A.N So this was meant to be up at Christmas time as a small gift from a very wayward Charlie… Of course I didn't realise just how hard this chapter was going to be to write… It kicked my ass! So it's taken a wee bit longer than I had planned but it's finally here. I hope you enjoy it and it lives up to what you've come to expect.

I want to say thank you to all the people who didn't give up on this story. Every fav, follow, review and PM pushed me a little closer to being able to stumble back from the abyss I found myself in. Thank you all so very, very much and I am so sorry for the unforeseen hiatus. Now to settle that damned cliffhanger...

Charlie

Chapter 21

"Let's test that theory."

Emma heard a roar of noise and then time seemed to stand still for a brief moment before images started to flash before her eyes. No emotional music? I thought there'd be some sort of musical montage… Maybe a theme song? She'd always thought that this phenomenon was just something people in the movies and on TV experienced, something to make things much more dramatic, and yet here it was, happening to her, as a bullet sped towards her. No music though… TV lied…

The flashes of memories did not start at the beginning as she had always assumed it would do. What she saw began with Henry and then moved to the moments where she truly started to feel alive, to live her life instead of just going through the motions.

Henry's birth… Making that lonely wish on her birthday… Opening the door and unknowingly finding the answer to that wish… The first time she met the woman who would drive her crazy and yet capture her heart… Arguing with Regina… Taking a chainsaw to the apple tree… Fighting with Regina… Loving Henry… Breaking the curse… Fighting for Regina… Pushing Regina out of the way of the wraith and falling through the portal… Snow firing a bow… Cora trying to rip her heart out and failing… Discovering she had magic… Thanking Regina for saving her… Fighting with Regina… Stopping the trigger, the trigger that changed everything… Loving Regina… Regina and Henry, Henry and Regina… The images flying faster and faster.

Ok brain, I get it. We spent a lot of time fighting and arguing with each other but to be fair, it was too easy and fun plus she really is sexy when she's angry… She had never felt more alive than when she had been standing toe to toe with the former mayor, both fighting with so much passion. Usually it had boiled down to the same thing, Henry's protection and love. Of course, they were coming at it from completely different angles, unable to see the mutual end goal. Plus we are really, really good at it…

All those memories and so many more pivotal moments for Emma since that life altering wish, and she wouldn't change a single one of them, despite the end she was headed towards. All too soon the images came to a stop and fear bloomed bright, the blonde afraid of what it meant.

Emma saw a flash of purple sparks burn across her retinas where the memories had just played and then pain ricocheted through her head and heart, dropping her to her knees. She vaguely heard a second shot ring out and could only hope that it was David and not Greg pulling the trigger. Totally fucked if it's not. A few flaws in this plan, Swan…

Her chin dropped to her chest and she looked down, expecting to see blood. I thought getting shot would feel different. She frowned, where was the blood? Her heart felt like it was being torn to pieces so she brought her hand to her chest, checking physically for a wound, though her eyes had already told her there was none. Nothing so why did it hurt so damned much? She reached up and touched her head, her hand coming away clean and yet pain still radiated through her mind though it was slowly subsiding, unlike the ache in her chest. With each heartbeat, that pain increased making it harder and harder to breath.

Where's the bullet hole? He couldn't have missed from that distance. It didn't make any sense, the pain was excruciatingly real and yet there was no evidence the bullet had hit her anywhere, let alone her head or her heart. She forced her aching mind to shift focus, unwilling to waste any more time on something she couldn't explain. Regina…

Emma looked up, a hand pressed over her heart as she battled to control the pain. She noticed her father standing behind the desk, but her eyes quickly moved on, searching for her lover. Regina? There was no response and she could hardly feel her anymore. Regina?! The ease at which they had communicated before the gun shot was gone and she tried not to panic. She slowly got to her feet, the agony in her chest a constant reminder that something was terribly wrong. Unfortunately she was slowly beginning to believe she wasn't the one in trouble, despite her pain.

Her father turned towards her, relief evident on his face when he did a quick visual check and failed to see any blood. He turned back, oblivious to her internal suffering, concern flitted across his face as he looked down and quickly crouched out of sight.

That look got her moving forward at a fast shuffle, and as she got closer and moved around the desk, she saw Greg on the floor. Blood covered his chest, his eyes wide open and staring into nothing. It was obvious he was dead and she could not make herself feel sorry about that. He was no longer a threat so she dismissed him from her mind.

Finally she saw the woman she loved, lying pale and still, blood dribbling from her nose, sluggish purple sparks covering her body. David was leaning over her but not touching. She stumbled and fell to her knees next to the brunette, her father catching her and stopping her from falling completely on top of Regina. "Emma, what can I do?" David asked.

Emma struggled to get words out past the pain but finally managed. "Keep Snow and Henry out."

David frowned, "What happens if…"

Emma shook her head, unable to answer any more questions, all her concentration shifting to the woman lying in front of her. "Please. Just go."

The blonde man hesitated and then slowly climbed to his feet. He briefly laid his hand on Emma's shoulder then turned and left to do as she asked.

The pain in Emma's chest was not easing at all and seeing the lazy purple sparks moving over Regina, she feared she knew what had happened, her mind throwing up the brief flash of purple sparks when the gun had gone off. Regina had used her magic to save her life and now she was dying, their connection slowly severing as her life force gradually ebbed away. That was the cause of the unrelenting pain in Emma's chest, it was her heart slowly shattering as she lost that connection. She moved her hand to hover over the unmoving woman, waiting to see the sparks swarm towards her as they had the last time, but they barely responded to her presence and this brought tears to her eyes.

"Regina?" She finally touched the brunette, caressing her face. "You need to wake up. Do you hear me?" The sparks tried to cover her hand but lacked the energy to succeed, barely sending a tingle through her fingers. "Don't do this. Henry needs you." Her voice broke as she uttered her next words, "I need you." Tears overflowed and rolled down her cheeks as she gathered Regina into her arms, stubbornly ignoring the slowly increasing pain in her chest. Please don't leave me. She felt a brief caress in her mind from the brunette, as words whispered there to try and comfort her breaking heart.

Emma felt warmth flare deep in her soul and then it faded all too quickly, leaving a growing emptiness in its wake. The purple sparks also began to fade and Emma's heart lurched. No! Regina! Fight, damn it! Strand by strand the connection let go until Emma could barely feel it over the pain in her heart. You don't get to just tell me all that and then leave me! Her soul was screaming at her to do something. "No, this isn't happening! I'm not letting you go. You promised, damn it. It. Is. Not. Too. Late." She growled to the woman she loved.

She closed her eyes and focused deep inside herself, doing as Regina had so recently taught her, feeling her magic. She searched for those few remaining strands that connected her to the other woman, feeling them rather than actually visualizing them. She locked onto those threads with every bit of concentration she had, even as they thinned. She refused to let them slip away, refused to let Regina slip away, at least without one hell of a fight. I will not lose you.

Magic came from emotions and she gathered them all inside her, holding nothing back. All her fear, anger, and anguish… All her love, joy, and hope… Everything she had, she summoned to her and gave the resulting magic free reign inside. She felt the power grow and swirl within until she was almost bursting with it. She focused on pushing as much as she could down the connection, begging it to save the love of her life as even more strands dropped away despite her efforts. She had no idea what she was doing, running purely on instinct and clinging desperately to her hope. All she did know, without a shadow of a doubt, was that she would be lost without the brunette. Please…

David had positioned himself in the doorway, gun out and targeted on Greg's back, trying to convince himself that the risk of taking a shot while Regina was still in Greg's arms was acceptable if it saved his only child.

He hadn't failed to notice the look in his daughter's eyes a moment ago, the one that said she believed what she was saying, that she would give up her life in a heartbeat for the brunette. It had surprised him a little, but then his daughter was the Savior.

What had shocked him was the comment that Regina loved her. He had heard the vehement denial by the brunette but his finger had come off the trigger despite Regina's words. Whether Emma's confession was a ploy to get the other man to release his hostage or the truth didn't matter. David knew that if he took the shot while Regina was in the way, even if no harm came to her, Emma would never forgive him.

He'd have been stunned to know that Regina would have wholeheartedly agreed that shooting Greg was an acceptable risk, if it saved the woman she loved but neither was aware of the others thoughts, so David waited and hoped that he wouldn't regret it.

"Let's test that theory."

Those words sent shockwaves through David. He'd waited too long, hoping Regina would move away and now his daughter would pay the price for his hesitance.

Before he could pull the trigger he saw a flash of purple sparks surround Emma for a second, as the sound of a gunshot blasted through the room. He saw Regina drop to the ground and fired his gun, all hesitance gone, the bullet piercing Greg through his chest with deadly accuracy.

He glanced over to Emma and saw her on her knees, hand over her heart. Everything in him demanded he go to his daughter but he had to make sure that Greg posed no further danger. He moved swiftly over to the desk and knelt down, checking for a pulse. He rolled him over and looked into dead eyes. Greg would never be a threat again. He got to his feet and kicked away the gun and knife anyway, more out of habit than necessity.

His gaze returned to his daughter, and he breathed a sigh of relief when he saw her up and free from blood. With Emma seeming to be ok and on her feet, he shifted his priority to the other woman in the room. He looked down at Regina, the sight filling him with unease. He knelt beside the unconscious woman, unsure what to do. Familiar purple sparks covered her body and he realised that whatever had saved Emma had come from this woman, and at a heavy price. Had she sacrificed herself for his daughter? It seemed highly unlikely in his mind and yet the evidence pointed towards exactly that.

David heard a noise behind him and turned to see Emma stumble. He reached out and grabbed her, helping her down beside Regina. "Emma, what can I do?" He had no idea how to help or if it was even possible to help the brunette, the stream of blood from her nose concerning him the most. It spoke to a head injury at the very least but he wasn't sure how she could have sustained that type of injury.

"Keep Snow and Henry out."

David frowned, he understood what Emma was asking but he was hesitant to leave her alone with Regina, the purple sparks worrying him. While he was grateful to the unconscious woman, what if Emma touched her and the same thing happened to his daughter? "What happens if…" He saw Emma shaking her head and trailed off.

"Please. Just go."

David wanted to say more but decided against it, moving to do as Emma had asked. He got to his feet and rested a hand on his daughters shoulder, trying to offer her some semblance of comfort for what he dreaded was coming.

He turned and left the room, immediately seeing his wife struggling to hold his grandson back at the front door. He picked up his pace and rushed towards them as Henry broke free. He reached out and wrapped an arm around the boy's waist as he tried to slip past him, drawing him into his body. "Woah there, Henry."

Henry squirmed in David's arms, trying to get free again. "What happened? Where's mom? Where's Emma? I want to see them!" He tried to get his arms up to push against his grandfather but David was ready for the move and shifted his grip to keep the boy with him. He knelt down to Henry's height and looked the boy in the eyes, trying to remain calm for the child. "Emma has asked for you both to wait here. She'll be out in a minute." He knew Emma had said nothing about leaving Regina but he knew if he told the boy the truth, there was no way he would be able to keep him away from his mothers.

Snow wrapped her arms around the struggling boy from behind, her frightened gaze locking with her husbands, silently begging to know what had happened. David looked at her and shrugged slightly, unsure what to say. "Greg is dead. Emma is ok… Regina stopped… Saved? I don't know. Emma is ok." He shook his head, still unable to believe his daughter didn't have a bullet in her. He was relieved and felt guilty all at the same time. "She's with Regina now."

Unfortunately those words did nothing to placate Henry, "Let me go! I need to see they're both alright! I heard…" His voice trembled in fear and he stopped struggling, terror freezing his small body in place. "There were gun shots. Did mom get shot?"

David caught Henrys panicked gaze with his own and shook his head, trying to look reassuring, "No, neither of your moms was shot."

Henry shrugged off Snow's embrace and yelled, "Don't lie to me! They'd be out here with us if no one was hurt. Just tell me the truth! I need to know! Is my mom hurt?!"

Before his grandfather could respond, a breeze began blowing in the house, seeming like it was originating in the study and then spreading throughout. It increased in intensity at an unnaturally fast pace and distracted David enough that Henry, who wasn't waiting for an answer anymore, was able to finally break free from his grandfather's grasp and go find out for himself.

He ran towards the study, struggling slightly against the wind as it grew even stronger. He made it to the doorway and came to an abrupt halt, gripping the door frame. He registered his grandparents coming to a stop behind him and felt arms slip over his shoulders once again, drawing him back into his grandmother's embrace. He heard Snow gasp in shock and understood it completely, unable to draw his eyes away from what he was seeing.

"Let's test that theory."

Regina felt her heart stop at the words, the worst of her deep-seated fears about to come true. It was Daniel all over again, Emma was to be ripped from her, murdered before her eyes. She could not, would not, let that happen. Loving her would not cost Emma as it had Daniel, not if she had anything to do with it. Even though it was broken and unstable, this time she had magic and she would use it, no matter the price.

With no other thought than to protect the woman she loved, magic surged through her, tearing her apart inside even as it shielded Emma. The gun blast was deafening in her ears as blood spurted from her nose, the pain in her mind escalating and spreading throughout her body. Regina collapsed under the onslaught, not even registering the second gunshot.

The pain receded, allowing some semblance of consciousness to return, but in the pains place grew a terrifying coldness, slowly spreading through her body and mind. She tried to open her eyes, tried to move but her body wouldn't respond and it dawned on her that she was dying.

The left over static energy had devastated her internal system as magic had pulsed through her, following her command to protect Emma. She was dying, the connection she had never dreamed to want but now cherished was breaking away and she was helpless to stop it. She had saved Emma's life at the cost of her own and was surprised she had only one regret, that she had never told the blonde just how much she loved her.

She felt a warmth on her face and felt the connection briefly rekindle enough to hear words whispered into her mind begging her not to leave and they broke her failing heart. She wanted nothing more than to comfort the other woman and she couldn't even summon the energy to do that.

All she had left were her hearts secrets and a burning determination to share them with the woman who had captured that heart. If I had a choice, I would never leave you, my love. My heart is yours, now and forever. I love you more than I ever dreamed was possible, Emma. My only regret is that I never got to tell you until it was too late. Please forgive me for letting my fear control me. You were the one I didn't even know I was waiting for. Thank you, my love… Thank you for being the brave one. Thank you for loving me.

She felt the seeping cold ease for a moment, her heart and soul lighter now that she had finally opened up, admitting to Emma and herself just how deep her feelings for the blonde ran. Unfortunately the respite was far too brief and then the draining cold was back, sucking her remaining vitality from her. Regina was so very willing to stay and if will was all it took, everything would have been fine but it was no longer enough. The brunette was tired, so very tired and she had nothing left to draw on. She was unable to fight to remain conscious any longer and she slipped further into the darkness.

A.N As I post this, I have already begun the final chapter… So long as I manage to tie everything up nicely as planned, that is. If not, we may be able to squeeze an extra one just to make sure. Thank you again for reading. C