Chapter 21

Emma ran.

She ran out of the cabin and headed straight for the path that led around the lake. She ran so hard and so fast that after only ten minutes she came to a crashing halt next to an outcrop of rock by the water's edge. She couldn't run anymore but she figured she could climb so she kept moving, making her way up to the top where she sat and caught her breath whilst looking out across the water. She became so lost in her thoughts that it took her a little while to realise when twenty minutes later, she was no longer alone. She realised that she could feel a familiar presence somewhere nearby, and she sat in silence as Regina began the climb up to her position.

"Hey." Regina said gently. Emma was not at all surprised that the brunette had found her so quickly, a part of her felt that now they were in each other's lives, they would always be able to find each other, no matter what. Regina made her way up onto the outcrop and when she finally got to the top, she sat herself down next to the forlorn figure staring out across the lake. "Are you ok?" She asked, mirroring Emma position. The teen shot her a quick sideways glance. "Stupid question, I guess." Regina conceded as she allowed the silence between them to settle in the hopes that Emma would be able to open up to her. Her patience paid off a few minutes later when the young blonde finally began to talk.

"It's just a lot to take in, you know? I know I asked, I know she tried to warn me, but I never could have guessed she was going to tell me that." Emma said sadly.

"You are right, it is a lot. I'm sorry." Consoled the concerned brunette.

They fell silent again as they both stared back out across the water, temporarily lost in their own thoughts. Regina's heart broke for the astonishingly wonderful soul seated next to her, possibly for the first time ever she truly grasped the full weight of her part in the blondes abandonment in this realm. If it hadn't been for her unyielding need for revenge then this beautiful creature would have grown up surrounded by the love of a whole kingdom, she wouldn't have had to suffer the way she clearly had and would continue to.

Regina was not one for regrets, she had said as much in Neverland when facing Pan and she had meant it. By and large she did not regret her actions because they ultimately led her to her son. But in that moment, sitting on top of that rock with one of the casualties of her choices, she felt it. She wished to the gods that Emma didn't have to suffer like this.

"I just... I can't even begin to figure out how I feel right now." Emma said, bringing Regina back into the moment. "I was so excited to meet her. I saw her and I thought "Wow, maybe I will be ok." She is everything I thought I would never be you know? Happy and settled. I want to be her so bad."

"You will be sweetheart, someday. She is you remember?."

"Someday." Emma briefly pondered. "That's the thing. Someday I'll be her. Someday I will get my son back. Someday I will meet my parents. Someday you will love me. What about now? What have I got?"

"I love you now, with all of my heart Emma." Regina quickly affirmed.

"I know you do. I feel it, I really do. But you don't love me like you love her. I see the way you are with her, the way you light up when she is near. I want that."

"You will have it my love. You just need to believe and stay strong."

"I'm just not sure that I can do that Regina." She said as tears of frustration began to fall down her cheeks. "Soon you will be gone and this will all feel like a dream. I will have to go back to my shitty life and give up my son and you won't be there to make it better. I'm going to be on my own and miserable for what, ten years? It's too hard!" Emma shouted whilst trying to put some distance between the two of them. The ledge they were sitting on was only really big enough for their current seating arrangement and Regina knew that if the teen moved much more she was likely to fall off so she grabbed her and pulled her close. In her anger Emma tried to pull away but the older woman continued to hold on tight. After a little while she felt the blonde begin to relax into her arms as she finally let go of her anguish and sobbed heavily into her shoulder. There they sat for a long time as Emma let out her pain and Regina tried her best to soothe her. The blonde held on tight as she absorbed the care and love she was finally receiving in her time of need thanks to a little bit of magic. She began to wonder if maybe with it's help, things could work out after all. That thought gave her an idea.

"You are here to grant my wish right? Well I have a new one. I wish I could see into the future, to see what I have to look forward to."

"Sweet heart, I..." Regina began to say but faltered. She wished she could grant that, she could see how much the youngster needed that hope but she didn't think it was possible. She wasn't a fairy and her magic was very week here. She desperately wanted to give her this but she just couldn't think of a way.

"Please, I need to see why I should keep fighting. Show me our life Regina. I need to see it to give me the hope I need to carry on. If I have that then maybe I will have the strength to keep going and wait for you."

Suddenly an idea came to the brunette, maybe there was a way after all.

"I have an idea, come with me." She said, and with that the pair made their way safely down off the outcrop and back towards the cabin.

When they got there about half an hour later they entered to find Emma's older self lying on the sofa with Jasper, awaiting their return. After the teen had bolted the decision had been made that Regina should be the one to follow her. She had always been able to reach Emma when she was in the darkest of places and that ability was what the youngster had clearly needed. On hearing the door open, the older Emma jumped to her feet and was quickly greeted by a resolute Regina.

"Come on Emma, grab the Sands of Time. We are all going for a trip to Storybrooke." The brunette instructed and five minutes later, after a brief explanation of why, Jasper looked on as his humans stepped into a portal and vanished. Not being a fan of being left out, he quickly followed them.

Storybrooke - Main Street

Once again, a 34 year old Emma Swan found herself being unceremoniously ejected from yet another portal. This time, to her dismay she realised she had landed rather hard on her arse in the middle of main street. Her first instinct was to locate the other members of her travelling party, she very quickly discovered her younger counterpart laying on the ground rubbing her butt in a very similar fashion to herself, she also spotted a rather confused looking black and white dog taking in his new surroundings. She could not however see Regina anywhere. Her younger self clearly realised this at around the same time as they both looked wildly around their immediate vicinity.

"Regina!" They shouted in unison as they briefly caught each other's eye. "Where the hell is she?" The teen asked her older self as she held onto Jasper for comfort.

"I don't know kid, we will find her though, I promise. This way." She said, leading her into the only place she could even consider starting her search, the Diner.

As the pair approached the door they could hear shouting coming from within. The older blonde reached out her hand and pushed the door open, revealing a scene of utter chaos within. Not ten feet away was her father and former fiancé wrestling on the floor, the former having the latter in a head lock. Her mother was dutifully encouraging her husband as Henry looked on in a pained fashion.

"Where is she you idiot, I swear to any and all deities Hook, if you have hurt her I will KILL you!" David growled as he continued to tussle with the downhearted pirate.

It was Henry who first noticed the presence of the party of newcomers, he quickly stepped over his grandfather in order to get closer to them.

"Ma?" Henry questioned as he looked at the two versions of his blonde mother standing in the doorway. Suddenly, with a burst of magic the diner fell silent as all but the young Emma and Jasper froze exactly as they were.

108 Mifflin Street

When Regina regained consciousness she quickly realised two things. One, she was lying on the floor in her study and two, she was back in her own body. She could tell because as she lay there she could feel her now longer hair - her own hair - covering her face and tickling her nose. As she gingerly began to move she felt her muscles begin to protest. She felt like she had the day after she had allowed Snow to talk her into attending a spin class at the gym several months ago, to aid her in her mission to lose some baby weight (not that Regina thought she needed to, she had just created a new life for fucks sake, who gave a shit if she didn't look like a twig anymore). She had vowed there and then that spinning was a whole new level of evil and that she would never go again, and as she struggled to sit up she was reminded of that conviction.

As she dragged herself up she took note of what she was wearing, perfectly tailored black dress slacks with a white button up and deep burgundy vest. The exact outfit she had been wearing the evening she had been transported into the past. As she took a deep breath to test out her lungs she noticed how tight her clothes was around her chest, as she looked down she was somewhat taken by surprise when she was greeted by the sight of her own cleavage staring back at her. After several weeks in someone else's body and wearing sports bras and camp tee's she had near enough forgotten they did that. She couldn't resist quickly taking her boobs in her hands and giving them a quick jiggle. She smiled to herself with the silliness of her actions.

She was very quickly pulled from her musings when she suddenly felt Emma's magic spike. Ever since the Saviours magical abilities had started to manifest several years ago, she had been able to feel her magical presence. At any given moment in Storybrooke she was able, with very little concentration and shocking accuracy, to tell where Emma was and how she was feeling. Magic was emotion after all and Emma, being new to it had yet to learn how to obscure her magical signature. Hell, she didn't even know she should bother.

Regina could tell she was panicking. Something was wrong and she needed to get to her, fast. With a deep breath she mustered all the strength she could and instantly transported herself to the source of the turmoil. When the purple smoke cleared she realised she was standing in the diner with her hand on teenager Emma's back. The blonde was sitting at a table with her eyes shut so tight that she hadn't registered the silence now surrounding her. All she was aware of was a furry head on her lap and now a warm and comforting hand rubbing her back. As she began to slowly return to her senses she realised that she was safely ensconced within Regina's tender arms as the older woman whispered soothing words into her ear.

"You weren't here. I panicked." A small and vulnerable voice whispered.

"I'm here now my love. I'm sorry, I was transported back into my own body in my house."

With that Emma turned to face the woman she had learned cared for her so much. Noticing the change in her appearance, young Emma's eyes widened as she noted the perfectly made up face looking back at her. She was surprised by just how similar Regina and Ria looked but shocked to see the difference of the perfectly presented woman before her. Her longer hair framed her slightly fuller face beautifully and the deep shade of lipstick accentuated her full lips. Emma's eyes widened as they were naturally drawn down her front to the wonderfully presented cleavage straining at the buttons of the brunettes white shirt. She knew she shouldn't be looking but she just couldn't help it. She couldn't pull her eye's away from the extreme beauty that stood before her. Her mouth went dry as her body immediately started to tingle in that now so familiar way when looking at the brunette. She was utterly breathtaking.

"Emma." Regina said, trying to get her attention. "Emma." She tried a little more forcefully. Finally the teen was pulled from her thoughts as she remembered the situation she was in.

"Oh my god." She said ashamedly. "I'm so sorry for staring. You... you are so beautiful."

"Thank you Emma." The brunette answered shyly.

As Emma looked around in an attempt to stop staring at the older woman's boobs, she noticed the people paused mid action all around her. "What.. what happened?" She questioned.

"Your magic happened Emma." The brunette answered softly. "Your emotions caused a spike that has temporarily frozen the people around us. It's ok, I did it myself a few time when I was your age. This must be incredibly overwhelming for you."

"Yeah." She answered distractedly as she closed her eyes once again and took a deep breath. "I guess I panicked. What if they don't like me?"

"They will love you Emma. They already do." Regina replied earnestly.

"But what If I'm not what they expect?" The teen asked anxiously.

"Nobody expects you to be anything but yourself. I promise. Now, how about we say hello?" Regina replied with a reassuring smile.

"Ok." Said Emma as she took hold of the brunettes hand. "Stay with me though?"

"Always. Who would you like to meet first?" Regina enquired.

"My son." Emma answered without hesitation, she took a deep breath in an attempt to calm her nerves. As she did Regina unfroze the other Emma. The sheriff blinked a few times as she registered the shift in her younger selves position and Regina's sudden appearance.

"What happened?" She asked.

"Your younger self got a little overwhelmed and accidently froze the room." Regina answered calmly. It was only then that the older Emma finally noticed that no one else was moving.

"I can do that?" She asked with genuine surprise and wonder.

"Yes dear, you can." The brunette replied with a laugh. "We are about to unfreeze everyone and Emma wants the meet Henry first. Could you please run interference with your mother? Explain what's going on before she bowls over her and overwhelms her again."

"Good idea, sure thing." Emma replied, knowing full well that was a distinct possibility. She walked over to take up position next to the pixie haired brunette, ready to grab her attention when everyone became animate again.

"You ready?" Regina asked the younger blonde.

"Yeah." She breathed out nervously as her companion flicked her wrist and brought the room back to life.

"Mom!" Henry suddenly exclaimed as he saw this missing mother suddenly appear before him, standing behind a clearly younger version of his other Mom. "I am so glad to see you, I've missed you so much!" He said as he smiled fondly at her before turning his attention to the blonde. "Hi, I'm Henry." He said offering out his hand. "It's great to meet you... Emma."

AN: Sorry I'm losing a bit of steam on this, it will return soon I promise. It's just getting harder for me to get into Swanqueen head space at the moment. I am enjoying the possibilities of the new season, Roni is great! I'm just finding it hard to say goodbye to some of the old ideas. Moving on is not always easy lol.

Peace and love everyone. Have an excellent Sunday.