I just always imagined I'd be the one who put you there."
"Swan," Hook said, pleased, abandoning his neighbor and making his way towards the front of the cell. "I knew you'd spring me."
"Not why I'm here." Emma couldn't help smirking at him for a moment, but then she went serious. "What did you say to Regina?"
Hook rolled his eyes. "I didn't have to say much. Seems your Queen has always been touchy." Emma fixed him with a glare. "You as well, I see. I didn't tell her all your secrets, if that's what you're asking. I only told her that you have secrets."
"You shouldn't have done that."
"Do you think she'll still want you when she knows who your mother is?" Hook teased.
Emma grabbed a fistful of leather and yanked Hook up to the bars. "My mother is younger than I am right now. She'd never believe you."
But how could she be angry with him, when she knew she had to tell Regina? If she was going to stay here longer, she needed to come clean. And if she left…
"Listen," she said, letting the pirate go. "Just keep quiet for a few more days, okay? I can't walk away right now."
Hook laughed darkly at her. "You think you're going to walk away at all? How many times do I have to tell you that she's different here? If you get in any deeper, she's never going to let you go."
"I can hold my own." Emma held out her hand and closed her eyes, suddenly feeling a weight in her palm. When she opened her eyes, Hook's namesake appendage was in her hand, and he was gaping at her.
"You have your magic back?" he asked far too loudly, and Emma motioned for him to be quiet. "What the hell are we still doing here?"
Emma slipped the hook through the bars so the pirate could replace it. "I'm not ready yet."
Hook arched an eyebrow. "This from the woman who dragged me to Neverland to save her son? Don't you want to get home to the lad?"
Emma was quiet, the guilt creeping over her again. Henry must be worrying about her. They all were probably worrying about her, and here she was putting herself first. Chasing a dream that would never be anything more.
"This is about her, then," Hook said after a pause. "You don't want to go back to our time and see Robin Hood's hands all over her."
Emma really hoped that she wasn't quite that transparent. But before she could respond, the woman in the neighboring cell came up to the bars. "Robin Hood?" she asked. "I'm…" she lowered her voice to a barely audible whisper. "I'm his wife."
Emma just stared at her, eyes wide. Hook smiled. "Well, Swan, there you have it. Save the lady and have Regina all to yourself."
The blonde stood there in silence, putting the pieces together. So this was Marian, Robin's long-dead wife, Roland's mother. Putting a stop to her execution would mean she'd never died, would mean Robin never would have spared Regina a glance.
"No," Emma said firmly, despite a pang of guilt at the idea of letting this woman die. "I couldn't do that to Regina. She's finally happy, and she deserves it." She turned and hurried away, not wanting to look Marian in the eyes.
She would have to take away one Regina's happiness when she left, but she wasn't going to betray her twice. And then she turned the corner and nearly collided with this realm's Regina, who looked as though she felt betrayed enough already.
"We should talk," Emma said before the Queen could even open her mouth. "There's a lot I need to tell you."
Regina stared at her for a second, and then she disappeared.
Regina: Enchanted Forest
"You told me yourself that time travel is impossible," Regina said as she paced across the floor one more time. Suddenly, her legs didn't seem to work anymore, her feet glued to the spot, and she shot Rumplestiltskin a glare.
"How am I supposed to think when you're clomping around in those heels?" he said by way of explanation. "And yes, time travel is impossible. But you forget, dearie, that I can also see the future."
Regina crossed her arms over her chest, not softening her gaze one bit. "What do you see?"
"You and this Emma in another realm. One I've never seen before."
"The only thing that tells me is that she's from another realm," the Queen scoffed. "Why should I believe she's from another time?"
"Oh, many things." Rumple stepped closer to her, stroking his fingers down Regina's cheek. "The wrinkles, for one. You don't age well."
"That's a lie," a third voice said, and both Regina and Rumple looked toward it in alarm. They always cloaked the room when they met, and in all the years they'd been working together no one had ever disturbed them. But Emma had penetrated the impenetrable spell. "You're even more beautiful in the future."
Regina refused to blush or even smile in Rumple's presence, holding herself rigid and regal. "What are you doing here?"
"Tracking spell," Emma said with a small smile of her own. "You'll teach it to me, and I'll be terrible at it. But you always say that my magic is strongest when I'm feeling something, when I need something." She took a few steps closer, and Regina wouldn't have paid any attention to the subtle move of the blonde's hand had the tug on her shoes not lifted. "I needed to find you."
Rumple turned his predatory gaze on Emma. "You didn't tell me you had magic."
"I thought you could see the future," she replied a bit smugly. "Anyway, I didn't. Not until we…"
Regina gave her a warning look. There were some things Rumple didn't need to know.
"I can't explain how she managed to travel here," Rumple continued. "But if she has magic, she can reverse the original spell." A wand materialized in his hand, and he held it out to Emma. "As promised."
Before Regina could even process what she was doing, she reached out and snatched the wand. But it wasn't as comforting as she expected to hold Emma's fate in her hand. She wanted Emma to stay with her so badly, despite the lies the blonde had told her, but she didn't want to force her hand.
The Queen just wanted everything so much. First, she wanted Rumplestiltskin gone. That part was easy. What she wanted from Emma was a much more complicated matter.
It was Emma who convinced Rumple to leave, while Regina just focused on the weight of the wand in her hand and not letting herself cry. She stared at the far end of the room, eyes blurry with the tears she was trying to fight.
"I know you," Emma said softly, and Regina blinked a few times to see Rumple gone. "In the future. I know you there. I love you there. You don't love me back, and when I saw you here, I thought I had a chance."
Regina looked down at the wand, not wanting to hold Emma's intense gaze any longer. "I'm sure it's not your fault. I don't love anyone, not anymore."
Emma stepped closer, skimming her fingers over Regina's hair. And then the blonde pressed a hand over Regina's heart, and the Queen froze, snapping her eyes back up. Love is weakness, she reminded herself as she braced herself for Emma's hand to slip inside her. For the first person she'd allowed herself to feel anything for in so many years to kill her.
"Hey." Emma gave her a slight smile. "I'm not going to take it. It's yours to give, and you will give it again someday."
Regina took a shaky breath, surprised that the flesh between her heart and Emma's hand remained solid. "I'm not alone?" she asked, her voice barely more than a whisper. Was it really possible that her future could hold more than her reign of terror? That happiness was out there?
"You have a family," Emma said with a tinge of sadness. "A soulmate or whatever."
Regina took the hand that was resting over her heart and pulled it away from her chest before pressing the wand into it. If things were going to be better, maybe she could give Emma up. But the blonde didn't seem pleased to have her ticket home. "You are," she realized aloud. "You're alone."
Emma glanced down at the wand and then back at Regina. "I have to go home, but can I pretend I'm not alone for just a little longer?"
The Queen nodded, closing the half-step between them and kissing Emma.
Regina: Storybrooke
"Hey, Mom." Henry stood by the door of the study, just returning from dinner with his grandparents. "Are you okay?"
Regina glanced up from her uncharacteristically messy desk – a combination of magic books and papers from work – and offered Henry a smile. "I'm fine, Henry. Why wouldn't I be?"
The boy shifted his weight from one foot to the other, looking a bit sheepish. "I know I said I didn't want Robin living here, but that doesn't mean I wanted you to break up with him. I want you to be happy."
Regina got up from her desk, abandoning her work for the night. "I broke up with him for my own reasons," she assured her son. "Robin wasn't going to make me happy."
Henry looked skeptical, and Regina supposed she couldn't blame him. Yet she didn't know how she could possibly explain all that had happened since Emma had appeared in her memories.
"There's still love out there for me," she said, surprised to be saying those words. Surprised that they were true. "There's a family for both of us. I just need to wait a little longer."
"I hope so."
Can I pretend I'm not alone for just a little longer? Regina could see the pain in Emma's eyes, and she shared her past self's desire to pull her closer. She understood now why Emma hadn't returned to them immediately, but she hoped Henry's other mother did soon. Regina could make sure that Emma was never alone again. And if she offered that, maybe Emma wouldn't feel the need to run off to New York. "I know so, Henry," she told him, both her voice and her eyes far away. In the past where she was forgiving Emma, in the future where she was holding Emma once again… She wanted to be anywhere but now.
As soon as Henry retreated to his room, Regina pulled out her phone. She dialed Tink's number with a bit of dread, not wanting to admit this out loud, not wanting to give the fairy that satisfaction. But there was no one else to turn to.
"Hi, Regina."
Regina had made the call sitting at her desk, but as soon as she heard Tink's voice she was on her feet and circling the room. "You're a terrible fairy," she blurted out. It was so much easier to go on the offensive.
"Good evening to you, too. What have I done this time?"
"I was never supposed to be with Robin," she said, pausing by the window. "We're totally incompatible."
"You've been just fine together for weeks," Tink pointed out. "And you were supposed to be together. At that point in time, at least. But as you've seen, time is a complicated matter."
"Could you do the spell again?" Regina asked breathlessly. Yes, that was the safest option. "Could you find out who I'm meant to be with now?"
Tink sighed loudly into the phone. "Regina, you've never been one to sit still and let destiny happen to you. You don't need magic to tell you who to love."
"I know, but…"
Tink cut her off. "You have until she comes back to sort out your feelings, but I'm pretty sure you already know."
Regina closed her eyes, feeling the ghost of Emma's kiss. "I can see myself with her. Not just in memories but for a long time to come."
