Disclaimer: Not my characters.

A/N: Not too much plot in this chapter (well, there is a little ... okay, even a little more than a little), but I think Emma and Regina earned a quiet moment or two ...

A/N 2: For those of you also waiting on an update of Trauma Team: that's hopefully next. Episode 3 is in production. ;-)

Chapter 20: Magic Moment

"It is done," Snow crowed with a deep sense of satisfaction as she burst into Blue's office at the convent.

"It is?" Blue narrowed her eyes in surprise, but Snow didn't notice. "Tell me, child, how did you manage that feat so quickly."

Snow plopped gracelessly into one of the chairs in front of Blue's desk and dropped Granny's crossbow in the other, not caring when it fell off the seat and onto the floor. It had done its job; she had no more use for it. "One of my arrows hit her and she dropped to the ground as if she were dead. Sleeping like the dead." There was a dark gleam in her eyes. "I'm finally free of her, Blue!"

"Are you sure it wasn't a trick? The Evil Queen is renowned for her ability to catch even the quickest arrow."

"Oh, I know," Snow laughed. "That's why I used Henry as my target. I knew Regina wouldn't care about herself if she could only save her little prince."

Blue closed her eyes, biting back a sigh and wondering for the first time if she hadn't gone a little too far with Snow's heart. She wanted her dark and in her thrall, but she had never expected her to actually put her own grandson in harm's way, even if it was only meant as a means to an end. "Are you sure that was the best choice?" she couldn't help but ask. "Did anyone see you?"

Snow looked surprised at the question. "Well, Hook was there at the mansion, but Regina had put him outside on the porch like a dog." She giggled girlishly. "He hates Regina as much as I do, so he was happy for me to go ahead. "But other than that … no. Only Henry … and Regina, of course."

"Have you thought about what to tell Emma when he tells her that you tried to shoot him?"

Snow laughed. "I didn't try to shoot him," she replied with a dismissive wave of her hand. "He'll realize that once he thinks about it." She bit her lower lip. "As for Emma … now that Regina is gone, she'll be out from under her spell, and she'll come to understand that this was best solution. She can finally have her happy ending with Neal and Henry."

Blue's eyes widened. "You never mentioned that Emma was under one of Regina's spells."

"Well, it must have been one," Snow insisted. "Why else would Emma ever be kissing that woman?"

Blue gasped softly. "You saw Emma and Regina kiss?"

"Yes, earlier … that's why I wanted to get rid of Regina in the first place." She paused. "Well, not in the first place, more like the third or fourth place," she muttered under her breath. "I just wanted her gone after I saw that."

"I can see why," Blue replied automatically, but her thoughts were elsewhere. What if it wasn't a spell? Unlike Snow she didn't assume the worst where Regina was concerned and only came up with worst-case scenarios to tell Snow and David when it benefitted her in some way. "Are you sure it was a spell?"

Snow nodded adamantly. "There can be no other reason why my daughter would be nice to my worst enemy, let alone kiss her." She suddenly straightened her posture. "Oh, and she also must have used a spell on David," she added, more urgently now.

"Regina used a love spell on David?" Blue gripped the Dark Wand harder in her hands.

"I should hope not!" Snow shouted, jumping up from her chair and causing Blue to wince. "I think it was more something that made him agreeable to whatever Regina said or did."

"Hm, I'll have to look into that." Blue got up, effectively ending their conversation. "There are some things I need to read up on before tomorrow's town meeting." She walked to the door and waited until Snow joined her there. "Feel free to use one of our guest rooms until tomorrow. Going home might not be advisable right now."

"Thank you, Blue." Snow left the room but called back over her shoulder. "That way we can talk again before tomorrow."

"Absolutely, my child," Blue replied with an enigmatic grin, gripping the Dark Wand hidden behind her back and sending a thought to Snow.

Snow stopped in her tracks. "I really think the guest room is a good idea," she mumbled around a huge yawn. "I'm so tired all of a sudden. Doing good for your kingdom is exhausting work. I don't know how my father did it day in, day out." She stumbled down the corridor and vanished around the corner.

"He didn't," Blue muttered as she carefully locked her office and walked in the other direction. She remembered all those wishes from a young Queen Regina late in the night until she had finally been broken enough to give up on the fairies. "Your father was a useless bastard who only cared about himself and his own pleasure … and spoiling his little darling princess."

With one last look in the direction of the guest rooms, she revealed a hidden door at the end of the corridor and disappeared through it and down a dark, steep set of stairs.

As soon as the door fell close behind her, it once again melded seamlessly with the surrounding walls.

o o o

Regina struggled to sit up against Emma's protective embrace but gave up when Emma took a shaky breath and only tightened her arms.

"How did we get here?" Regina asked softly. "Where is Henry?" She ran her hand over her stomach and felt the dried blood on her shirt, but no wound. "What the hell happened?"

Emma took another deep breath before she finally managed to let go a little and pull back from Regina. She couldn't stop herself from remembering Regina lying on the ground with a crossbow bolt sticking from her body. I could have lost her today … my own mother almost killed her.

She sat up and leaned back against the headboard, always keeping at least one hand on Regina, even as the woman pushed herself into a sitting position as well. When Regina saw that Emma's eyes were glued to the blood on her shirt, she waved her hand and changed into a soft, well-worn t-shirt without having to leave Emma's side.

Emma smiled as she fingered the worn fabric at the hem. "I didn't even know you owned t-shirts, Madam Mayor," she whispered. "You should wear them more often."

Regina took the hand that played with her t-shirt in both of hers. "Of course I have t-shirts, Miss Swan," she replied, realizing that Emma seemed to need all the normalcy she could get right now ... and so did she. "I just don't wear them outside my home."

Emma smiled but it resembled a grimace, so Regina cupped her face with one hand and tenderly brushed her thumb across Emma's cheek. "Tell me what happened, Emma."

Emma nodded with a sigh. "How much do you remember?"

"I remember running out after Henry," Regina replied. "Snow was there and she had a crossbow. I have no idea where she got that, I've only ever seen her use her bow."

"It was Granny's," Emma croaked, her mind going back to Regina on the ground, bleeding.

"Ah," Regina sighed. "That makes sense, I guess, although I really thought Granny didn't hate me quite as much as anybody else in this town …"

Emma looked up at the defeated tone. "Regina, Granny didn't give it to her," she explained gently. "Snow stole it."

Regina's eyes softened as something in her chest loosened at the information. "Interesting," she muttered, but she sounded pleased. "Snow didn't say much, just ... shot, aiming straight at Henry," she continued to recount what she remembered. "I just reacted on instinct and jumped." She shrugged. "Henry is okay, you said? Are you sure?"

Emma began to doubt her choice of sending Henry off with Ruby. "Henry is absolutely fine, not a scratch," she reassured Regina. "You saved his life."

"Why would Snow go after her own grandson?" Regina looked supremely irritated, her brow furrowed and eyes narrowed. "I know she's gone dark under Blue's influence, but she loves Henry. Or at least I thought she did."

"Henry wasn't the target," Emma stated gently, but bluntly. "You were."

"Of course," Regina growled. "That's why she waited until I was within range of Henry ... she knew I'd do anything to save him."

Emma nodded. "And shooting three arrows at you at the same time ensured that at least one of them would ..."

"Hit its mark," Regina finished when Emma's voice broke. "Did you heal me? That was quite advanced magic for someone without training, dear."

Emma nodded. "I had no idea what I was doing, though," she admitted. "Tink told me what to do ... how to magic out the bolt and close the wound."

"But why can't I ... why was I …?" Why is everything I can remember a vast nothingness and the feeling of being utterly alone?

"Snow cursed you." Emma's hand curled into a tight fist. "There was a sleeping curse on those crossbow bolts and when it hit you, you went under immediately." She looked up to meet Regina's eyes. "I thought you'd remember that," she mused aloud. "Weren't you in that burning room everyone's always talking about?"

Regina shook her head, seething inside at the information about the curse. How dare she? Snow was going to pay for that. "There was ... nothing where I was," she tried to explain. "Just a void ... no sound, nothing to see. I assumed that was what death was like. All I could think of was you and Henry." The only thing that was burning was the pain of being without you two. "Somehow, in that void, I knew with absolute certainty I was never going to see either one of you again."

"I hate these fucking curses," Emma growled, knowing that these thoughts would have hurt Regina more than any burning room ever could. "I'm going to rip apart that fairy with my own two hands, Dark Wand or not." She took a shuddering breath as her fists curled into Regina's t-shirt "I could have lost you!"

Regina pulled Emma into a tight hug. "But you didn't," she whispered against blonde locks. Then she paused as she thought about what that implied. "You woke me up," she said softly. "You took us both here to wake me up."

Emma nodded against Regina's shoulder. "True love's kiss," she mumbled.

"The one thing neither your mother nor the Blue Fairy would ever count on," Regina marveled. She pushed Emma away until she could look into sea-green eyes. "I love you."

Emma cracked a small grin. "I know," she breathed. "And I love you." She leaned in for a kiss but was stopped when Regina let out a huge yawn. Emma couldn't help her smile as she diverted her attention from Regina's lips to her forehead. "Are you tired?" she muttered, lips still pressed to skin. "You did lose a lot of blood for a while back there ..."

"I guess," Regina admitted. "I feel like I've done a considerable amount of magic."

"Strange," Emma mused. "Because I don't feel tired at all despite ..." She touched Regina's belly as she had a stray thought. "Is it possible that I healed you ... I don't know ... through you? That our connection found a way to heal you because I had no idea what I was doing and that it mistakenly took your energy for it when I would have been the better choice?"

Regina bit her bottom lip as she thought about magical possibilities, but the truth was that she still knew far too little of what was possible between two magic beings who also had true love. I definitely need to go and do some research. "I honestly have no idea," she finally said quietly. "I've never heard of such a thing happening, but then again I've never heard of anyone doing the kind of magic you're doing without any kind of training either. Maybe our magic thought I could expend the energy more easily since I was already sleeping anyway." She shrugged as she cracked a self-deprecating smile. "Maybe I'm just tired and you're still running off of the adrenaline ..."

"Maybe." Emma sounded unconvinced. "Can I try something?"

"Go ahead," Regina drawled, no idea what Emma was planning but trusting her implicitly. She had earned it.

Emma closed her eyes and pressed her hand more firmly and flatly against Regina's lower abdomen, fingers splayed. She began worrying her bottom lip but Regina was sure that Emma didn't even notice. When the area around Emma's hand grew warm and tingles started to spread out from there, Regina looked down to see Emma's hand glowing, faintly at first, but growing more intense by the second.

The tingles intensified and Regina had to bite back a moan at the sensation which shot inward and outward, hitting several very sensitive places. She could feel Emma's energy transferring to her, could feel Emma in her, could feel Emma's essence filling her. Unbidden, her own body began sending back her own feelings, flooding Emma with love and arousal that wasn't her own.

Regina couldn't stop the low moan that escaped when she began to feel Emma reacting to the feelings being sent her way, could feel Emma's arousal as it began to burn brightly with energy of a different texture. In pure reflex, Regina's hand shot out to Emma's abdomen, making their connection even more stable and intense.

Emma groaned loudly as the feelings intensified. She had no idea what she was doing, what they were doing, but she could feel Regina's feelings for her inside her own body, could feel the arousal she caused in Regina in her own body as well, almost like a separate strand next to her own arousal. Their connection sent their feelings back and forth in a loop, ratcheting higher and higher, until Emma began to wonder if she would be able to come just from this, and before she had even finished the thought, her body answered the question by clenching hard and then relaxing completely, fueled and intensified by the answering climax from Regina's body.

Neither of them moved for long moments as the magic dissipated slowly, leaving behind two relaxed and satisfied women. "Oh my God," Emma mumbled barely coherently still wallowing in bliss. "Can we get pregnant from this? Jesus." She moved to lay back on the bed, pulling Regina down with for some post-climactic cuddling.

Regina chuckled, curling herself around Emma. "I honestly have no idea, dear." And she really didn't, but in her relaxed state she also couldn't find it in herself to worry about it. She assumed that Emma's question hadn't been serious anyway. It shouldn't be possible, not even for them, but then again, neither should have been what they had made happen just then. "Would you want that?" she asked hesitantly, pressing her lips against the only patch of skin within her reach, the side of Emma's neck.

"Huh?" Emma asked, confirming Regina's suspicion that the question had come in a post-orgasm haze and was already forgotten. "Want what?"

Regina grinned and pressed a kiss to Emma's neck, deciding to ignore the issue for now ... or at least until she had done the necessary research. "I thought I heard you say something about another round before we pick up Henry," she said instead.

Emma's lips curled into a feral grin. "Like I'd ever say no to that," she growled as she turned and pushed Regina on her back, settling between her legs and pressing their centers together. "Naked. Now."

Regina hissed at the demanding tone in Emma's voice and the way their new position pressed the seam of her jeans to her clit which was already sensitive from the magic-induced orgasm she had just experienced. "Show," she ground out in response to Emma's command. "Not tell."

And suddenly they were naked, and Emma was grinning proudly, making Regina laugh and gasp at the same time. "Looks like all I need to learn," Emma panted, "is the right incentive." She curled her arms under Regina's shoulders and pushed her deeper into the mattress, causing drawn-out moans from both of them to reverberate around the room.

"You feel so good," Regina moaned, pressing up into Emma and curling her legs around Emma's waist to get her even closer and increase the friction. "Harder, Emma ... please."

Emma's head swam from the feeling of Regina's hardened clit against her own, the tingling in her whole body from Regina's closeness, from the sounds Regina was making. Her arousal, which had already been high, kept climbing higher and higher with every thrust of her hips. When Regina locked her ankles behind Emma's lower back to help push her even harder into her core, Emma curled her upper body even closer to Regina, so she could kiss those tempting, slightly parted lips. She relished being able to do that, being able to touch Regina all along her body, but from the frantic, jerky thrusts and gasping moans coming from Regina, she suspected Regina might need more than she could provide in this position. And Emma really wanted to feel Regina clench around her as she came.

"Gods," Emma groaned, wishing she had a third hand or ... something so she could remain in place but still give Regina more. Reluctantly, she lifted her upper body to push her hand between their bodies but Regina shook her head.

"Stay," she pleaded. "Need you close like this."

"Not going anywhere," Emma panted. "Just want to be inside you." Regina groaned but didn't stop her again. Emma rested her weight on one arm and pushed her free hand down Regina's torso to cup her center. "Gods, you're so wet ... so ready for me."

Regina's thighs tightened their hold on Emma's body as long fingers teased her entrance, moving gently through the slick heat despite the almost frantic movements of their hips. "Gods, Emma," she moaned. "Please, inside."

Emma's whole body clenched at the need in Regina's voice, but still she teased. "I want to fuck you, Regina," she said between panting breaths and fleeting kisses. "Would you like that?"

"Please!" Regina didn't even mind that she was begging; she needed this, needed Emma too much to care. "Please, please fuck me, Emma! I need you." She grabbed two fistfuls of blonde hair and licked along the column of Emma's throat. "Make me feel you ... make me forget everything but you."

Emma plunged into Regina with two fingers and redoubled the thrust of her hips, putting more force behind her fingers. She knew neither of them would last very long like this, not with the way Regina was already clenching around her and the pressure on her own clit which hit the back of her hand with every thrust of her hip. "Fuck," she moaned loudly when Regina bit the spot where her neck met her shoulders, then started licking the hurt. "So close ... not gonna last long."

"Just don't stop," Regina urged against her neck, her warm breath making Emma shiver. "Love you ... love making love to you."

Emma loved it when Regina became a little incoherent but this time she wanted her to forget everything but the feel of Emma between her legs, so she decided to try something new. It took a lot of effort to focus her foggy mind, but with every thrust of her fingers into Regina she could feel the magic building up in her hand.

"Gods," Regina groaned deep in her throat as she pressed her head back into the bed and arched her back at the tingling, almost vibrating warmth in her core. "What ... Gods ... Emma ... what are you do-oooh Gods!"

When she felt Regina's climax beginning, Emma pushed her fingers in as deep as she could and willed her magic to spread out further from her hand pulsing through Regina. Regina bucked against her, hips moving erratically, feeding Emma's own magic back to her through their connection, driving Emma over the edge as well.

Emma collapsed next to Regina, completely spent and immensely satisfied. "Holy fuck!"

"More like magic fuck," Regina slurred next to her, feeling incredibly sated, but also strangely wired. "What did you do to me, Miss Swan?"

Emma turned her head, unable to move more than that. "Am I in trouble?"

Regina leaned on one elbow to look down into Emma's eyes. "For giving me one of the best orgasms I've ever had?" There was a gleam in her eyes that was almost wicked. "For opening the playing field for me?" She shrugged one shoulder. "Not really, although asking would have been nice."

"Playing field?" Emma swallowed. "What do you mean?"

Regina chuckled. "Do you really think I don't have my own magic tricks that I'd love to use on you one day?" To demonstrate she ran her index finger from Emma's pubic bone up her torso and circled first one nipple, then the other, leaving a trail of incredible warmth behind her. Emma moaned at the sensation, arousal spiking, but she was too tired to do anything about it. Regina ran her finger over Emma's face, now emanating a soothing coolness, then pressed a kiss to her forehead. "Take a nap, dear."

Emma struggled against sleep for a moment. "Will you be here when I wake up?"

"Sleep," Regina cooed. "I'll be here."

Emma curled into Regina and was asleep in seconds.

Regina wrapped her arms around Emma and watched her sleep. She kept one arm around her upper back as she waved her free hand to make one of her protein shakes and a vial of her restorative potion appear on the nightstand next to her. She uncorked the vial with one hand, poured a few sips into the shake, closed the vial again, and drank he shake down quickly.

As soon as the enhanced drink hit her system, she started experiencing an overload of magic energy, just as expected, and she splayed her hand against Emma's back to start pushing her surplus of energy to Emma until they were at roughly the same level. Only then did she close her own eyes to rest for a bit. Unfortunately, her mind wouldn't stay quiet, quickly turning her to the problems they were facing in the days ahead.

She had never hated Snow White more than in the moment when the former bandit had aimed that crossbow at Henry and sent those bolts his way. Knowing that he was never the target didn't make her feel any better — on the contrary, the thought that Snow simply used Henry to try and hurt her made her blood boil in her veins. It wouldn't take too much effort to get up and hunt her down, would it? Just get up and get rid of Snow once and for all, darkened heart or not. She tensed her muscles and got ready to disentangle herself from Emma, promises be damned.

She needed to end Snow. Now.

Just then Emma snuggled closer to her in her sleep and nuzzled into Regina's neck, effectively pulling her from the brink of darkness and anchoring her to the present and this bed. "Stay," Emma muttered in her sleep. "Love you."

Regina was helpless against the sleepy murmur and tightened her hold once more. Instead of hunting down Snow, she turned her thoughts back to solving their problems, knowing full well that the woman in her arms would never forgive her for killing her mother, no matter how much she might hate her at the moment. That knowledge, however, didn't stop Regina from letting out a huge sigh.

But if Tink was right, and Blue had specified someone who hated Snow as the solution to their problem, Regina knew she was the logical choice. Everyone knew she and Snow were bitter enemies, after all. And if she wanted to make sure that they all got through this in one piece and unscathed, she had to find a way to get over her murderous impulses and find the tiny kernel deep inside her heart that might still hold some love for Snow.

If it even existed. She realized that Blue couldn't have specified the curse-breaking kiss as a true love's kiss because Snow's only true love was David. And Snow herself, which is probably the truest love of all, Regina thought bitterly. But if some love for Snow did exist somewhere inside her, and she could find it by tomorrow, then they could get Snow out from under Blue's influence, and she could focus her homicidal tendencies on the fairy instead, relatively sure that Emma wouldn't stop her.

And then she had an election to win.

o o o

Emma awoke feeling better than she had in a long time, full of energy and relaxed to the bones. Gods, she loved being with Regina. She stretched like a cat and looked up to meet amused dark eyes. "How long was I out?" she asked.

"About an hour and a half," Regina replied with an easy smile.

"Damn, I feel like I slept ten hours or so." Emma returned the smile and leaned in for a kiss which quickly turned a lot more enthusiastic than planned. When Emma pulled back with a dopey grin, she saw the empty glass and a half-filled vial on the nightstand. "Does that have something to do with why I feel so damn great or was it just the absolutely magic sex we had?"

Regina chuckled. "As much as I want to say it was the incredibly beautiful and magic sex, I have to admit that I helped our energy regeneration along a little bit." She pulled Emma into another, shorter kiss. "If I remember correctly, we're supposed to go into town to pick up Henry and take him back here, and I thought it best if we were both somewhat awake and able to move for that."

Emma nodded along until the end, but then she held up a hand. "I'm going to Granny's to get Henry," she answered Regina's questioning look. "You have to stay here."

"Why?"

"Because we thought it was best to let Snow believe she won, so we can confront her during the town meeting tomorrow," Emma explained, playing with Regina's hair.

"Oh," Regina said. She hadn't thought of that. "I guess it's a good thing then that I didn't use your nap to hunt down and kill Snow, huh?"

"Regina," Emma warned, but there was a smile playing around her lips. "Right now I could wring her neck as well for almost taking you from me but …"

"But she's your mother and you love her," Regina finished for her. "Believe me, I know the feeling. No matter what my mother did in her life, a lot of directed at me, I still loved her."

Emma squeezed her hand in understanding. "So you're okay with the plan?"

Regina laughed. "What plan?" she scoffed. "So far it only consists of me staying hidden and you confronting Snow tomorrow. What are you going to do at the town meeting? How are you planning on getting Snow away from Blue? How are you going to get the Dark Wand away from Blue?"

Emma blushed and squirmed a little under Regina's knowing gaze. "We haven't thought that far yet," she admitted.

Regina's chuckles turned dark and bitter. "Why am I not surprised? So very Charming of you and David …"

Emma bristled a little but she didn't have much room to argue since Regina was right. They didn't have much of a plan, and both she and David tended to jump straight into situations without thinking too much. "I'm sorry," she finally muttered. "I guess we have some planning to do tonight and tomorrow then?"

Regina sighed. Why did those things always end up on her shoulders? "I guess so," she agreed. "But now you need to go and get Henry. I'll prepare dinner."

"I could bring something from Granny's," Emma said immediately. "While you find a place for Henry to sleep here. I love him to death but I really don't want him in bed with us, especially not tonight."

Regina got up from the bed and started to dress. "I'll think of something," she said absent-mindedly, and Emma could tell she already had something in mind. When Regina was completely dressed, she turned back to Emma and saw she was also dressed. "Would you mind bringing me—"

"Your usual?" Emma asked cheekily. "Chicken Caesar, dressing on the side? Hold the croutons?"

Regina's eyes widened in pleasant surprise. "How did you know?"

"Oh, Regina," Emma shook her head in exaggerated exasperation. "I've always noticed everything about you." She sidled up to Regina and kissed her sweetly. "And I'm far more observant than you give me credit for."

"It would seem so, Miss Swan," Regina murmured, sounding pleased. "Now go and get our son!"

"Send me there?" Emma asked over her shoulder. "It's far more reliable that way."

With a shake of her head and a small smile, Regina followed Emma out of the cabin and transported her to the alley behind the diner.