This is partially unedited. I don't have anyone to read behind me but I do my best.

Enjoy.

"I thought Emma was the one injury prone," Ruby said.

"She is. Which is why I'm always in the way now, I suppose." Regina flinched as the alcohol penetrated the claw wounds in her shoulder. The nurse froze, anxiety pulling at her features.

"Don't worry. Mayor Mills is harmless," Ruby said. Her hand almost collided with the shoulder in question and Regina gave her the glare of all glares. She muttered, "Sorry," before taking a step back.

The nurse didn't look too convinced and was tentative as she continued. Just in case Ruby wasn't telling the truth, she was quick – yet efficient – to finish. After ten minutes, she was hastily explaining what Whale had told her to, unsure if it was even necessary, and then handed over the prescription for some antibiotics and pain killers.

"I haven't seen anyone move that fast since Emma made Snow's toaster catch on fire," Ruby said as soon as the door closed behind the woman.

"Toaster?" Regina questioned.

"Yep. Emma was always destroying that thing whenever you two had a fight back before the curse broke. I'm probably not supposed to mention this but, I think destroying the toaster was her only way to work out her sexual frustration."

"I'm sure." Regina chuckled as she stood up from the examination table. Ruby held up her jacket so she could slip her arm though and gently rested the other end on her shoulder. "We should see if Emma got a name out of Mr. Cassidy. I'd like to get this Wicked Witch problem fixed."

"I'd take a dragon over all of this."

"I'd take common criminals over all of it," Regina said, walking out the door. Ruby followed behind her, both determined to make some progress with finding the Wicked Witch – as was the rest of the town.

Before they could make it anywhere near the room Neal was supposed to be in, Emma turned the corner at the nurses' station. The woman manning the station was wide eyed once they met in the middle of the hallway, both curious and unsettled.

"Hey. Are you supposed to be up and walking already?" Emma asked. Ruby smirked at the concern in her voice. Regina and Emma had been subjected to Ruby's teasing since they got together.

"It was just a scratch, Emma. I'm fine," Regina said.

"You were dangling in the air."

"And you prevented me from acquiring a concussion. I'm fine."

"Don't mind us. Just watching how cute you two are," Ruby said, leaning against the station. She had a hand digging through the small bowl of candies and the nurse there was staring at them too. No doubt listening to whatever commentary Ruby was giving her. "Much less nauseating than Snow and David."

"Shut up, Rubes," Emma said.

"What did you find out from Neal?" Regina asked.

"Not much. He was barely aware of anything. The last thing he remembers is me and Henry leaving town."

"A year ago?"

"Yeah. And then waking up here. He was too out of it, but…" Emma pulled out her phone and navigated to a picture. "I found that. It was on his hand."

Regina held the phone closer, narrowing her eyes at the photo. "Some kind of symbol…I don't recognize it."

Ruby moved next to Regina and looked from over her shoulder. "Don't know it. I haven't performed too many spells in my lifetime."

"I sent to it Belle to see if she knew it or could do some research," Emma said.

"Maybe send it to Tink, too," Ruby suggested. "Everyone finds Blue shady as hell so another more trustworthy fairy might be helpful."

Emma wiped her hand across her face and sighed. "Damn. I thought we had something. It's just more questions."

"I know it's frustrating, but we'll figure it out," Regina said, giving Emma her phone back. "It's safe to assume the Wicked Witch didn't just let Neal go. She's making mistakes. Soon enough, she will make a mistake we can use."

"Well, you're normally always right." Her phone vibrated in her hand and she read the message. "It looks like Robin and his guys found some new tracks in the woods near the town line. I'm going to go check it out."

Regina nodded and Emma leaned into her, sharing a kiss. Short and sweet before Ruby found a reason to start talking again.

"I'll go relieve Archie of his Henry watching duties. He barely gets to see us during the day," Regina said.

"True. You have a year's worth of catching up to do. How about you Ruby?"

"Uh, here and there. Snow wanted me to come by and Tink and Belle might need some help with their research. Call if you need me though."

Taking the shield down was quite simple. Something Regina was obviously aware of and had planned to quietly take it down before putting herself under. And if it hadn't been for the damn pirate – who meant well – all of this would've been over already.

She sat down, looking at the deep blue of the sky. A small part of her missed this place. Without Storybrooke there would be no Emma and Henry to be her world but here there was still something to love even when she made it difficult for herself. Her father. Rocinante. Daniel.

If she couldn't have her love and her son, then a satisfying end would be here. Even if it wasn't truly an end.

Regina brought the sharp point near her finger and exhaled. "May I be given the mercy of dreaming of you."

The point was wisp away from breaking the skin, when something just as sharp managed to slide between her ring and middle finger. It grazed the skin there, causing a fast trickle of blood to stain her right hand as she dropped the pin.

Regina stood up, quickly turning behind her. Killian stood there, having left his boots behind just to find a way to get out of her charm. Instinct was to be furious with him and magically fling him aside but he was her friend and she was so tired now.

He appeared to be upset by her choice. His hands were far from steady on the bow and arrow.

"Don't do this," he said in a whisper. "I can't let you-"

"It's not your choice. It's mine."

"Why?"

"We've already discussed this."

"I don't know what you've done to me since Neverland but…I care for you. I love you. You're the greatest friend I've ever had. And I don't deserve it. But don't do it. You're breaking my heart, Mills."

"Yeah, well…join the club, Jones," Regina said, turning back around.

She waved a hand and he disappeared in purple smoke, his protests and pleads unheard.

"So much despair," a voice said from behind her. "It's too bad I can't let you do that. First I have to take everything from you and then you die."

Regina turned once again, sleeping curse forgotten. Challenge accepted.

"Who the hell are you?"

"Fuck me." Emma groaned, letting out the breath she had completely forgotten about. Shamefully, it might have also been the reason why she came so fast this time but Regina didn't care.

Regina rubbed soothing circles with her thumbs into Emma's waist as she pressed her lips to the damp thighs on either side of her head. She felt muscles jump under her touch.

"I thought I already did." Regina murmured. She kissed too close to her sex and Emma trembled, still sensitive from the second climax Regina had pushed her into. "Round three, my love?"

"No, no. That was good." Emma sighed. "Fantastic."

"That's a new one," Regina said. She moved up Emma's body kissing her way up until their noses were brushing together. Emma initiated a deep kiss before she slumped down further into the bed as Regina laid down next to her. "I've had 'good, great, and amazing' but not fantastic."

"You are fantastic. Very, very fantastic," she said. "How did I get so lucky?"

"I tried to poison you."

"Now I remember." Emma leaned over and lingered in kiss before Regina got up from the bed. "You're lucky you have a nice ass or I would've held a grudge."

Regina winked at her with smirk. She disappeared into the bathroom; her smirk fell away as soon as the door clicked behind her. With a pained grimace, magic shimmered over her shoulder, chest, and arm. She braced herself against the counter and stared at her reflection.

The glamour she'd been using was suddenly starting to drain her more than it should have. It easily could've been because she'd spent the last few hours in bed with Emma but it was too strong to just be that. Until she could figure out what it was, no one could know about the actual damage the attacks were causing her body. Especially when she had no clue who the Wicked Witch was.

Trusting Emma was easy but she was far too protective not to focus on finding the enemy if she discovered this. For now they were terribly unattractive eyesores – green tendrils spider webbing from the wounds. But if they were behind the energy drain it would become an extreme problem. A battle was likely to come and magic plaguing her internal wouldn't do. Her shoulder and chest she remembered vividly but her arm she could recall, which obviously meant it happened during the missing year.

Hopefully, there was a clue to unveil from it.

"Regina?"

Another shimmer put the glamour back in place and she grabbed her robe from the opposite wall. She quickly went through the medicine cabinet for some painkillers and stepped out.

Emma was looking at her phone. When she looked up, she grinned at the bottle in Regina's hand. "I thought you could keep up, Gina. Maybe you should stretch next time."

"You want to sleep in the guest room?" Regina raised an eyebrow, sitting down next to Emma.

Before Emma could respond, her phone chimed in her hand. She opened her text messages finding quite a few new messages. "Oh shit." She muttered. Regina swallowed three aspirins and looked at Emma's screen. "Neal is awake…and my dad is acting weird." They exchanged frowns. "Both are urgent."

"How is Charming acting weird?" Regina asked. "Is Snow in danger?"

"She said he's not a danger, just weird. We should split up, I guess. Do you mind going to check out my parents? I'll go see Neal."

"I can do that." Regina agreed.

"Great." Emma started to untangle herself from the sheets and pecked Regina on the cheek. "Thank you, babe."

Regina gave a tight lipped smile as Emma walked into the bathroom and she reached for the aspirin again.

Ruby paused her conversation with Tinkerbell when Emma appeared from around the corner. She looked out of breath and Ruby bit her lip to keep from snickering. Tinkerbell rolled her eyes and elbowed her.

"Stop it," Tinkerbell said.

"She still has the sex hair." Ruby whispered and schooled her features as Emma came up to them.

"Sorry it's so late," Tinkerbell said. "I just figured you wanted to know about Bae…Neal. Sorry."

"It's fine," Emma said.

"Did you run here?" Ruby asked.

"No...yes and no. The elevator was too slow."

"He can't run away. Were you busy?"

"Ruby." Tinkerbell scolded.

"Is this a wolf thing?" Emma questioned.

"Pheromones are strong."

"I took a shower," Emma said with a frown and took a step back. "Stop sniffing me."

Ruby shrugged, still holding back a laugh. That woman was going to drive her crazy. Emma shook her head and headed towards Neal's room.

She knocked and waited until she heard him grant her entrance from the other side. Not very expectant of anything, Emma was still surprised to find that he was just as Ruby had texted her. She was awake but not much else.

"Neal," Emma said, closing the door behind her.

"Hey, Em." He greeted her.

"You look like shit."

He chuckled, attempting to sit up straighter in the hospital bed. However, there was not much he could do to fix the pallor of his skin or the red around his eyes. The scuff he'd grown in the last year helped only a little to make him not look so tired.

"Thanks."

"How's everything?"

"Your crazy doctor said there's nothing medically wrong with me. I'm going through monkey withdrawal. He thinks I'll be fine."

"Well, in that case…Regina should come check on you. I wouldn't trust Whale with a bandaid."

Neal laughed – fuller this time. But his laugh turned into a coughing fit. Emma reached out to him, a cup of water appeared in her hand. He accepted it as he tried to force the coughs down to a tamable itch in his throat. A 'thank you' was muttered and Emma sat down on the edge of his bed.

"Have you seen my father?" Neal asked.

"No. You're the first person we've fought. Dwarves are missing. Your father. Killian went looking for you but he never came back."

"Killian," Neal said.

Emma watched his eyes flash. At first it was like he was remembering something, which was good because she needed him to tell her who the hell the Wicked Witch was, but then they literally flashed. They flashed a bright green, yellow color and back again. The flicker became rapid and he started to cough again.

"Neal?" Emma touched his shoulder. "Neal, what's happening?"

"Papa…Killian…Henry…"

"Neal." She took his face in her hands to force him to look at her. "Neal, who is the Wicked Witch? I need to know now."

"It's…"

"Who is it?"

Neal grabbed her arms and suddenly her vision was filled with images and scenes. Belle and Killian. Her parents. Ruby. Gold. Regina. A lot of the Enchanted Forest but nothing too revealing. Neal let out a pained cry and Emma saw Killian and Neal reuniting somewhere near the town line. They were hugging and then Killian was flying across the town line. Then Gold was on the spinning wheel.

"What do you want?" Neal asked.

"Oh, you'll see soon enough. She'll pay."

A hand grasped his chin.

They were looking into green eyes.

Emma jerked out of Neal's grip and they both tumbled off the bed. Neal landed hard on the floor and Emma crashed into a metal tray.

"No." She whispered. "Neal?"

"You have to stop her. Go." He turned to her with a wild look in his eyes. Another transformation seemed to be battling inside of him. "Go, Emma."

Emma nodded, pressing the call button with shaky hands. Nurses rushed in not a moment later, followed by Ruby and Tinkerbell. Emma took out her phone brushing by them quickly.

"Emma! What happened?" Ruby questioned. "Did he tell you something?"

"It's Zelena."

Snow yelped at Regina's sudden arrival in the loft. She put a hand over her heart and let out a relieved sigh. Regina raised an eyebrow as she brushed her hands against her blazer, wincing at the twinge in multiple places on her torso.

"Oh, good. That was fast," Snow said.

Regina glanced over to Zelena at the counter. She hadn't met her officially and she wasn't around too often, which Regina could appreciate. According to Ruby and a few others she was very intense. Regina didn't do other people's intensity – that's how you get cursed.

"Mom?" Henry came down from the loft.

"Henry, what are you doing awake? It's well beyond your bedtime," Regina said.

"Grandpa is being weird."

"Honey, your mother had to get it from somewhere."

"Not that kind of weird," Snow said with a frown. "He's…I'm not sure how to describe it."

"Are you sure it isn't just baby jitters?" Zelena asked, wrapping her hands tighter around her mug of tea.

"I've seen jitters," Snow said. She turned to Regina. "This is something else."

"Well, where is he?" Regina sighed.

She was learning to tolerate the Charmings because her relationship with Emma wouldn't exist for long if she didn't get along with them at all. If she was honest, David was the easiest of the two to befriend. Snow was still a bit too irritating to be buddies with. At this point she would do anything for the four of them but Snow and David were at arms' length for her own sanity.

"David, can you come down? Regina is here."

There were tentative steps and the usually composed man Regina was familiar with was not who she saw. Whatever version of David this was looked jumpy and quite the opposite of brave and noble.

Regina raised an eyebrow and folded her arms over her chest. "This is new," she said.

David looked up and over to her. When his eyes connected with hers, he stumbled over his own feet, ducking to find cover behind the stairs. Snow sighed, giving Regina a pleading look.

"I don't know how to fix that." Snow whispered.

"It's her," David said in a stage whisper. Henry frowned at his grandfather, giving an almost identical eyebrow raise to the one Regina sports quite often. "It's the Queen."

"Grandpa, it's just mom," Henry said.

Regina approached him and he kept his distance. Every step she took, he took several in the opposite direction. Okay, so it wasn't just the Charmings' kind of weird. It was abnormal and odd. Not once in David's lifetime did he ever cower in fear of her or the Evil Queen. He was cockier and stupidly braver with every encounter. This person before her wasn't that same David – Prince Charming.

"David, what's the problem?" Regina asked, ceasing her advance. "Do you know what time it is? We should all be asleep right now."

"You're the Evil Queen. Just stay back," David said. He hopped up on the bed, shadowing Regina. Henry dropped his face in his hand, both finding it amusing and ridiculous, because he actually was tired. "She'll destroy us all."

"You know me, Charming. I'm Regina, the Mayor." He didn't react to that. "Well, what is a tall, stout man like you doing running from me?"

"You're the Evil Queen."

"I'm going to take a guess and say that he's cursed or under some sort of spell," Regina said. "But the only way I'm going to be sure of that, is if he comes down."

"David, please come down," Snow said.

"It's a safe space. We're all friends here," Zelena said.

David turned to Zelena with a strange look before he finally stepped down from the bed. He stepped up to Regina and leaned in close to her. She was startled when he put his hands on her shoulders. And it was uncomfortable how intensely he was staring at her.

Before Regina could say anything, her phone started vibrating in her jacket. She glanced up at David but answered the call anyway.

"You couldn't have picked a better time to call, Miss Swan," Regina said.

"Regina, listen to me very carefully."

"What's wrong?" Regina questioned, hearing the panic and edge in her voice.

"Zelena. It's Zelena."

The way Regina bristled could be felt through out the apartment. "Are you sure?" she asked.

"Yes."

"She'll destroy us all." David whispered as he finally let go of her shoulders.

She cleared her throat and gathered as much of her composure as she could. It was the worst time to figure any of this out. She was aching in far too many places for her liking. However, she did thrive in high risk situations if the past was any indications. But Henry was present, and Snow was pregnant. Priority was protection not confrontation.

"Thank you for letting me know. I'll call you back, my love."

"Regina? Regina!"

Emma looked down at her phone, the screen letting her know the call had just ended. She didn't like the calmness in Regina's voice before she hung up. Every bone in her body was telling her something was going on.

Worst case scenario, Zelena was there and literally everyone she loved and cared about was in that apartment with her. What was even more serious than that is that it was obvious Zelena had it out for Regina with the way the flying monkeys were always attacking her.

She booked it fast down the corridor and still not getting any closer to her car. Regina had told her magic was emotion, but her emotions didn't seem to fuel her magic like it did back in Neverland. She tried to feel her worry and anger strong enough to teleport herself to the loft but every second of her attempts garnered no results.

"Fuck, fuck…" Emma fumbled with her keys, jamming them into the ignition the moment she got inside. She closed her eyes for a moment with the intention of getting herself together enough to drive to the apartment. But she closed her eyes and thought of only Regina's eyes and she felt instantly light and warm.

When she opened her eyes again, she wasn't in her car any longer.

She was standing in her parents' apartment building at the landing before theirs. Regina was slumped against the bottom step, pushing herself into a sitting position against the wall. Emma knelt down, with her hands immediately reaching out for Regina's face. The other woman's daze cleared up with the comforting hands on either side of her face.

"Are they safe?" Regina asked.

"Mom?" Henry called from the top of the stairs. Her parents followed behind him.

"Yeah. Thanks to you," Emma answered. She gave Henry a weak thumbs up before she gently pulled Regina into a hug.

It was so protective and worrying and Regina hugged her back partly only to reassure her. She always appreciated those embraces with the rough days she'd been having lately but this time she couldn't really think about anything other than why the hell her body hurt so much from that hug?