A/N: Hi. Here's the next chapter. Thanks to gimalh for helping me out and listening to me rant and whine about it.
Heart clenching in pure, and unbridled, agony Regina couldn't help but slam her fist into the wall. With such force that it slid through the wall like butter. Her fist had collided a mere inch from the mirror she had been spying through. Seeing the woman she loves heart in that condition. Truthfully the woman had never felt such pain before. Tears ran like a river down her cheeks as she collapsed to the floor, contorting her body into a ball. Completely unable to keep it in anymore.
That sort of damage. That wasn't something that Regina would ever be able to cure with a kiss, even with true love's kiss. They had already kissed. Now she knew why Emma hadn't been cured, why the kiss hadn't ended with a magical smoke filled air. Emma's heart loved her still, it always would, but the blonde had fucked it up to try and cut the object of her love out.
From where Regina stood, metaphorically of course, it appeared that the daughter of Snow White had succeeded in the endeavor. Emma had cut her out of her heart. So, the once Evil Queen continued to do the only thing she could in this situation. She continued to hold herself and cry, alone on her floor, until her son came home. Slamming the door behind him.
Only when his feet began to stomp up the staircase did she peel herself off the floor, standing on wobbly legs, heading to the restroom to wash her mascara stained face. Once she was presentable she headed to Henry's room, meeting him with her trademark fake mayoral smile superglued onto her face.
Ever since they had met all those years before, on the streets hungry and alone, Tia had done her best to protect her best friend. The three of them, they'd never hurt each other. Never betray each other, sure now and again they'd lose contact but all three knew that they'd die for each other. No questions asked. They had gone through similar shit, unwanted, unloved. Together they had found want, found love. And that was what made them family.
Knowing that what she was about to do could make her lose Emma forever hurt, it cut so deep that Tia was certain that if Emma couldn't forgive her, if her brother couldn't forgive her, that she wasn't sure if she could survive it. However, she knew that she had to do something. And Gold was on her side. They couldn't do this alone anymore.
Climbing into the SUV alone had been difficult. Harder than lying to Tony and Emma. They thought she was going to help Gold with some research before getting groceries. Instead she was going to meet the dark one at the mayor's house. Gripping the steering wheel she stared out at the road for a good twenty minutes before she could even put the key in the ignition.
Mifflin street, that was the street the man had told her to find. He was going to meet her at Regina's house at four o'clock. She had left early, knowing that she would take forever to leave, and that she sucked with directions. Not to mention should she need to turn around a few times as she still didn't want to do this. As understanding it was for the best and wanting to do it were monumentally separate things.
Of course the woman didn't get very far before she had to slam on her breaks. Forehead slamming into steering wheel with a sickening thwack. She had been caught between two cars. Before Tia could even comprehend what was happening David's fist was slamming through the window.
Growling as he tried to unlock the already unlocked door. Then, not caring that Tia was bleeding and obviously confused as fuck, dragged the woman out the door. The woman she recognized as Snow shoved tape over her mouth before a black pillowcase over her face, and then her hands were tied to keep her from continuing her attempt to beat the living shit out of them.
Unable to move her hands, or see, Tia tried to shout to no avail so she settled on kicking wildly. No one listened to her, they shoved her forward before just picking her up and literally tossing her onto a hard metal surface. She assumed it was the truck that had come to an immediate stop in front of her SUV. As they drove she rolled around the back. Slamming painfully against the sides.
Whomever the fuck was driving was going fast, and carelessly. Taking hard corners and basically doing everything they could to make sure to make the process as painful as possible for Tia. After a few minutes the truck stopped and she was being dragged out, dropped to the hard cement ground with no care, before being yanked to her feet and led into the house.
"We captured the whore trying to escape" Snow said as David yanked the hood off of Tia's angry, and bloody, face. Regina looked completely appalled. As did Ruby and Belle. "We brought her here, we can beat what we need after her." She said as she shoved Tia to her knees.
The librarian dug her hands into her lover's shoulders as she whimpered and clung to her. Burying her face in her chest. Ruby glared at Snow as she wrapped her arms around her girlfriend. This was completely unacceptable. Had she known this was happening she wouldn't have come to crash Regina and Granny's lunch. The only reason she had was because the charming idiots had said there was something important. To meet here.
The elderly woman pushed Snow away from Tia, before untying Tia's hands. Snow complained and huffed at her actions, but the look Ruby gave her kept her from attacking Granny. With a sad look the woman ripped the tape from Tia's mouth. Who shot a glare at the idiots as she rubbed her sore lips.
"First of all, I was heading DEEPER into town. I wasn't trying to escape, I wouldn't ever do that without my brother and Emma. What I was trying to do was find Regina's house." Her words were growled out, accompanied by a deep, unforgiving, glare. "And I ain't gonna say what I have to say in front of you two after what you done. So I am going to sit right here until Rumple arrives and makes everyone sign a fucking contract. Stupid cuntfuckers" She growled as she jerked out of David's hold and sat in a chair. Crossing her arms.
"You will tell us now you worthless girl" Growled David as he took a few menacing steps forward, preparing to punch Tia. Quick as a flash Ruby had let go of her nearly sobbing love and stepped in front of him. Puffing out her chest, stopping him. Tia couldn't help but smirk at the look on David's face.
Loud fighting ensued. However, in the end it was Regina, Ruby, Granny, and Belle against the idiot charmings. So they huffed, crossed their arms, and sat on the couch and waited impatiently for Rumplestiltskin to arrive. They looked so angry that Tia wasn't the only one surprised steam didn't come out of their ears.
"We refuse to sign this atrocity. I am a Queen. This is simply outrageous" Snow growled after Rumple had shown up with a contract stating that Tia would tell Granny, Ruby, Regina, and Belle something. But they could never tell the idiots without Emma's written, and verbal, permission.
"Then I simply won't tell them what they need to know. Which means you will forever be on the outside of the barrier. While the woman who doesn't claim you as her parents is forever on the inside" So she might be rubbing it in just a little, but Tia was super pissed off about the whole abduction thing.
Yelling, arguing, and bartering ensued. However, Tia wouldn't budge on her demands. She was already ninety percent sure that by just doing what she was about to was going to lose her the two most important people in her life. There was no way she was going to deal with her abductors, and the people who had tossed Emma away, on top of that. Eventually they signed, they weren't happy about it, but it was binding. They were forced to leave.
"What is it that you have come here to say?" Demanded Regina. The woman was extremely agitated by the days events. It certainly did not help her mood that Emma's lover was sitting in her home next to the person she still considered her enemy.
"Well. I guess I should start with I am not married to Emma. Not even sleeping with her. So you can stop with the jealousy. It's rather useless, aight?" Tia spoke strongly. "She's my best friend, and I will fucking kill anybody for her. But I ain't ever boned her. Her heart man. It's like super bad okay? Like, it's duct taped type bad okay? She lit chopped it up. Since you are her true love, we need you to be the one to fix it. Even if I really, really, really would prefer to kill you for what you caused her to do in the first place, only her true love has the ability to fix what she done."
"True love? If they were true loves then the kiss the other day would have cured Emma of all her sickness." Belle said slowly. "Her heart? What did she do exactly? I have read many texts, but true love is supposed to cure anything."
"Supposed to, but it does not. They are in fact true loves. I performed tests, and rechecked the results. There is no way around that fact dear" Rumple said as he placed a calming hand on Tia's shoulder.
Silence. Pure. Silence. Not even a single cricket made a sound. Tia was glaring at Regina, Regina was glaring back. Ruby, Belle, and Granny were shocked silent. They had suspected, but they had assumed they were wrong when the kiss hadn't worked, if it was true, which, it was Rumple, it had to be. Since it was true, how bad was this thing that Emma had done to her heart.
"How bad?" Croaked out Granny. Before clearing her throat. "How bad is her heart?" She said, her voice strong the second time around. Even if she really just wanted to race out, break down the barrier and hug Emma. The girl was like her own granddaughter.
For a few seconds Tia and Rumple whispered to each other, so low that not even Ruby could pick up on their private conversation. It worried the group, but what could they do? Tia looked seconds away from running off, and right now, she seemed on their side. Not pissing her off was high on everyone, well almost everyone's, to do list.
Finally, after what seemed like another twenty-eight cursed years, Tia nodded at her friend. He opened his palm so it was flat, and began to mutter a few words under his breath. Hovering above his hand appeared an enlarged hologram of the heart in question. The only person who didn't gasp was Regina, who had already seen it.
"Holy fuck, how, how did she survive that." Ruby choked out as she looked more closely at the heart. "It's, she burned it. It's missing so many chunks" She wiped at the tears threatening to spill. "Could this be the cause of Regina's heart problems the last couple of years?"
"I hadn't thought about that, but it is a high possibility. As true loves, they are connected. Their hearts would have been calling to each other. When Emma desecrated her own heart, well it should have killed her. Regina's heart has probably been working to make up the difference in Emma's. The added stress has been causing the pain, and fatigue, she has been suffering." Regina glared at him. He shrugged. "I do know everything that goes on within the town dear"
Clenching her fists Regina closed her eyes, she could no longer stomach looking at Emma's heart. She was relieved that she was able to save Emma, even unknowingly. The thought of Emma dying hurt far too much, she'd sacrifice a thousand Daniel's for the woman she loved, she opened her eyes and waved her hand. The hologram heart disappeared.
"You say you are not married, that you have never" Regina stopped. She couldn't say boned, but she didn't want to say sex, or love, or any other term alluding to intercourse. "engaged in a sexual manner" She settled, she had to say something after all. "That doesn't explain why Emma had a baby, and who is the father"
"Uh. What?" Tia asked confused. Her face scrunching. "Emma don't have no kid, trust me, I'd know." The woman eyed Regina weird, like she'd just sprouted a third head. Which, at that thought, Tia wondered if Regina could have a third head. Or a third breast. "yeah, we ain't married. We lied"
"Don't you dare lie to me!" Snapped Regina as she stood up angrily. "Henry, our son, told me how Emma had replaced him. With some little blonde haired blue eyed spawn. Who is his father" Growled the woman. Tia held up her hands in surrender. Pissing off ladies with magic while outside of the barrier? Hell to the fucking no, that was muy malo.
"You must mean Carson!" She said quickly. "That's not Emma's son. He is our friend Cara's son. We were babysitting him while she and Jackson, her husband, were on honeymoon. That was when your kid showed up out of nowhere. Def not Emma's kid" Tia said with a little laugh, everyone looked relieved. Except for Regina, who still looked angry.
A/n: Well, hopefully that wasn't too rushed but I did my best. Anyway I honestly don't know when I'll update again. I'm hoping it will be within the next two weeks, but no promises.