Chapter 25
Connection
"No, no, no! How is this a good plan? It still means us going with him." Emma is up and pacing again.
"Can you think of a better way to ensure Anna's and Elsa's safe return?"
"No. But we're still doing what he wants."
"No he only thinks we are." Regina stands up and holds her hands. "Emma I promised. I can't sit here and do nothing after everything else I've done. Maybe you should stay here with Henry..."
"I would never let you do anything like this alone. Ever! Just because I don't like it doesn't mean I'm jumping ship baby."
"Thank you." Regina embraces her.
"You don't have to thank me. We just need a back-up plan."
"Leave that up to me. And don't worry I have plenty of research to do."
Emma and Regina had much to discuss but they needed to make their rounds. They started by showering together which turned into a morning quickie but eventually found their way to Granny's for some breakfast. The minute they walked in the diner everyone looked up and stared at them. Emma hated being gawked at. She understood that now more than ever it would be happening quite often. Regina seemed to ignore it completely. 'She must be used to it by now.' They decided to get take out and went to the back to find Snow. Regina was reluctant at first but Emma insisted avoidance would only make things more awkward.
"Hey...Hi you guys." Snow was nursing the baby but she had a special blanket that covered her chest and the baby.
"Good morning..." Both Emma and Regina whispered as to not disturb the baby. "Well um afternoon."
"How did you sleep?" Emma put down a cup of hot chocolate with cinnamon for her mother which she knew she loved.
"Good..the baby woke me every 2-3 hours but I managed."
"We'll take tonights shift so James can stay with you."
"Thanks Regina that's very thoughtful. Too bad he can't produce milk. This whole breast feeding thing is so much harder than I ever thought." Snow looks up at Regina expectantly.
"Sorry can't really help you in that department."
"Don't look at me." Emma holds her hands up.
"Have you tried a lactation consultant?"
"No with all the craziness I didn't have a chance when I was at the hospital."
"I'll call the hospital and arrange one for you today...if that's good?"
Regina was really trying.
"Thank you...yes that would be great."
Regina reaches for her cellphone and goes to the far side of the room to make the call.
"Soo..how was your night?" Snow looks to Emma playfully.
"Mother!"
"Oh come off it we're the same age."
"Yeah but..."
"Emma I still want you to see me as your best friend. I miss the times when we sat around at breakfast and talked openly. Just because I'm your mother that doesn't have to change. Don't get me wrong I don't want any gory details or anything." Snow laughs and so does Emma.
"Things are great. She is great."
"So you're happy?" Snow smiles at her.
"Yes."
"Then I'm happy."
"You are? Even though I'm with..."
"My stepmother? Yeah I'm good. Crazier things have happened. Your father is having a harder time with this but for some reason your connection to her makes sense to me."
"I'm glad." Emma wanted to ask Snow about the nightmares and see if she and her father had ever experienced anything like it. But she hesitated because she realized the nightmares were memories of her own grandfather. Emma was tormented by the realization of who he was; but anytime Snow had mentioned him it seemed like a pleasant memory of that monster.
Snow is trying to burp the baby but she senses Emma is holding something back.
"Emma what is it?"
"Nothing it's just... Remember yesterday I was asking you about your connection with dad? I'm experiencing some of Regina's horrible memories through nightmares. And last night Regina was able to enter my dream and pull me out. It's surreal because I am her in the nightmares. Has anything like that ever happened between you and dad?"
"No. Not that I can recall except when purposely being put under a sleeping curse. But you've never been under. What was the dream about?"
"Well...she was being whipped and she has the scars to prove it. When we woke up her marks were better. It's like they're fading."
"Oh Emma that is strange. Regina was beaten? That's terrible. There's so much I never knew about her. I honestly don't know. James and I sense each other and can almost predict what the other is thinking most of the time. But I'm not sure. I hate to say it but I only know of one person that may have an idea..."
"I know.."
The baby is making little cries of protest. "Come on Neal...burp...please."
"Let me try." Regina who finished her phone call comes over.
She sits next to Snow and places the baby in a sitting position on her lap. She supports his body by having her hand in front of his chest and supporting his head by letting his mandible rest on her index finger and thumb. Then she lightly pats him up and down his back. It takes ten seconds for the baby to burp.
"Wow that was great."
"Yes, well sometimes just by sitting them in this position helps because it elongates their esophagus. Here you try."
Snow mimics the position.
"This is great. Thank you."
"Anytime. Oh and the lactation consultant will be here by 2:30. And don't worry she helped me with Henry when he was a baby so she's not one of my evil siblings in disguise. I still can't believe I had a sister."
"Your mother was a..."
"Evil Bitch?"
"I wasn't going to say..."
"It's ok. Even though I loved her... She was."
"Well as much as I love hearing the two of you reminisce about Cora I think we should go relieve the guys and bring everyone some food." Emma felt the emotion building in the room and she needed to keep things as light as possible.
"Yes, we brought you something to eat as well."
"Thank you. I'm going to put Neal down for a nap and maybe eat a little and nap myself."
"That's good. You should always try and sleep whenever he does."
With that Emma and Regina left to go down and pick up food and head over to the jailhouse.
Back at the jailhouse Elsa was already awake laying in her cot. She was staring up at the ceiling thinking about how they were going to rescue Anna. Henry was also stirring in the cell next to hers.
David hears Emma and Regina come in.
"Good morning."
"Good afternoon." David looks at his daughter like she just stayed out all night during prom.
We brought food."
"Thank you."
"Moms!"
"Henry." Regina runs to meet him in a hug. "How did you sleep?"
"Jail's not so bad."
"That's so not funny."
"Good morning." Elsa emerges from her cell.
"Hey. How are you?"
"Good now that you're here." Emma shoots her the dirtiest look she can give.
Elsa continues, "So we can make our plan to rescue Anna. That's why I'm happy you're both here."
The five of them sit down and eat. Emma and Regina share their plan for getting Anna back from the enchanted forest. David thinks it "might just work."
Henry looks over to Regina. "Can I come home with you guys tonight?"
"Of course son. You never have to ask to come home."
"I think I should go with you to the enchanted forest to get Anna."
"No Henry that's not a good idea. We can't do our job if we don't feel you're safe."
"But I'm older now mom. I can handle it."
Emma hears the banter. "Out of the question. Your mother is right. Henry it's dangerous over there. Plus we don't know what Gold has up his sleeve."
"You mean my grandfather."
"Henry why don't we go to the park today? Emma and I were talking and it would be nice to do something as a family." Regina's voice is always soft when she talks to Henry.
"I'm not five you know."
"We know..but it's part of operation...well we haven't named this operation yet."
"Operation blue! Most of the town is frozen so it has a blue hue."
"Good idea. We'll let david have a break for awhile and then we'll go to the park when he comes back."
They pull out a game of monopoly Emma kept in her office and they play while they wait for David to shower and see his wife and son.
Emma takes some time when they finish the first round to get Elsa's input about the plan. "It's a bit risky but I'm willing to try." Emma starts to notice Elsa is being less dismissive towards her but she still doesn't trust her.
When they return to the game; Emma and Henry listen to her and Regina as they reminisce about their past. Elsa is curious about the time she's missed so Regina lightly fills her in on some of the missing years. Regina leaves out a lot. Just as Elsa starts to question about how they all ended up in her world David arrives.
Eventually they make their way to the park.
When they get there they notice the lake is frozen over.
"So what's up?"
"Well, Henry we need to figure out a little more about our connection. Gold seems to know a lot about it but we don't."
"We also need to find out more about what we can do and about the portal."
"And about how you can bring someone back from the dead?"
"Yeah well Henry, I don't think that's happening. You remember what happened when Daniel came back."
"I do. Maybe this time it's different. He won't bring Anna back unless you do."
Regina and Emma both look at each other.
"We have a plan. It's going to work."
After they fill him in again with more information Henry seems to to calm down a little. He also looks to them excitedly. He reminded Emma more of David than anybody else. Always ready for adventure.
So how about you guys practice your magic by unfreezing the lake?"
"Oh I don't know. That's a fairly big task. It's a huge body of water."
"Try it. If you expect to go up against Gold you need to do great things."
"Kids got a point."
Regina turns to Emma, "Hold my hand."
Emma and Regina hold hands and concentrate on making the lake turn to water again.
"Think warming thoughts."
"Ok."
Emma closes her eyes and turns towards the lake but nothing.
After several attempts she has an idea.
"How about your fireballs? I'll hold your hand and maybe it'll be big enough."
Regina sends out a huge fireball that barely breaks through the ice causing a large crack but nothing else.
"This isn't working." Regina becomes extremely frustrated when magic fails her because for so long this was her only source of strength.
"I don't think it's you Regina it's me. The times you've taught me you've either scared me or made me angry. I'm not feeling any of that right now."
"My mother always told me love was weakness but Emma she was wrong. I feel stronger now that I love you. I taught you the only way I knew how. The way that Rumple taught me. But there has to be a better way."
Emma and Regina were lost in understanding their magic and didn't notice that Henry headed out to the lake when he heard that love could be the catalyst.
"Um..mom." Henry is standing over the ice but he's hearing cracking noises.
"Henry!" Regina darts for the lake but Emma holds her back.
"Wait, we'll all fall in."
Regina lifts her hands and starts to pull Henry up and away but he yells at her, "Stop. No mom. You need to push Emma. It won't work unless she feels I'm threatened. Now come on. Put me back down and both of you focus! Think warm summer lake and I'll be ok."
Regina has him suspended in the air with no intention of bringing him back down over the lake but she realizes that he's right.
"Regina don't listen to him this is crazy."
"I know. But it's crazy enough to work."
She gently sets him over the lake again.
Emma is panicking, "You're both crazy!"
Emma and Regina close their eyes and Emma feels the pangs of fear at her fingertips but nothing happens.
"Regina this isn't working!"
"Emma look at me. Use the love. Take the fear and anger right now and turn it into the love you feel for Henry. The love you feel for me."
Emma closes her eyes and through heavy breathing she envisions herself running through a meadow with Henry and Regina. They are holding hands. It's warm and she feels the sun directly over them. "It's a warm lake Emma." Emma's eyes fly open as Regina spoke through her vision and splash!
Henry falls inside the lake! "Henry!"
"I'm ok." His head bobs up and he's swimming over to them. Regina automatically lifts him and flies him over to them. It's then that Emma realizes that they not only turned the lake back to its liquid state but that a meadow formed around it. The entire area was a warm summer day.
"Holy shit. Did we do that?"
"Apparently." Regina is laughing as she manifests a new outfit out of thin air and a dry Henry is before her.
"Thanks mom. Good job guys!"
The three of them are rejoicing as a family when far off over the hill watching them is Rumplestiltskin. He mutters one word... "Perfect."
When they return to the jailhouse David offers to stay again through half the night. Ruby will stay just outside the perimeter so he can get some rest. Emma tries to argue with him but he insists that Emma and Regina need to work on their plan and get some rest. So they go home with Henry.
After dinner they both tuck him in. And even though he knows he's too old for it he doesn't say a word because he knows how special it is for this to be happening.
When Emma and Regina are in bed they start to hungrily kiss. Regina whispers, "We have to be quiet."
"Even though his room is on the other side of the hall.." Emma chuckles.
"Wait I can do something." Regina lifts her hands and casts a glimmering shield over the room.
"What does that do?" Emma whispers.
"Henry!" Regina screams but nothing happens. "Think of it as sound proof. We can hear him but he can't hear us."
"That's just awesome."
"So where were we?" Regina starts to kiss Emma but she interrupts...
"Do you realize that today when we were doing magic you communicated with me? Yet we were awake."
"Yes. I'm convinced now more than ever that our magic is what's letting us into each other's thoughts. It's been happening when asleep because maybe our guard is down."
"But while we practiced magic we opened up."
"That's right. We had to if not it wouldn't have worked."
Emma gives her an evil grin, "You know...this can come in handy." She leans in and kisses her passionately. Regina and Emma make love that night again.
And all three in the house slept well; no nightmares, no dreaming. Only Regina sneaking into bed at the early hour stirs a sleepy Emma.
"Where were you?"
"I've done it."