Emma's dreams that night were full of what she believed to be the inevitable. She tossed and turned for what felt like hours.
A few moments after her depressing thought had spewed into words at the hospital, Regina had arrived, finally free of work, to relieve Belle of her duties. The Mayor could see that there had been a tense moment between the two but neither had commented on it; so the Mayor did not press for more information. Belle simply took her book and notepad, hoping she'd be able to find more information to prove the blonde's morbid wrong, and left without saying anything other than a, "feel better soon, Em. Bye."
Whale had returned only five minutes after Belle had gone home to inform Emma that she could go home as long as she went straight to bed. He also reiterated Henry's previous edict that she was not allowed to consume any caffeine in the next two days. Emma had grumbled at that, but Regina confirmed that she would make sure she wouldn't, skilfully ignoring Emma's pout. The Mayor had also made sure that she wouldn't be going to work the next morning, as she already had Friday afternoons off, so that she could keep an eye on the blonde, knowing that Emma would much rather cut off her own right arm with a nightshade laced sword than go without her morning strong, black coffee.
Regina had then taken Emma home and as instructed, made her go straight to bed. Emma glared at her girlfriend as she got into bed. It was barely eight o'clock and she wanted to hang out with her friends and family and find out more of what happened to Lily, but Regina refused, threatening to lock her in, what they now considered, their bedroom.
Frustrated, Emma just glared and reluctantly agreed to stay in their room and rest. Regina had given her a soft kiss and told her it was for the best before going downstairs. Maleficent came up not five minutes later to check that Emma was alright and to see for herself that what Regina had said was true. It wasn't that Maleficent thought Regina was lying, but she wanted an excuse to see her daughter, but Emma had just nodded. She was tempted to tell her mother what Belle had revealed but when Regina called up that Emma needed to be left alone, Mal rolled her eyes and kissed Emma's forehead softly.
"The commander calls," she sighed.
Emma chuckled softly. "Go, better not to piss her off."
Mal smiled and pressed another kiss to Emma's head, the small signs of affection were easier to accept than Emma thought they'd be, and she found that she loved them, before she made her way out of the room.
However, as soon as she heard her mother's footsteps in the foyer, Emma turned on the TV and sat back to watch old episodes of Glee, one of her guilty pleasures. She owned the box set and it, along with most of her other possessions, had migrated to Regina's Mansion. Despite the light-hearted drama going on where Rachel was crying over not getting a solo, the show was proving to be rather unsuccessful at taking her mind off the looming prophecy and her imminent demise.
It had been almost a week since Snow had challenged Mal and everyone had found out once and for all that Emma was the daughter of Maleficent and Lily, the daughter of Snow. The Final Battle, as Henry had dubbed it had, a term which had been picked up easily by the others, was going to happen within the next three days and now she knew that she wouldn't win. It wasn't possible if Lily could access her magic. The only way she had any chance was if they cuffed her but then the fight wouldn't be fair. Emma resented the idea of an unfair fight, even if it was unfair for her to be without her magic, a part of her very essence.
There was also something niggling in the back of her mind of what Lily had said about Snow. Everyone had believed that the former Princess was pure of heart, but she was actually the one with the Darkest Soul. The apprentice had also mentioned it.
So, Cora wasn't the only one that Snow had murdered in cold blood. She had also been the reason that the eighth dwarf had been killed whether that was by own her hand or through manipulations, Emma wasn't sure. Who else had she killed? She was scared to find out the answer.
With everything on her mind, when she finally fell asleep, with Glee still playing which Regina only turned off with a raised eyebrow a few hours later, Lily and Snow were the focus of dreams. They swapped between Snow murdering different people, from Cora and Charming to even Neal and more worryingly her own mother, Queen Eva, back in the Enchanted Forest.
The nightmares then seamlessly swapped onto Lily where she continued to kill Emma over and over in several different ways. The first was on the battlefield. Emma stepped forward to protect Maleficent and took the blow of Lily's deathly strike of a sword that stabbed her straight in the chest. The second, third and fourth were similar but instead of protecting her mother, Emma was stepping forward in front of her father, Henry and Regina.
Each time she took the fatal blow, there was no avoiding it, whether it by virtue of the end of a sword; a pickaxe (worryingly identical to the ones the dwarves carried); or even using Emma's own magic against its owner. When she stepped forward to stop Lily striking Regina, Emma was killed with Hook's unbent hook that had taken Cruella's life, despite the fact the hook had been buried alongside it's owner's very dead body shortly after his and Cruella's deaths.
However, the final time wasn't Emma stepping forward to protect her family. Instead, Lily was in her bedroom, leaning over the bed with a dagger in her hand that glinted in the moonlight. It was a familiar blade but this time, the scrawl on it wasn't that of Rumpelstiltskin, it shone with the name Emma Swan and it was aimed directly over Emma's heart. Before her dream finished, Emma's eyes flew open and she shot up in the bed. Lily was nowhere to be seen, it was only her and an apparently peacefully sleeping Regina beside her.
She had no idea what had scared her more, the fact that Lily had managed to get into the room, that she was coming to kill the blonde or the fact the dream had hinted that Emma was the Dark One. But that wasn't possible. She was anything but dark, it wasn't feasible for her to be the Dark One when she was the Saviour and very possibly, although it was seeming to become more and more probable every day, that she was the Fairest of Them All.
"Em?" Regina croaked sleepily after being jolted away by the blonde's sudden movement. "What's wrong?"
Emma's breathing was frantic and she could feel the cold tingles on her skin from where she was sweating. She swallowed in an attempt to calm down. Glancing around, she saw that it was just past three in the morning. No wonder Regina sounded tired.
"I'm fine," she replied stiffly but Regina saw through her. She sat up herself but didn't touch the blonde, not wanting to frighten her.
"No, you're not," Regina said softly. "What happened? Did you have a nightmare?"
Regina had been there many times whenever Henry had had a nightmare when he was younger. He, too, would wake up with a jolt and pant. His eyes would be wide like Emma's and there would be at the very least a light layer of sweat across his forehead. As she looked at Emma, she recognised the same reaction.
"She's going to kill me," Emma murmured. She turned to Regina and even in the dark, the Mayor could see the alarm in Emma's eyes.
Regina flicked her wrist and the bedside lamp illuminated so she could see Emma better.
"Lily isn't going to harm you," Regina assured her girlfriend, knowing instantly who Emma was talking about. She finally reached out to take hold of Emma's hand, not even wincing when Emma clutched at it more tightly than she had expected. It proved just how agitated the blonde was that she couldn't tell how tightly she was clinging onto her, Emma was always aware of her superior physical strength in comparison to her girlfriend's. "We won't allow it."
Emma swallowed again. "You won't have a choice."
She then proceeded to tell Regina what Belle had found out about the connection between Lily and Emma's magic. By the time she finished, not just what Belle said but also voiced her concerns and revealed what had happened in her dreams, it was nearing four a.m.
All while Emma spoke, Regina kept hold of Emma's hand, even when she squeezed harder, all the while her thumb gently stroked the back of her hand. Even after hearing everything Emma said, Regina's stance didn't change.
"You won't lose," Regina said but Emma only scoffed.
"I don't stand a chance if she can take my magic and use it against me," Emma murmured darkly. "You've seen what she did today. I won't win."
Regina finally let go of Emma's hand but only so she could gently take hold of Emma's face, turning it so that she could rest her own forehead against hers as if she could control her emotions.
"You have every chance and you will win," Regina replied. "What can I do to convince you?"
Emma pulled back and shook her head. "Nothing. There's nothing that can be done. I just want to forget about everything so I can get a peaceful night's sleep."
"Tell me how I can help you," Regina requested, a slight desperation in her voice. "I'll do anything I can."
"Kiss me."
Regina did a double take at Emma's response, not expecting that to be the request.
"Kiss me," Emma repeated. "Make me forget."
Without hesitating any further, Regina gently pulled Emma's head towards her and kissed her firmly. They bit and licked at each other's lips, losing themselves in the sensation. Emma knew this probably wasn't the best way to disassociate herself from what she was feeling but it was what she wanted. Never one to refuse the blonde of what she wanted, well not anymore anyway, Regina complied.
As Regina started kissing and licking down Emma's body, she was lost in the sensation of Regina's tongue on her body. She licked down her neck, nibbling on her pulse point, enjoying the way Emma sighed lustfully. Even when she bit down, Emma didn't gasp in pain as she was lost in the pleasure of it.
There was a small groan emitted when Regina started to move down Emma's body which was replaced by a moan of delight as her plump lips wrapped around her left nipple. She pulled firmly before nipping harshly, realising that Emma needed it rougher than their usual love making. This was emphasised when Emma bucked her hips at the harsh sensation.
"More," she begged as she brought her hands to the back of Regina's head and pushed her towards her breast.
Regina obeyed the command and nipped her again, even harder this time, and Emma still moaned appreciatively, before she switched to the right nipple, repeating her actions then continuing her biting further down Emma's body. However, just as she made it to her clit, instead of licking it like she usually did, she caught the blonde off guard by slipping two fingers in without warning.
Emma gasped loudly, practically throwing her hips down to meet the intrusion.
"God, yes!" Emma moaned as she met Regina's fingers thrust for thrust. She pulled Regina's head back up so she could kiss her as Regina's hand pounded her pussy powerfully. As soon as Regina's lips met the blonde's, she slipped a third finger into the blonde, more than she had experienced as late and Emma screamed her orgasm into the night. Neither knew nor cared about the sheer amount of noise they were making, or concerned themselves about the lack of silencing spells around their room that night.
However, instead of letting her ride the crest of the orgasm like she usually did, Regina stopped her movements completely, but she kept her fingers deep inside the blonde's canal.
"What?!" Emma gasped against Regina's lips, but Regina ignored her as she started her thrusts once more, curling her fingers deeply inside the blonde exactly where she needed her. Emma quickly started to see stars once more, panting as she came a second time and then a third.
"Fuck me!" Regina commanded as she finally pulled her fingers from a whimpering Emma. She wasn't usually so forceful with demands, enjoying a more submissive side in the bedroom to the more dominant personality during the day, but she knew it was the best way to keep Emma distracted. Emma was normally the dominant of the two, but tonight, she just needed to forget, a rare power shift.
Emma didn't hesitate and she was between Regina's legs immediately, her tongue stroking her sensitive clit in seconds, coaxing a climax as quickly as she could before building her up again and again.
As requested, Regina made her forget as they lost themselves in their passionate love making. They continued to take turns, making each other feel the ultimate pleasure over and over again until they both collapsed, cuddled close in the centre of the bed just as the dawn was breaking.
oOoOo
When Emma woke up the next morning, she felt like a completely different woman. The feeling she'd had the night before of utter despair and hopelessness had completely gone. She felt fresh, like she could take on the world, and it was because of Regina. She had been there and done exactly what Emma had asked for and needed without questioning her.
Rolling over, Emma reached out and grinned as she felt the familiar body lying beside her. She nuzzled into Regina's neck and kissed her, making the brunette giggle as she woke up to the sensation.
"Good morning," Regina murmured sleepily. It was just after nine, but they had been up half of the night, so it was no wonder the Mayor was still sleepy. She was just glad she wasn't due into work that day.
"Good morning," Emma echoed, grinning when Regina rolled over, her eyes blinking as she came to.
"How are you feeling?" Regina asked after she stole a morning kiss.
"I'm great compared to last night," Emma replied honestly. "I'm sorry for being a mess."
Regina smile wavered a fraction. "Don't be," she said softly. "You needed time to allow the revelation to sink in. Today is a new day and we will fight this together."
Emma nodded and swallowed as a though suddenly dawned on her. "What if it is today?"
"Then it's today," Regina said simply. "We can't stop the prophecy coming, Em. We will fight it and you will win."
Suddenly, Regina felt Emma's lips against her and she reciprocated the kiss passionately.
"What was that for?" She asked when she pulled back.
"I love you," Emma replied as if it explained everything. She flashed Regina a grin before she slipped out of bed. "Fancy a shower?"
The two then continued to get ready for the day and were greeting in the kitchen by Maleficent and Neal. Everyone else had either already left for school, as in Henry's case, or work like Charming, Zelena, and most probably, Belle. Charming and Zelena had had to go into their respective offices slightly earlier due to Emma and Regina not working today, and Belle had probably joined them for more research time.
However, as they entered, Maleficent didn't meet their eye, she just blushed and continued feeding Neal his porridge.
"What's going on?" Emma asked, confused. She went to turn on the kettle to make her normal morning coffee but at Regina's raised eyebrow, she rolled her eyes and walked over to her mother and took a seat beside her. However, the older dragon was still refusing to meet her eye. "What?"
"Nothing," Mal replied quickly. "How are you feeling?"
"Don't change the subject," Emma chastised.
Mal bit her lip before putting down the spoon and facing her daughter. "I woke in the night to get a drink which meant going past your bedroom to go downstairs. All I'll say is that the two of you weren't quiet."
Regina dropped the mug she was holding and Emma's jaw dropped, even as her hand shot out to catch Regina's falling mug.
"Oh," Emma said dumbfounded, as she returned the mug to the counter in front of her girlfriend. "Yeah, let's not talk about that. I'm far too old to have the conversation where my mother hears me and my partner having–"
"Emma!" Regina cried, cutting off the blonde mid-statement, but Emma just laughed.
"Alright, alright," she said still chuckling at both Regina and Maleficent's reactions before she sighed. "It was for a distraction, if that makes it any better."
Maleficent turned from where she had been wiping Neal's chin of left-over porridge. "A distraction from what?"
Emma sighed. "What Belle found out."
She then went onto say what she had wanted to tell her mother the night before about how Lily was siphoning her magic. There was only a pause when she accepted a glass of orange juice from Regina and a plate of toast.
"That makes much more sense as to how Lily's magic suddenly appeared," Mal said as she pulled Neal out of his highchair. "But it does make things a lot more frustrating. I suppose suggesting that you put a magic-resistant cuff on her to prevent her stealing your magic is out of the question? So, instead I'll ask what makes you feel most in control of your magic?"
Emma pondered the second question for a moment as she ate her toast. She'd never thought of it that way, she thought she'd just got a handle over magic by using it more frequently. She hadn't thought there was something in particular that made her control it. However, the more she thought about it, the more it came to her.
At first, it was anger that helped her access her magic, to find the fire within to produce it. Then when she freaked out when Ingrid had come to town and even when she had turned into the dragon for the first time, it had been feelings of love which had helped her calm down.
"Love," she murmured as it clicked. "When I think about those I love, I feel more in control of it."
Mal smiled. "Then you already have an advantage. Lily doesn't have any love in her life. Even your father's belief in her has been destroyed after her attack on him. It's easier said than done, but if you keep concentrating on that, then you can't possibly lose. We'll all be there when it happens."
Emma sighed and wiped the crumbs off her hands before she reached out to take hold of Neal who happily moved from Mal's knee into his sister's. He took hold of a lock of Emma's long, blonde hair but didn't pull on it, just holding it as a comfort thing.
"I just wish I knew when it was going to happen," she said. "I'd feel more settled and prepared."
"We have three days before it's all over," Regina said as she sat beside the blonde with her own toast and orange juice. Emma couldn't ignore the fact the Mayor had gone without her usual coffee so that she wasn't rubbing it in Emma's face that she could have the caffeine boost.
Emma tried not to think about the fact that she may only have a maximum of three days to live. However, she wasn't given much chance to think about that or anything else as the day progressed. Regina and Mal kept distracting her by allowing her do, watch and eat whatever she wanted. That including a begrudging Regina making her a grilled cheese, but she added some salad on the side as a compromise which Emma accepted.
She was also entertained by Neal who was now able to crawl and he kept giving them the slip and crawling away into the foyer so Emma spent most of the day chasing after him all while pretending to hate it. Regina tried to get Emma to stop exerting her energy chasing him, but she couldn't help the large grin on her face watching Emma interact with the baby. Something stirred inside her at the sight, but she quickly ignored it and gave up getting Emma to stop playing mother to the child.
While they weren't eating or chasing Neal, the TV was blasting all of Emma's favourites. She started the day introducing her mother to Friends and was very surprised to find out that Regina had already seen all the episodes.
"Well, I had to do something while time kept repeating itself," Regina said with a shrug after confessing she'd seen every season. Emma simply look impressed before explaining to Maleficent what the premise of the show was.
By the time they were eating their lunch at two, Mal politely requested that they changed the show. While she was enjoying watching the entertainment, she was started to get tired of Ross whining about everything. Emma then went to put on the next episode of Glee, hoping to continue from where she had stopped watching the night before, but Regina stopped her.
"Oh God, not that show!" She begged. She enjoyed turning it off the night before, but she didn't want to watch it herself. "That Rachel girl is pretty annoying and her pining over that ridiculously tall boy is a terrible example of a relationship!" She did not mention that their relationship reminded her of Emma's with Hook, how dependent the previously independent blonde had become on the pirate, much like Rachel had with Finn. Plus, she really did find the little brunette annoying.
At that, Emma raised her eyebrow. "I thought you'd like her. A perfectionist who likes to be the centre of attention. Who does that possibly remind me of?"
The pillow that hit her in the face was enough to make her chuckle loudly. As she raised her hand to return the favour, it was Regina's turn to raise her eyebrow.
"No magic, remember," she said and Emma stuck her tongue out at her girlfriend which made the baby giggle loudly.
Instead of putting on Glee, Emma chose to put on Mamma Mia as ABBA was her go to soundtrack to clean. By the end of it, even Maleficent was dancing to the music.
"Henry just needs one more mother and he'd be able to star in the gender reversed version," Mal commented.
Emma laughed. "We know who his parents are and I don't think he'd quite able to cope with another mother. He's already got about a hundred family members and it keeps getting bigger. I think another mother would probably cause him to become institutionalised!"
She motioned to Mal who Henry had called Gran for the first time the day before. She had double taken at the name, but Henry had just shrugged as if she didn't have a choice, he would be calling her it from now on.
"Talking about family, why don't we all go out to Granny's for a meal tonight?" Emma suggested. "I feel fine and if it is my last few days, I want to spend it with my family. I can call Dad and tell Henry and Zelena when they're home."
"Zelena is with Belle tonight," Regina reminded her, but she felt her heart grow as she heard Emma refer to her sister as family.
It was as if the past between Regina and Zelena had never been tremulous or strained at all, as they found they got on like a house on fire. They cracked jokes and made fun of each other like all sisters did and Regina adored it.
"Oh, well, we'll go without her," Emma said with a shrug. "Blood family only tonight then. The four of us with Henry and Dad. It'll be great."
When Henry and Charming arrived home in the next few hours, Emma put forward her idea. Henry, who had already been cheering that there was only one week left of school, was even more ecstatic at the idea and ran upstairs to get changed.
"I'm going to change too," Emma said. "I'll actually put an effort in."
Regina didn't know what she meant, she thought the blonde looked great in her usual get up of a white tank top and light wash jeans. However, when Emma came back downstairs twenty minutes later, Regina almost needed help with scraping her chin off the floor, her mouth had dropped that far.
Emma walked down the stairs in a tight fuchsia dress. Henry recognised it as the one she was wearing when they had first met, but Regina had never seen it before. Her breath was taken immediately.
"Em, you look amazing," she gushed.
The blonde blushed at the way that Regina was staring at her. "I know it's too much for Granny's but–"
"You look fantastic," Regina breathed as she kissed Emma sweetly, but it wasn't enough for the blonde. Emma wrapped her arms around Regina's neck and pulled her in in for another kiss.
The moment was interrupted by Henry. He'd just returned downstairs, now wearing a pair of jeans but he'd matched it with a smart light green shirt that brought out his eyes, according to his brunette mother at least. "Don't be gross! Let's go get food!"
Regina pulled back, chuckling and nodded. "Let me change and then we can get going."
By now, Charming and Mal had also changed. Charming was dressed similarly to his grandson but had chosen a crisp white shirt and Mal was in a deep blue dress that plunged at the front.
A few moments later, Regina stepped downstairs, wearing a short black dress that showed off her beautifully tanned legs and it dipped enough to hint at her impressive cleavage but left enough to the imagination.
"Well if I do say so myself, we all look brilliant," Charming commented with a grin. "May I take my family out to dinner?"
"Yes, you may," Emma replied with a chuckle as Charming lifted Neal into his stroller before pushing him towards the front door.
Regina opened the door and allowed everyone to leave before she locked back up. Henry offered to push Neal so that Charming and Mal could walk hand in hand comfortably toward the diner. As if on autopilot, Emma reached out and took hold of Regina's hand, swinging it gently between the two of them. Regina looked up and flashed her a loving smile and Emma grinned back.
When she had first arrived in Storybrooke, Emma had never imagined that her family would have included Maleficent, Prince Charming and the Evil Queen, but as she walked down the street with the aforementioned people along with her son, she realised that she had never been happier that they were her family.
However, there was a small whisper in the back of her mind that she was desperately trying to ignore that said that it wouldn't last. She could hear the sands of time running out. The prophecy was coming to its conclusion. Sooner or later, it would come to be.
A/N: I just want to say sorry for the missed upload on Tuesday! Life gets the better of you sometimes. I also want to thank everyone for their reviews, favourites and follows, they mean the world to me!