Part Four: The One With The Frozen Time

Emma blinked her eyes a couple of times before they focused on her surroundings. She was in a room she knew but it wasn't her own. The flower wallpaper was unmistakable. She had been in that room many, many, many times before when she and Regina were still sneaking around all those years ago. She was at Granny's B&B. Emma closed her eyes and turned to the other side. She had no idea what time it was, but whatever it was, she knew it was too earlier. She stayed there in bed with her eyes closed for one, two, and three seconds until it hit her. She was still at Granny's B&B.

"No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no" Emma breathed out all at once when she sat down abruptly on the bed "No, this can't be happening"

Emma rose from the bed and ran to the window. Out there she saw the beloved city of Storybrooke. It was the same little town she knew and loved by heart now. Except, that it wasn't. It wasn't her town. It wasn't her version of the town.

"Okay, let's think about this," Emma said to herself while walking from one side to the other in the room "You are in Storybrooke. Everybody here is the same people you know for the past four years. Except they don't remember you. Your wife doesn't remember you. Two of your children don't even exist and your oldest son is still a baby"

Emma sat down on the bed and stare at the flowery wallpaper. Her eyes kept going from one side to the other just like her legs were doing a few seconds ago. One could almost see the engines working inside her head, putting one piece of the puzzle together with another. Emma sat there for what felt like an eternity until realization hit her.

"Holy fucking shit!" Emma said eyes widened "I went back in time"

Emma flopped on the bed and stared up at the ceiling.

"I went back in time. I went back in time where Henry was just a baby" Emma said to herself and then panicked, sitting on the bed fast when the next thought crossed her mind "I went back in time to a land without magic"

Emma rose from the bed and started to walk all over the room. Holy shit! How the hell she was going to go back now? She needed magic. She needed her magic and a freaking bean. How the fuck was she supposed to get that? She needed to go back to her own timeline. She needed to go back to her wife and kids. Fucking Neal! She was going to kill him. Emma closed her eyes and stopped walking before opening them again. She needed Regina. She needed Regina to help her. She was the only one awake, the only one who knows about magic. And maybe Gold but Emma didn't trust him, especially considering it was his freaking son who did this. She needed to win Regina's trust. She needed to win over her wife again.

Emma closed her eyes and waved her hands in the air. When she opened them, everything still looked the same. She wasn't dressed in her jeans, boots, and jacket. She was still in her tank top and red panties. She rolled her eyes, in a way that would make her wife proud. Didn't she just cover the little fact that she was in a land without magic? Emma picked up her discarded clothes from the floor and started to get dressed for the day.

"Regina is right," Emma said to herself "Doing things yourself is barbaric"

Emma finished putting her clothes on and then started to think rationally. She reached inside her jacket and opened her wallet. There were only one hundred and fifty dollars in it.

"Okay, if Henry is still a baby, that means I'm eighteen," Emma said to herself "And broke, freshly out of prison and living in my bug so, I guess taking money out of my savings accounts is out of the question"

She bit her lower lip.

"I need to find a job"

Emma shoved the money inside her wallet and the wallet inside her pocket again. When she did that, she felt something hard on the other pocket of her jacket. She reached inside and pulled the phone and charger that Henry had handed to her before they went out for breakfast yesterday? The day before? Emma shook her head and turn on the phone, but it stayed dead.

"Right! No battery"

She walked to the bedside table and kneeled before plugging in. The phone stayed dead for a minute before it came to life. Emma smiled and then walked out of the bedroom. She was starved! She hadn't eaten since the day she fell on the hole. Emma looked around the diner and saw all the familiar faces, including one that she would love nothing more than to forget. Sidney Glass. What an asshole! Emma walked to the counter and sat down, waiting for someone to get her order.

"Hi, what can I get ya?"

"Hey Rubes," Emma said "Bear claw and cocoa, please. Oh and a portion of bacon"

"Do we know each other?" Ruby asked.

"Oh, right, sorry," Emma laughed nervously "I heard someone calling you that way yesterday"

"You did?" Ruby asked "I don't remember seen you"

"Well, I was…"

"Ruby, the Mayor's order is ready," Granny said.

"So? What do I have to do with it?" Ruby asked.

"You are delivering to her office," Granny said.

"I am so not," Ruby said petulant "If she wants her order, she can pick it up herself"

"She's with an infant child, Ruby," Granny said "Have a heart"

"As if she does" Ruby rolled her eyes.

"Hey," Emma scolded "Have some respect"

Ruby looked at Emma incredulous. She remembered very well how they loved to trash Regina when the curse was still in place back then. Or future then. God, that was confusing.

"Granny, I can take her order," Emma said.

"Oh, no, dear. I can't possibly ask that of you" Granny said.

"I'm on my way there anyway," Emma said "If I can just get my order to go, I'll take hers with me"

"Well, that suits me just fine," Ruby said and gave her back to Emma.

"Thank you, Miss Swan," Granny said.

"Sure, no problem,"

Emma gave Granny a half-smile and waited for their orders to be ready. How lucky was she? She was wondering what she could possibly come up with to see Regina today and Granny had just handed her the perfect opportunity.

"I can take the Mayor's order if you like," A man's voice said behind her.

"Excuse me?" Emma said turning around.

"I have a meeting with the Mayor," Sidney said "I'll be more than happy to bring her breakfast over. I can just save you the trouble"

"As I said," Emma said dryly "It is no trouble"

"I'm on my way there right now," Sidney said.

"I got it!" Emma said, feeling the anger build inside of her.

Sidney nod and then left the diner. God, how Emma hated that man, always making up stories to break her and Regina apart. He nearly succeeded once. Granny arrived with two bags and Emma paid for them before leaving. She walked to City Hall and then up Regina's office. Emma didn't even bother to knock, she simply let herself in.

"Hey," Emma said in a low voice not to awake Henry.

"You," Regina said "What the hell are you doing here? Again!"

"Brough you breakfast," Emma said showing her the bags.

"You work at Granny's?" Regina asked.

"No, I…they were short on staff," Emma said and then smiled "How's the little one?"

"Sleeping, thank God," Regina said and sounded so tired that Emma worried.

"What's wrong?" Emma asked.

"Nothing, miss… What's your name again?"

"Emma. Emma Swan" Emma said and smiled sadly at her. It broke her heart that she didn't know who she was.

"Miss Swan," Regina said "If you could just hand me my bag, I would like to go back to work"

"Actually, I thought we might eat together"

"Excuse me?"

"I kinda need to apologize for yesterday," Emma said "So, breakfast is one me"

"You kissed me without my consent,"

"I thought you were someone else"

"I'm unmistakable, dear,"

"That you are" Emma laughed "Can I please have breakfast with you?"

"God, I'm way too tired to even argue," Regina sighed "If you must"

Emma tilted her head to the side the bit her lower lip. It wasn't the yes she was hoping for but it wasn't a no neither. Emma walked to Regina's desk, putting the brown bags from Granny's on top of it. She opened the bags and started to take all the contents from them, putting everything on top of the desk. When she finished, she sat on the chair across from Regina and pulled what was hers closer.

"Did Henry give you too much trouble?" Emma asked.

"He cried the whole night," Regina said "He only stopped when I put him in bed with me"

"He likes been near you," Emma smiled and took a piece of crispy bacon.

"I think he hates me," Regina let out a sad laugh.

"He loves you, Regina," Emma said softly.

"Right," Regina said moving the food inside the container "It's funny but I don't remember you"

"Yeah, we covered that," Emma laughed.

"No, dear, I mean I know everyone in this town," Regina said "But not you"

"Oh, I'm…I'm not someone important,"

"One of the commoners?" Regina asked.

"Yeah, something like that, Your Majesty" Emma joked.

"What did you just say?" Regina asked eyes widened.

"I was joking," Emma said nervously "Because you called me a commoner"

"I think it's time for you to go, dear," Regina said.

"I'm not done yet," Emma said "And neither are you. You barely touched your food"

"I'm not hungry"

"You have to eat"

"Yes, thank you, dear,"

"If not for yourself, do it for Henry," Emma said "He needs his mother healthy and strong"

Emma smiled at Regina and saw those beautiful brown eyes that she loved so much fill with tears but Regina didn't let any of them fall. Emma knew she was just doing what she always did. She was playing tough. Not because she wanted to, but because she really didn't have any other choice. All those years with the curse…Regina was trapped here too just like the rest of them were. Emma reached for the eggs and toast while Regina took another bite of her yogurt with fruits. Emma then took the opportunity to asset the situation. This was the Regina she met four years ago. Or the Regina she will meet in ten years from now. Anyway, she was that Regina but, she was a little more fragile and tired because of Henry. Emma could see in the way she spoke with her, in the way she cared for Henry, her words didn't have the same bite, the same venom from when Emma first met her. She was tired. She was doing this all alone. God, she was such a bitch to Regina when she first arrived in Storybrooke too and Emma was just now realizing that. This woman, her wife… was fucking amazing. But as much as she wanted to just jump her and take her in her arms and tell her that everything was going to be okay and that she would get her happy ending with her and their three children and that yes, Snow White was going to become her mother-in-law, as much as Emma wanted to do all that, she knew she couldn't. At least not now. Emma needed Regina to help her to get back to her own timeline and for her to do that, Regina needed to trust her first.

Emma thought back about how did they end up together, how she got Regina to fall in love with her. She remembered that the hardest part was actually convincing Regina to go on a date with her after they kissed for the first time. Emma asked her out for weeks but Regina just kept on saying no until, well, until the day Emma barged in inside her office and kissed her. Emma smirked as she remembered that. The similarity of the two situations was just too much for her. But after they go out on a first date, and after they shared a kiss again for the third time, everything had changed. It was so easy to fall in love with Regina. It was impossible not to. They fell into an easy relationship until the day Regina told her about the curse. How everything Henry was telling her was the truth. Emma thought she was crazy, that she was just finding an excuse to bail the relationship because she was scared. But as it turns out, it wasn't that and after their kiss broke the curse, things got really bad.

Emma shook her head and took another piece of bacon. This wasn't important right now. The curse was truth and Emma knew that, so, not an issue to worry about. Emma looked at Regina and watched her as she took the fork to her lips. A little bit of the yogurt dripped on the corner of her mouth and Emma wanted nothing more than to lick it clean. Fuck! She needed to get Regina to go on a date with her. She needed to win back her wife all over again. Henry made a cute noise and that brought Emma back to the reality in hand. Henry wasn't ten, running around in Storybrooke. He was a baby and Regina might not be remotely interested in going out on a date with her. And there was of course the little fact that Emma didn't have any money to pay for dinner. Or a roof. And dear God, she needed clothes and clean underwear.

The phone on Regina's desk rang getting Emma's attention. She watched Regina answering the phone and how her feature changed from tired to surprise and then from angry. It was adorable though, the way she kept looking over at Henry and talked in a low voice not to wake him. How could he ever doubt how much Regina loved him? She would do anything for him. For all of them. Regina was the kind of person who loves with her whole heart. She put the phone back on the hook with a sigh. She looked at Emma, and when she saw the vein in her forehead popping, Emma knew their time together was up.

"I'm gonna have to ask you to leave, Miss Swan," Regina said "There is work to be done"

"Sure" Emma rose from the chair "Can I say goodbye to him?"

"Excuse me?"

"Can I say goodbye to Henry?"

"Why?"

"Please?" Emma pleaded, making her best puppy eyes.

"Ah, okay," Regina said suspiciously "Just don't wake him up"

Emma smiled and walked the three steps to Henry's baby carriage. She bent down and smiled at the little bundle all wrapped up. A single tear ran down her face as she carefully caressed Henry's baby cheek. This was her son. Her firstborn, their firstborn. In a way, been back here was a blessing. Emma kissed his cheek and then rose from the floor. She smiled at Regina who looked puzzled back at her. She couldn't blame her. She walked Emma to the door and held it open for her. Emma took a step to leave but then she stopped.

"Is there something wrong, Miss Swan?" Regina asked.

"You look very beautiful today, Regina," Emma said sincerely.

"Oh!" Regina exclaimed, "Thank you, dear"

"Have a good day, Regina"

"Thank you. You too!"

Emma smiled one last time at her and then left the office. God, she wanted Regina in her arms so badly, it almost hurt. Did she ever tell Regina how much she loved her in a suit? If not, she was surely rectifying that as soon as she was back home. Well, back at her timeline. Emma walked around town not really thinking about where to go. Her head was running in a never-ending sequel of plots that would make Regina proud. She needed to win her wife. Again. She could do that, they were true lovers after all. Besides, she had the jacket. She knew Regina was lying, it was the badass jacket who won her over the first time around.

Emma stopped walking when she was in front of the clock tower. She looked up at the pointers, but they never moved. Not even once. She knew the reason why time was frozen, but Emma always wondered if she could make it work if she just climbed up there and smash the pieces together.

"It's broken," A voice said next to her.

"Gold!" Emma said without looking at him.

"Do we know each other, dearie?"

"Everybody knows you in this town"

"And I know everyone but you," Gold said "What's your name, dearie?"

"Not important"

"Names are important, dearie"

"Yes, I'm aware of that" Emma said annoyed "If you'll excuse me, I have to go"

Emma turned around and left the man behind. She stepped inside Granny's and picked up a couple of sandwiches and a bottle of water to go. Emma walked all the way to the woods where she has first woken up and then some. Maybe there was a portal there or a hidden door somewhere, maybe Regina, her Regina, had found a way to bring her back home. God, she must be so worried about Emma. And the kids, Sammy and Olie and Henry, God she missed them so much. She had never been more than a day away from them.

Emma walked up and down and then up and down again around the woods. She rested for a few minutes and then walked again. She ate her food and walked again. It was pointless. There was nothing there! By the time Emma step a foot into town it was already dark. She was dirty and frankly, she didn't smell all that good. She walked inside Granny's and then up to her bedroom. After a long warm shower, Emma changed into her tank top, which was half black because of the woods, but it was the only piece of clothes she could use right now. She was going to buy a few clothes in the morning, or at least what she could with the little money she had.

Emma dropped in bed, completely tired. Her legs hurt from all the walking and her arms weren't all that better. She looked at the bedside table and saw her cellphone, remembering now she had left there to charge. Emma took it from the charger and unlocked the screen. Her eyes filled with tears with the screensaver. It was a picture of their wedding. Emma tapped on the gallery icon and openly cried as she slid her fingers on the screen, pictures of the twins making poses with their jackets, then pictures of them at the wedding. Pictures of Henry with her and his brothers. Pictures of him with Regina, pictures of her and Regina and then, pictures of Regina. Emma quite liked to snap a picture of Regina when she wasn't looking. She always looked so naturally beautiful. Emma went through all of the pictures in the gallery, and when she tried to slid to one more and couldn't, she cried and held the phone closer to her heart. It was real. They were real. She wasn't crazy.

Emma looked at her phone again, the last photo was an image of Regina in her glasses, reading a book in bed. She was wearing the red camisole Emma loved, the one Emma always made a point to slowly remove with her teeth. Regina was so focused on the book, that she didn't even notice Emma snapping the picture, and afterward, Emma had to forcibly remove the book from Regina's hands before having her way with her. Emma smiled at the memory and closed her eyes but she didn't have time to think how much she missed her as an idea popped into her mind. Emma looked at the phone and then dialed Regina's number. She held the device closer to her ears as the phone rang, feeling her heart racing a marathon inside her chest.

"Hello?"

It worked!

"Regina?" Emma said desperately.

"Yes, who is this?"

Emma felt her heart sink as she understood what happened. Regina had never changed her number, it had always been the same for over thirty years.

"It's me.. it's… It's Emma" Emma stammered.

"Miss Swan?" Regina asked, "How do you have my number?"

"Yellow pages?" Emma asked.

"Are you asking me or telling me?"

"I'm…telling you?"

Emma scratched her head as she heard Regina sigh on the other side of the line.

"What do you want?" Regina asked.

"Nothing!" Emma said quickly.

"Then why did you call me?"

"I thought it was someone else number"

"Of course you did," Regina said tiredly "Goodbye, Miss Swan"

"No, Regina, wait" Emma shouted.

"What?" Regina asked angrily.

"I just want you to know, that I'm here for you," Emma said "Whatever you need, you can count on me"

"Oh!" Regina said "Thank you, I suppose"

Emma was about to say something else when she heard Henry crying. Loudly. Her heart squeezed in pain when she heard her baby boy on the other side of the line.

"I have to go," Regina said quickly.

"Do you need any help? I can be there in five minutes"

"That's not necessary, dear," Regina said "Goodnight, Miss Swan"

"Goodnight, Regina"

Storybrooke - Present Day

Regina was sat on the top of the trunk looking at the wall in her vault. She was crying, silently. The tears were falling down as the warm feeling took over her heart and then her whole body. The feeling wasn't exactly new, not after she met Emma, not after the beautiful family they made together, but still, it washed over her in a way she wasn't really expecting.

"Regina? Regina, what's wrong?"

"What?" Regina asked looking down at Snow who was kneeled beside her.

"You are crying," Snow said "What happened?"

"I don't…I don't know," Regina said looking blankly at Snow.

"You don't know?" Snow pushed her.

"I was reading, trying to find a way to figured out where Emma is and…"

"And what?"

"I had that memory feeling again," Regina said "The one I told you about"

"I don't follow,"

"I had this vision of Emma and I eating breakfast together in my office when Henry was just a baby, and…"

"Oh, honey," Snow said and squeezed her hand "You just miss her"

"I do," Regina said as a tear fell down.

"It's just your mind playing tricks on you,"

"But why from so far away?" Regina asked, "Why am I having these thoughts, these…dreams from fourteen years ago?"

"I don't know, maybe you are just wishing you met her sooner, that you had more time with her"

"Well, that I do" Regina laughed.

"Did you find anything on those books?" Snow asked.

"Nothing relevant," Regina said "I'm going to go over one of my mother's now"

"That will have to wait then," Snow said.

"Why?"

"It's Sam. He is crying saying you abandoned him too" Snow said "We tried to calm him down but, he wants his mommy"

"Oh no!" Regina said cleaning the tears from her face "Where is he?"

"At the mansion. David took him home"

Regina rose from the trunk and waved her hands in the air. The room was filled with purple smoke and in a blink of an eye, they were both inside Sam's room in the mansion. Regina looked around but the boy wasn't there even though she could hear him crying. She left the room with Snow right behind her and walked down the stairs and then to the living room where she found her children with their grandfather.

"Mommy!" Sam screamed and ran in her direction.

"Hi, Sammy," Regina said as she lifted him up in her arms.

The boy hugged her, so tight, that Regina felt like she couldn't breathe. She patted his back and kissed his cheeks, whispering loving words into his ear. She looked at Olie sitting on Henry's lap, the little girl looked like she had been crying too. God, she hated this. They missed their mom and she felt so helpless, so useless for not being able to bring her back home. Emma was her wife, her true love. Shouldn't they always find each other? Shouldn't she know where she was?

Regina walked to the couch and sat down. Olie ran to her and cuddled on one side as Sam cuddled on the other. She looked at David who whispered I'm sorry, but Regina just shook her head. This wasn't on him. It was that man's fault.

"Mommy, are you going to leave us too?" Sam sobbed.

"What? No!" Regina said feeling her heart squeeze "I will never leave you"

"Momma did," Olie said looking up at Regina.

"She didn't leave you, sweetheart," Regina said running her hand through her hair "Momma fell into a portal, but we are going to bring her back home"

"When?" Sam asked, "When is momma coming back home?"

"I don't know yet," Regina said, "But I promise you, all of you..." Regina said and looked at Henry "I will bring your mother back home"

"I know you will, mom," Henry said looking at her.

"Mommy, can you stay with us today?" Olie asked.

"Of course, I can" Regina smiled kissing the top of her head.

"And Enwy too" Sam added.

"Yes, monkey," Henry said as he kneeled in front of the boy "Why don't I make some popcorn and we all watch a movie together?"

"I think that's a great idea," Snow said "Can grandmother stay too?"

"And Grandpa?" David asked next.

"YES!" The twins said together.

Henry left the living room and not long after that Regina could hear the popcorn popping. The twins stayed by her side, holding her for dear life. She pulled them closer to her body kissing the top of their heads. Snow sat down next to Regina and squeezed her hand again. Regina nodded and not long after that Henry and David came back with the popcorn and apple juice. They put on a Disney movie for the not complete family watch together.

Except that Regina couldn't focus on the movie. Her mind kept on racing, trying to remember all the books she read today, analyzing if she had missed something important. And then her mind went back to the daydream she had that afternoon. The one with Emma and her having breakfast together. The way she asked to say goodbye to Henry, the way she cried. The way she said she looked beautiful. Did anyone ever tell Regina that back when they were all cursed? No, they haven't. And then there was that call. That call that had touched her heart so deeply. I just want you to know, that I'm here for you. Whatever you need, you can count on me. Regina looked at Henry and felt tears running down her face. She knew it wasn't real, she raised him alone for ten years but God, how good it felt for a moment, even if it was just her imagination playing tricks on her, knowing that for the first time in eighteen years, she wasn't all alone.