A/N: I swear this is a new chapter, but you will immediately see why you might think otherwise (hint, it's because of the time travel).
Also, this is the final chapter. I am sure some of you would like me to explore the relationship between Emma and Regina more but I have other fics that do that. This one was more about the journey to get there and I wanted to explore a little bit of a subject that I am sure has touched many of our lives, that being cancer.
Thank you all for reading this. I appreciate each and everyone of you.
They arrived and Charming helped Whale and the driver get the gurney out of the ambulance. They wheeled it to the portal. Whale looked at Emma. "As soon as you are gone, we are heading back to the hospital. I can't have her out her like this for long. Her immune system is too weak to allow it."
"I understand. I will be back with Zelena like I was never even gone."
"No you won't."
They turned to see Mr. Gold walking toward them. Emma stepped in front of the gurney to put herself between him and Regina.
"I can't allow you to do this," Gold said. "I thought I made myself clear on that point. You will not be bringing Zelena back."
"I am," Emma said.
"She killed my Bae, your son's father, and you dare to think you can bring her back."
"You don't think I have thought about that, about what she did. We all have. But this is her chance to do something good."
"Something good? How many people has Regina killed? You think she deserves to be saved?"
"Everyone deserves to be saved if possible. Even you. Neal believed that."
"I will not let you bring her back. Now you can all leave now, or I will make you leave."
Emma turned to Regina, "Open the portal."
"Regina, don't," Gold said. "You know what I am capable of."
"Yes I do," Regina said but she called her magic up anyway. The moment she did, Gold raised his hand and she screamed in pain, reaching down toward her leg.
"Gold, stop it," Emma yelled above Regina's screaming. She wasn't sure what Gold was doing but Regina was in so much pain. "Stop it!"
He put his hand down and Regina stopped screaming but she laid there breathing heavily, whatever it was having taken a toll on her.
"I believe I made my point, now leave."
Regina sat up in the bed and called her magic up again; defying Gold and he again raised his hand toward her. She screamed again in pain but kept a hold of the magic. It didn't last though as she had to release it due to the pain she was in.
"Stop this," a new voice said.
They all turned to see Belle as she entered. In her hand was the Dark One's dagger. He stopped the magic.
"Belle," he said.
"We've all suffered enough due to magic," she said. "Everyone in this room has seen how it corrupts, it destroys. Maybe we need this. Maybe we need to see that it can be used for good."
She looked at Regina. "I forgive you," she said. "I forgive you."
"I don't deserve it."
"Maybe not, but I ask that you accept it."
Regina merely nodded at her. Belle moved past them and walked up to Gold. "You are not that person anymore either," she said to him. "You are not the Dark One. You are my husband, and I am asking you to stop this. Let Emma do this. Open the portal for her."
Rumpel looked down at Belle. "I'm sorry Belle, but I can't. I can't."
"Yes you can. Show them the good inside you that I see."
Rumpel looked away from her. He saw Emma there beside Regina's bed, holding her hand, making sure she was ok. The others stood there waiting. He looked again at her.
"I'm sorry," he said. "But I can't let my son's murderer go free."
Regina started to scream again. Emma held on to her, but she looked at Belle.
"Stop it," Belle said, holding the dagger up in front of him. "I command you to stop."
But he didn't stop and Belle looked at the dagger in confusion, unsure if she was supposed to do something else.
"It's a fake dagger," Regina choked out before the pain became too much.
Belle dropped the dagger to the floor and looked at her husband. She reached behind her back and pulled out another dagger. "I command you to stop."
This time the magic he was using against Regina stopped immediately. Gold stood there in shock.
"You gave me a fake dagger and hid this one away in your shop," Belle said. "Why?"
"Belle."
"Answer me," she said holding the dagger even tighter.
"I wasn't going to give up control of my magic to anyone, not even you. But you needed to believe I was capable of it."
She looked down at the dagger in her hand. "Open the portal for Emma."
"Belle, don't make me do this," he pleaded. "That woman killed my Bae."
"Open the portal for Emma."
He faced the portal and used his magic to activate it.
Emma turned to Belle, "thank you."
Belle, who had tears in her eyes, said, "Go. By the way, you succeed."
"How do you know?"
She looked again at the dagger, "I just do."
Emma kissed Regina on the forehead. "I will be back before you can miss me," she said.
"You assume I will."
"I know you will," she smiled. She faced the portal thinking of where she wanted to go and jumped. As soon as she was through the portal went back to being dormant.
"We need to get Regina back to the hospital," Whale said.
"Let's go," Charming said. He took one side of the gurney and Whale the other. "Wait," Regina said. She sat up, "Belle, what are you going to do?"
"I don't know," she said.
"You're a better person than I could ever think to be, you will make the right decision," she said. "I wish you didn't have to make it though."
"Is there anyway to destroy this magic?" Belle asked her.
"None that I know of. The only way to take it from him is for someone else to take on the mantle of Dark One. There is nothing good about that magic. It corrupts."
"Get her back to the hospital," Belle said.
They left, Snow looking back at Belle as she faced her husband.
….
Regina was unconscious almost from the moment they loaded her in the ambulance. Whale sat beside her in the back monitoring her vitals. She had been running on pure adrenaline when facing Gold, but now what he did to her was taking its toll on her. Her breath was more ragged than he would like and her heartbeat was erratic.
He could only hope that Belle was right and Emma would succeed.
They ran with the lights on all the way back into town. Once they were at the hospital, the back doors opened.
"Emma?" Whale said seeing it was her who opened the doors.
She smiled. "I have a stem cell donor waiting inside," she said.
…
Emma entered the hospital room.
"Hey, how are you feeling?" she asked.
"Better," Zelena asked as she lay in the hospital bed. "A little explanation as to what this all entailed would have been appreciated before you let them sedate me."
Emma took a seat beside the bed. "I didn't really know what it entailed."
"I noticed you took the opportunity to take my pendant," Zelena said.
"I did. Don't worry; it's in a safe place."
"A place I take it that you aren't going to share with me despite your assurances that this was about giving me a second chance,"
"This is about a second chance," Emma replied. "And if you are serious about taking it, you are going to have to deal with the aftermath of your actions. I am not talking about locking you back in jail, but there are people in this town who aren't going to be your biggest fan. The first step is getting them to see you are willing to change is getting them to trust you. They aren't going to do that if you resort to magic every time things get tough."
"Are you always this sanctimonious?"
"I suppose your sister would say I am."
Zelena didn't say anything.
"You know it's ok for you to ask how she was doing, you know show some concern."
"I don't know how to be concerned for someone that I have absolutely no connection to."
"You are sisters. You did agree to be her stem cell donor, so that has to account for something, doesn't it."
"I didn't imagine you would have given me a choice in the matter regardless."
"You are probably right," she said standing. "Glad you are feeling better." She made it to the door.
"Well are you going to tell me how Regina is doing?"
Emma smiled a little before turning back around. "She's still asleep. The procedure takes a lot of out of her so for the next few days at least her awake time will be extremely limited."
"And how long before you find out if this is even working?"
"We should know in two weeks time. And if it works she will go through the full complement of three procedures. They harvested all the cells she will need so this is the only time you will need to undergo it."
Zelena lapsed back into silence and Emma left. She had already visited Regina's room so she decided to leave the hospital. The nurses and doctors knew to call her if there was any change in Regina's condition or if Zelena got out of hand. She was still concerned about Zelena, but for now at least she was going to give her the benefit of the doubt.
Zelena hadn't been entirely agreeable with her plan to approach Belle and give her the real dagger – explaining to her how they had come to get it, but in the end Zelena seemed to at least find perverse humor in Gold being stopped by his wife.
She had gone to see Belle earlier, helped her carry some of her bags up to a room at Granny's. Belle was planning on staying there for the time being. She didn't know what she was going to do about her marriage. She loved Gold, that was obvious to anyone, but Emma imagined it would be a while before she would come to grips with what she had done. Emma had asked her what she had done with the dagger, and all Belle would say was that it was safe.
…
It wasn't until the next day that Regina woke. Emma was at work when the hospital called and Emma rushed over afraid Regina would be asleep again by the time she got there. When she arrived, she found her mother in the room sitting beside the bed. She stood as Emma entered.
"I will let you two be alone," she said exiting.
Emma approached the bed and took Regina's hand in hers. "How are you feeling?"
"Tired," Regina said. "I feel tired."
Emma could tell Regina wasn't going to be awake long.
"How's Henry?" Regina asked.
"He's ok. He's been ok. He was a little upset at first because him kissing you didn't wake you and he was worried you know about what that meant."
"I love him, and he loves me," Regina said. "I don't doubt that."
"Neither does he. He just didn't understand. None of us understood until my mom suggested that maybe it was because I was supposed to be the one to do it."
"I'm surprised she didn't let me continue to sleep then."
"What was she doing in here?"
"Warning me that I better not hurt you or she would kill me."
"She did not."
"Not quite as explicit as all that, but yes, it was a subtle warning that I better not hurt her little girl. It was actually kind of cute. She called you her little girl."
Emma rolled her eyes although she was privately kind of happy that her mom could see her that way.
"What did you tell her?" Emma asked.
"I told her that I had no intention of hurting you. In fact I don't really know what my intentions or your intentions are."
"We are each other's true loves so I guess I intend on living happily ever after with you."
Regina smiled at the sentiment. "Happily ever after is something for a fairy tale. I am afraid I am well past believing in it."
She looked down at her leg.
"You are going to be ok," Emma said squeezing her hand.
"You don't know that."
"Yes I do," Emma said. "I know that even if this treatment doesn't work you will face the next step with courage and Henry and I will be there every step of the way. I know you will be ok because you won't be alone. Hell even Zelena might make an appearance or two on the supportive side."
"My sister. Where is she? How is she?"
"She's on the next floor up. She's ok. I think it's going to take some time with her, you know adjustment time to find her place in this world but I told her I would help her."
"You did?"
"Of course. She's going to be my sister-in-law after all."
"She is? Jumping ahead of yourself a bit wouldn't you say Miss Swan?"
"Nah," Emma said. "You are going to say yes when the time comes. I am an expert in Regina Mills, you should be aware of that by now."
Regina smiled again, "I am beginning to see that."
…
Two years later.
The track area at Storybrooke High School was packed – practically the whole town was there. Regina couldn't help but be in awe that this many people were there for the town's first ever Relay for Life walk.
The event was about to start with the lap for survivors and their families. She knelt down to make sure her shoes were tried. She touched her left leg still in disbelief some days that it was still there. Her cancer had been in remission after her successful stem cell treatments although she technically had to be in remission four years before she officially declared cancer free.
She walked to the starting line where Emma and Henry waited for her.
"Are you ready?" Emma asked.
"I am," she said taking Emma's hand in hers so they could walk that way. She was still unused to having the wedding band on her finger – their wedding had only been two months ago. It was a small ceremony with just family although their reception was much larger.
Snow and Charming joined them – Charming holding Neal.
"You ready kid?" Emma asked.
"Yeah, where's aunt Zelena?" he asked looking around.
"Probably off somewhere making out with her boyfriend," Regina said.
"Still not over it?" Emma asked.
"She brought Dr. Frankenstein to our wedding."
"Hey, he helped save your life and has actually been very nice to you."
"Yes, clearly because he wanted to get in my sister's pants."
"She deserves to be happy, so does he.'
"I know, I know, but can you imagine if they get married. He will be my brother-in-law."
"All the more reason for you to not object to their dating now."
"Sorry we're late," Zelena said coming up behind them. Regina turned and gave her sister a hug.
"Hello Regina,"
"Hello Victor," she said smiling. "If you hurt my sister I will kill you."
"Regina," Zelena warned.
"Hey, you said the same thing to me the night before I married Regina," Emma said to Zelena.
"Yes, but I am the older sister I am supposed to say things like that. She isn't."
Henry just laughed earning him a look from all of them.
"What?" he said. "I am just happy to have my family here."
Regina gave him a hug and took Emma's hand once more as they began to walk.