Well, here's chapter 29! I was going to draw out the whole Regina being pissed about Neal situation longer, but after Sunday I needed some good Swan Queen feels. So enjoy.
This one isn't actually a song. It's a spoken work poem by my favorite poet ever. Seriously, go buy all her cds. She's amazing.
Disclaimer: I don't own nothin'.
maybe I need you the way that big moon needs that open sea
maybe I didn't even know I was here 'til I saw you holding me
give me one room to come home to
give me the palm of your hand
every strand of my hair is a kite string
and I have been blue in the face with your sky
crying a flood over Iowa so you mother will wake to Venice
lover I smashed my glass slipper to build a stained glass window for every wall inside my chest
now my heart is a pressed flower and a tattered bible
it is the one verse you can trust
Maybe I Need You by Andrea Gibson
Regina ignored the ringing of her cell phone. Emma had been alternating between calling, pounding on her door and shouting, and sitting in silence for the better part of three hours. Regina knew she should talk to the blonde, but her pride simply wouldn't allow to her to go unlock the door.
Emma was just another person in a long line of people she loved who hurt her. Regina could see that clearly now. Emma had sought her out when she was feeling overwhelmed by her home life, not because of any sort of love or longing for Regina. She was simply a distraction from her new found life as the savior and product of true love.
At least that's what Regina had been telling herself. A small part of her knew none of that was true, but the demons that still lurked in Regina's mind were far too powerful for that little bit of hope to get through. It was the demons who made her open the bottle. They were to blame when Regina found herself on the kitchen floor with a knife in her hand.
She hadn't done anything yet but she wanted to. She knew it would be easier if she wasn't around anymore. Henry could play house with Emma and Neal. They could be the happy little family he'd always wanted, the happy family that Regina knew she couldn't give him. The town would be happy. Snow and David would no longer be looking over their shoulder, waiting for her to try and exact revenge again. Everything would be better if she was gone.
Regina took another swig from the bottle by her side and raised the knife to her wrist. Everything would be better soon.
Emma was just about to call Regina for the hundredth time when she was struck with a very bad feeling. She pushed herself up off the ground and pounded on the door again.
"Regina! I know you can hear me. If you don't open this door in ten seconds, I'm kicking it in again," Emma shouted.
Emma barely made it to ten before she stepped back and took aim at the door. Her foot connected inches from the handle and the wood splintered as the door swung open. It reached the limit of the hinges and swung back a bit before Emma's outstretched hand stopped it.
"Regina!" Emma called as she entered the house.
Emma peered into the kitchen and heard the muffled sounds of crying. She rounded the empty island to find Regina on the floor, legs outstretched and a knife in her hand. There was a bottle of whiskey next to her with a good chunk gone. Regina's face was red and splotchy from crying.
"Regina, hey, put the knife down, okay? You don't need to do this," Emma said softly as she crouched by the brunette.
"Yes I do. Everything will be better without me. You and Neal can be Henry's parents together. Your mother won't have to worry about me. The townspeople will be happy. It will just be easier," Regina sobbed.
"I don't want to be with Neal. I want to be with you. If you'd given me a chance to talk to you you'd know that Neal kissed me. I didn't want to kiss him. In fact, just before he did that, I was telling him how I was in love with you. I only want to be with you, Regina."
"You love me?" Regina said, looking up at Emma.
Emma wiped the tears from Regina's face, "Yes. I love you. Only you. I may have loved Neal a long time ago, but those feelings are definitely in the past."
"I love you too," Regina said, crying again.
Emma gently took the knife from Regina's hand and put it on the counter. She pulled Regina into an awkward hug given their positions on the kitchen floor. Tears streamed down Regina's face and wet Emma's shirt, but neither woman cared.
Emma pulled back and wiped the tears from the brunette's face again, "I love you. Only you. And we're gonna figure out this stuff with my parents and then we're gonna be a family. You, me, and Henry," Emma said.
"That sounds wonderful," Regina said.
"Yeah, it does. Now, can we get off this floor?" Emma leaned forward and placed a soft kiss on her lips.
The air shimmered around them and a wave of light shot from their bodies out toward the town.
"What the hell was that?" Emma asked.
"I believe it was magic."
Mary Margaret jumped off the couch as someone pounded on the door. She'd hoped Emma would come home soon. It was almost dark and she was starting to worry. She pulled open the door revealing a slightly disheveled Neal.
"Neal! What are you doing here?"
"I came to get my son."
"What? You can't just take Henry from Emma!" Mary Margaret said.
"I'm his father. And I'm not the one shacking up with the evil queen. I think Henry's a lot better off with me," Neal said angrily.
"Shacking up with the evil queen? Emma and Regina? I knew she had her under some sort of spell!" Mary Margaret cried.
"She's not under a spell, she's just crazy," Neal said, "Henry! Get down here!"
Henry appeared at the top of the stairs, "What's going on?"
"You're coming with me. We're going to stay with my father until Emma comes to her senses."
"Henry, you don't have to go anywhere, you're welcome to stay here with David and I. We'll find away to get Emma out of Regina's spell," Mary Margaret offered.
"You guys are all acting crazy! Emma isn't under any spell. She loves my mom. And there's nothing wrong with that!" Henry shouted.
"Henry, you don't know what you're talking about," Neal said.
"I know you love Regina, but she's not a good person," Mary Margaret said.
Henry frowned, "Yes she is. She's changed, and I'm not staying with either of you."
Both adults watched in stunned silence as Henry bolted out the door of the apartment. After a beat they recovered and followed the small boy. Neal caught up to him easily. Henry wasn't the most athletic boy and Neal's longer legs gave him an advantage. Unfortunately for Mary Margaret, she didn't have the same advantage. By the time she made it downstairs, Neal was already loading Henry into his car.
"Henry! Stop Neal!" Mary Margaret cried.
She tried to catch up but Neal shifted the car into drive and peeled away from the curb. Mary Margaret watched as the car sped toward the center of town where Gold would no doubt be waiting to help his son. Mary Margaret rushed back inside to call Emma.
Just as she picked up her phone a wave of white light ripped through the apartment. It hit Mary Margaret and knocked her off her feet. Her phone clattered to the ground and Mary Margaret fell backwards, narrowly missing the coffee table. As she pushed herself up off the ground her eyes widened. She needed to get Emma immediately.
Emma and Regina had relocated to the couch when Emma's phone began to ring. Emma ignored the buzzing emanating from her pocket. It stopped ringing and she went back to kissing Regina. She groaned as her phone began ringing a second time. She was set to ignore again it when Regina told her to answer.
"What if it's Henry," Regina had prodded.
"Fine," Emma said, pulling her phone out of her pocket.
Her mother's name flashed across the screen. Emma sighed and pressed the answer key.
"What?" Emma said.
"Emma! Neal, he took Henry!" Mary Margaret cried.
"Whoa, what do you mean Neal took Henry?"
"He came here and told me Henry would be better off with him because you were shacking up with the Evil Queen," Mary Margaret relayed, "And I told Henry he could stay here while we figured everything out. Henry got angry at us and tried to run but Neal caught him. Oh god. I told him you were under Regina's spell. Why did I do that Emma? I know Regina hasn't cursed you."
Emma sighed in relief at the fact that her mother was thinking clearly now, "We think Gold put a spell on you, but I'm glad you've come out of it. How long ago did Neal take Henry and what direction were they headed?"
"Um, about ten minutes ago. They were headed toward the square. Probably Gold's shop."
"Okay, I want you to call David and meet us at Regina's. If Gold's behind this, we'll need a plan," Emma said.
She hung up her phone and looked at Regina. The brunette was frowning, worry evident in her features. She's heard Emma's half of the conversations but was waiting for the blonde to fill her in on the rest of the details.
"Apparently after he left here Neal went to Mary Margaret's and tried to take Henry. Henry tried to run away but Neal caught him. She said they were headed toward the square so I'm guessing Neal was going to Gold's shop," Emma explained, "But on the plus side, whatever spell was on Mary Margaret and David seems to be gone, so they're on our side again."
"We have to stop Gold but I'm not powerful enough to stop him," Regina said quietly.
"Hey, don't worry, we'll figure something out. Maybe the Blue Fairy can help," Emma suggested.
Regina snorted, "As if that hack could stop the Dark One. She'd be destroyed in seconds."
"Well, I have magic?" Emma said, unsure of herself.
"Yes, and no idea how to use it."
"What about the portal. I just touched you and it helped kickstart your magic. Can we just do that again? Use my magic to make yours stronger?" Emma asked.
"Perhaps," Regina said, rising from the couch.
Emma watched as she walked from the room. After a few minutes it became clear Regina wasn't returning so Emma stood and went looking for the brunette. She found her surrounded by books in her study. She was furiously flipping through pager after page, clearly looking for something specific.
"Here it is!" Regina cried.
"What?"
"It's a very old spell. It's said to be able to bind the magic of the dark one, if only for a short period of time, but it requires more power than I have alone. Perhaps with your magic it will work though," Regina said.
"So we bind his magic? Then what?" Emma asked.
"We find the dagger and we throw the bastard over the town line," Regina said, "Perhaps I'll alert the good Captain Hook to his whereabouts."
"No, we're not getting him killed, Regina," Emma said.
"If he harms one hair on my son's head, death is too good for him," Regina said coldly.
Her eyes shone with an intensity they had been missing since Cora's death. Emma swallowed. The Evil Queen was back and she was out for Gold's blood.
