Regina picked up Henry at Snow's place and drove home in silence mostly. Her thoughts were on the conversation she had just had with the two Emmas.
"Is everything ok?" Henry asked her.
She looked over at him, thinking about what it would be like for him when she died in the not-so-distant future.
"I'm fine," she said giving him a smile.
"But you and Emma didn't work anything out?"
Emma had taken him to Snow's and had told him that his moms were getting together to try and work out their issues.
"We're trying," she said.
They got home and Regina told Henry she was turning in early. She went upstairs and sat on the edge of the bed. She was going to die. That was inevitable, but having someone saying that it would happen soon was another thing all together.
She thought about what she had been told.
"My death," Regina said with more than a little skepticism.
"Yes," future Emma said.
"And when is my death supposed to happen?"
"Within a year or so,"
"That is really specific."
"Would you like to sit down so we can talk about it?" Emma asked, hoping her wife would say yes.
"I'll stand thank you," she said crossing her arm. "Tell me, if you are from the future how did you get back here?"
She had already been told by present Emma that the future version had been less than forthcoming about how she had returned.
"I used the portal. It's still there in my time. It's useless unless you can activate it with the right magic."
"What kind of magic would that be?"
"Dark magic,"
Regina looked at the younger Emma. "Things must change rather rapidly if the daughter of Snow White and Prince Charming decided to dabble in dark magic."
"It wasn't my magic. It was Gold's magic. I made a deal with him in order to get back here to try and prevent this from happening. Look, I would really feel better if you took a seat and stopped looking at me like I am her," she said pointing at her younger counterpart. "I understand that she hurt you with what she did in the past, but my concern is your future."
"Let me make something clear," Regina said. "I don't trust her, which means I don't trust you. If anything I may trust you even less. Now tell me how is it that I die?"
"You were shot."
Regina took a step back. Somehow hearing she would was going to die was less shocking than hearing that she was going to be shot. That seemed like such a mundane way to die. She had been a queen. Queens didn't get shot.
This time she did take a seat and she was surprised when future Emma took a seat somewhat close to her on the couch.
"I am sure this is a little overwhelming," future Emma said as she resisted the urge to take Regina's hand. "The whole point of me being back here is to prevent it from happening though."
"If my death is within the next year, why are you back here at this moment in time?"
"I don't know," she lied. "All I know is I asked it to take me back to where things went wrong and it brought me here. There must be something I can do here to prevent the future tragedy."
Regina may not have Emma's internal lie detector but she sensed she wasn't being given the exact truth. One look at the present day Emma was nearly enough go confirm it. She noticed the present Emma seemed to keep her distance from her counterpart and didn't seem at all pleased that she was here. Obviously she had been here a couple of days, and she wondered what exactly future Emma had told the younger version.
"Who shot me?"
The two Emmas had gone back and forth about what to tell Regina. The one thing they could agree on was to not mention the suicide.
"I don't know," she lied. "I um I wasn't able to find out who did it in my time. That is why I am here."
Regina seemed to think about it.
"I get that you don't trust me, but all I want is to prevent this from happening," she said, this time taking Regina's hand. She felt the smooth skin of her wife's hand. How many times had she held on to this hand? How many times had she kissed it? And she wouldn't be able to do that again if she didn't succeed here in the past. "I need you to be ok and I will do whatever it takes to ensure that."
The rest of the conversation went no where. Future Emma wouldn't give specifics, and younger Emma remained silent. Regina finally lost her patience and told them she needed to get home that she would think about it and talk to them later. She asked present Emma to walk her out to her car.
"I gather that you aren't quite buying this story," Regina said to her. "Why not?"
"I don't trust her."
Interesting, Regina thought. "Why don't you trust her? She is after all you."
"You are the one who says I don't think about the consequences of my actions."
"True, but it's something other than that."
Emma looked away. One of the things she had been adamant about was that future Emma not tell Regina about their marriage or their relationship. It had set off a big argument, but she got her way after giving up a concession – no sleeping with Killian.
"I am not saying that what she is saying is not true, but just her being back here is messing with our timeline isn't it?"
"Oh, so now you suddenly care about messing with a timeline. Why do you care all of a sudden? What did she tell you that she didn't tell me up there?"
Emma knew she was taking a risk, but she needed Regina to be on her side. "In this future, Henry hates me apparently because of you being dead. So you can listen to her say she cares about what happens to you all you want, but the bottom line is if it weren't for Henry she wouldn't be here. She's trying to get back in his good graces that is all. Believe or not, I don't want you to die either and not just for Henry's sake. I think as long as we have enough information about it we can prevent it and there will be no reason for any large scale interference on her part."
"I see," Regina said. "Well like I said, I don't trust her nor you. But we do need to keep her impact here at a minimum."
"Maybe you can find a way to send her back home."
"Maybe," Regina said thoughtfully. "I will have to give it some thought. In the meantime do what you can to keep her inside. We don't need two of you running around."
"Thank you, I've been trying to get her to see that, but she won't listen to me."
Regina sat on her bed thinking it through. One thing she didn't doubt was that she was indeed dead. Shot to death by someone, but who?
She didn't want Henry to have to go through something like that. Maybe present Emma was right, if they had enough information to prevent it then they could do it without future Emma interfering with the timeline much.
She thought back to Emma taking her hand as they sat on the couch. When she had done so her first instinct was to move her hand, but in an instant it was gone. She didn't know why but she felt the gesture was comforting and felt an absence when she did finally move from it. She couldn't explain why she felt that way, only that she did.
And the way future Emma looked at her was also unsettling. She didn't look at her like how she was used to seeing from Emma. No, this Emma looked at her with a sense of expectation in her eyes like she was hoping or wishing for something that only Regina could deliver. There was sadness there too as whatever it was that Emma was hoping for wasn't delivered.
Still, this Emma looked at her like they weren't adversaries.
The two Emmas were the same yet different, and definitely at odds with each other. She didn't think either one was telling her the entire truth.
There was another purpose for Emma taking her hand, which only provided further proof that each Emma was working toward her own goals. She pulled out the small note Emma had slipped her when taking her hand.
"555-7647. We need to talk in private."
She got out her phone and texted to the number. "When and where?"
Her phone buzzed back almost immediately. "Tonight. Midnight. Home."
She assumed by home, Emma had meant the mansion. She merely texted back ok. Now all she had to do was wait and find out what it was that the future Emma had to say that she didn't want the younger one knowing.