Disclaimer: Not my characters.

A/N: Oh, look, another update ... and this time it hasn't been close to a month or so. ;-) Thank you all for the continued support for this story. I hope this chapter calms the fears some of you had.

Regina awoke to a screaming headache, the likes of which she'd hardly ever felt before. She sat up slowly, only to recognize she needed to amend her first, waking thought. She had woken up to screaming and a headache, the latter not really being helped by whatever was going on in the front room.

"Emma?" she rasped, when she couldn't feel Emma by her side, but her voice barely carried past her lips. She cleared her throat, wincing when even that hurt, and she realized that she had done a real number on herself. What she wouldn't give for one of her regenerating potions and one of her shakes right about now to solve that problem. "Emma?" she tried again, a little louder this time.

It took way too much effort to sit up but Regina finally managed to get herself in a sitting position. By the time she managed, Emma was by her side. "Regina, you're awake," Emma breathed, sounding relieved.

"What's going on out there?" Regina's voice was thick and raspy, betraying her exhaustion. "If you're in here, who's out there disrupting the peace?"

Emma sighed. "My m— Snow," she revealed. "She came back a little while ago, and she's not happy."

Regina rested her head against Emma's shoulder. "About what?"

"I just woke up a minute ago but as far as I can tell from the hissing and shouting, David won't let her near the box," Emma replied around a yawn. "Man, I'm so damn tired."

"We need to go home," Regina croaked.

"The cabin?" Emma sighed in pleasure. "God, that sounds good."

"Well, one of us has to go pick up Henry at some point," Regina said as she shook her head in a minuscule motion that still made her flinch. "But I actually meant the mansion. I have potions there for us and—"

"Oh yeah, I could really use one of those right now, and I can't even imagine how you must be feeling." Emma glared at Regina. "What on earth were you thinking, Regina? Feeding me your energy on top of hitting that stupid dark magic?" she hissed. "Risking your own—"

"I was thinking that I love you and this town needs you more than it needs me," Regina replied wearily, stopping Emma's tirade before it had a chance to really get going. "Can we please fight about this when we're sure we've taken care of this whole mess for good?"

There was something so incredibly resigned in Regina's tone, as if she expected Emma to turn on her now, that Emma felt all her frustration leave her in a whoosh of air. She realized that this was really not worth fighting about, and it wasn't like she hadn't known about Regina's protective streak before today. She just hadn't expected to be at the receiving end of it. It made her feel incredibly loved and cherished, and her anger dissipated.

"Thank you." Her voice implied much more than just gratefulness. She turned her head and pressed her lips to Regina's temple. "You look like you might need a bucket of that regeneration stuff and then maybe take a bath in it."

Regina met Emma's eyes, her own open, relieved, and vulnerable. Then she smiled as Emma's suggestion registered. "That's actually not a bad idea," she mused. "I could toss a few of the potions in the hot tub and …"

"I was kidding," Emma snorted. "But if that actually works … can't wait."

There was a small pause as both women just leaned against each other, continuing to fight off their exhaustion. "What does Snow want with the box?" Regina suddenly asked.

"No idea."

"Great …" Regina muttered darkly. "I can only assume that she still feels drawn to it for some reason. We have to take care of the box for good, Emma. I think the residual effects on Snow would go away with time anyway, but by taking care of the box, we can ensure it happens sooner rather than later."

"Good idea. Nobody needs a Snow White that's attracted to the dark side."

"We can't let anyone know where we're putting it," Regina added. "Not even David. And we need to make sure it can't come back." She frowned. "I wish we could send it to another realm."

"Neverland would be good …"

"Alas …"

"Yeah." Emma heaved herself to her feet, then helped Regina stand as well. "You wanna tell Snow to get out of here or should I?"

o o o

"David, just let me see it, please," Snow repeated, and it didn't sound like a request at all. "I need to … want to make sure that everything is safe."

David swallowed hard, not sure how much longer he could withstand his wife. She had asked, cajoled, shouted, threatened — jokingly, she had reassured him afterwards — ever since she had arrived ten minutes earlier, and now she was pleading, or something like it. "Snow," he tried to reason with her once again. "Until Regina tells me with absolute certainty that this thing is neutralized, nobody is getting close to it." Especially not you, he thought but refrained from adding.

"But I can help, Charming," Snow begged softly. "We're the good guys, remember? We take care of such things."

"I know," David said, relaxing slightly, "but in this case it's not our job." He put his hands on her arms. "This one is definitely one for Emma and Regi—"

"Quite right," Regina said as imperiously as she could despite her utter exhaustion. She walked into the room, subtly using the door frame and the counter for support as she got closer to David and Snow. "I think the two of you should leave now, so we can take care of this once and for all."

"Regina …"

"Now, Snow," Regina ground out. "I'm not sure what made you think this was a request." She looked at David. "Thank you for your help," she said sincerely. "Now you need to go."

"We've got this," Emma added.

"You both look like death warmed over," Snow remarked. "I'm sure you could use our help." She inched closer to the box, now that David's attention was diverted.

Regina casually reached out with her hand and magically moved the box away from Snow and to the countertop next to her and Emma. The effort nearly caused her to collapse but the counter and Emma's hand at her back kept her upright. Snow glared at her but Emma stepped in front of Regina and glared right back. "Please leave, Snow," she growled, images of Regina being harmed by the woman in front of her flooding her mind. "I'm not going to ask again."

"But we need to talk, Em—"

"Dad," Emma said without taking her eyes off her mother. "Take her home, please." David nodded immediately. "I'll call you later and we'll talk." She looked at Snow. "All of us."

David grabbed Snow by the elbow and marched her out the door.

Emma let out a long breath, turned to face Regina, and pointed at the box. "So, what do we do first?"

"First ," Regina said as she sagged against the doorframe, "I suggest we try not to keel over again, dear."

o o o

"Thanks, Neal," Emma said as she crawled out of the backseat of the yellow bug in front of Regina's mansion.

"My pleasure," Neal said with a smile. When Emma had called him to pick up Regina and her from the shop and drive them to the mansion, he had agreed immediately. "Least I could do after leaving you guys to deal with that thing in my dad's shop." He pointed at the box in Regina's hands. "I'll leave you to it then … call me if you need anything else."

Emma watched him walk down the street for a moment before closing the door of her bug and walking to Regina's side. "Haven't used the backseat of my car since the time when you had me kicked out of Granny's," she muttered, but it was almost as if recounting a nice memory. "Simpler times."

Regina only nodded. She was mostly focusing on staying upright and walking the few feet to her front door as well as not dropping the box. She felt Emma's hand in the small of her back and the subtle way the blonde was guiding her up the path. Once they were inside the house, Regina immediately walked into the kitchen and to the fridge before she remembered that she had transported almost everything she needed for the shakes to the mansion. "No matter," she muttered under her breath. "The potion will do."

"Anything I can do?" Emma asked from the doorway, hands jammed into the pockets of her jeans. Watching Regina in her kitchen had always intimidated her to a certain degree, and she was too shy to just come in and touch anything.

Regina opened the pantry and walked inside. Once there, she opened a well-hidden panel in the back wall that revealed a set of stairs going down. "You can accompany me, if you'd like," she said over her shoulder. "I need to go downstairs to get us some of the potion."

Emma took a few quick steps to the pantry. "But I thought your basement was …" She trailed off, not sure how wise it was to reveal that Henry had once allowed her to sneak around the house before the curse broke. She did remember that the stairs down to the basement were inside the garage, though.

Regina turned around with a raised eyebrow. "The one you used to snoop around in was the regular basement," she explained with a knowing grin. "The one Henry knows about and we both use. This one," she continued as she slowly walked down the steep wooden steps, "is the one that only I know about. It's where I make my cider …"

"Among other things?"

"Among other things," Regina admitted. "And be glad I do. If I didn't, we'd both need to sleep for about a week to make up for what we expended in energy today."

"Oh, I am glad," Emma chuckled. "I also wouldn't mind some of that cider, although maybe not right now," she added as she almost missed a step, tired as she was.

At the bottom of the steps, Regina turned right, following the light that came down the narrow passage. At the end of the passage, a larger room opened. There were shelves with cider bottles on one side, and at the back wall Emma saw an apparatus that she assumed to be some kind of distillery. On the wall across from the cider there were shelves filled with all sorts of different and strange things. "Don't touch anything," Regina warned. "Unless it's the cider. I just don't have the energy to undo whatever it is you could do to yourself down here unsupervised."

It wasn't said unkindly, and Emma nodded as she held up her hands, then shoved them into the front pockets of her jeans. "All safe now."

Regina snorted, but gave her a smile. She put the box on one of the shelves, then walked to another one and pulled down another one, this one made of wood with an intricate carving on the top. She put it down on a small side table to open it and chose a medium-sized vial. "Drink this," she ordered as she handed it to Emma.

Emma gulped down the contents of the vial without question, smacking her lips afterwards. The taste wasn't too bad for something that could be considered medicine. "What about you?" she asked when she saw that Regina was simply watching her.

"Your trust in me is amazing," Regina whispered, sounding completely in awe.

Emma stepped close to Regina and cupped her cheek. "I trust you with my life," she said. "I know you would never hurt me."

"I might."

"Not willingly," Emma insisted with absolute certainty. "Now drink your potion. I'm already feeling a lot better."

Regina pulled a slightly larger vial from the box and downed its contents, then leaned her head back and sighed as she felt the potion work its magic in her thoroughly depleted body.

"You're so beautiful," Emma breathed, watching as Regina's whole body lost some of the tension it had been holding for way too long. "Wanna go have that bath now?"

To Emma's disappointment, Regina shook her head, relieved when it didn't hurt. She loved magic. "Tonight, when everything's done, dear," she said quietly. "For now, we have to much to do yet."

"Okay, what do you want me to do?"

"I think you should get Henry from the cabin and take him to Granny's," Regina replied. "Buy him some of that greasy food you both love so much … he must be hungry."

"He's always hungry," Emma snorted.

"Well, he is your son," Regina pointed out with a smile.

"What are you going to do?" Emma asked. "No, let me guess … you're sending me away so you can dispose of that evil magic box on your own …"

Regina sighed. "I'm going to find a place to get rid of it, yes," she admitted.

"Don't you trust me?" Emma's tone was a little wounded and a lot sad.

"I trust you with my life," Regina firmly repeated Emma's earlier words. "But I don't trust Snow and her ability to guilt others into doing her bidding or revealing things she wants to know."

"But you said once we got rid of this thing, Snow would go back to completely normal …"

"And I sincerely hope that's the case," Regina said. "Just in case it's not, however, please allow me to be the one to hold on to this secret alone. I have a plan."

Emma huffed but relented after a few moments. This didn't sit well with her, especially since she could tell from the way Regina refused to meet her eyes that she probably wouldn't like Regina's plan at all. "Promise me you'll be careful."

"I promise," Regina replied solemnly. "Would you like to meet at Granny's later or should we meet back here once I'm done?"

"How much time do you need?"

"I'm really not sure."

"Then we should just meet here, I guess?"

Regina nodded, secretly relieved. She was looking forward to a quiet night with Emma and Henry after all of this was over. If she managed to come back, that was. "You should go, dear, Henry's been waiting long enough."

"Are you sure I can get there without you?" Emma asked.

"Close your eyes and think of the cabin," Regina instructed with a gentle smile. "You should have some good thoughts connecting you to it by now. Think of Henry and how much you want to see him, and then just—" Emma vanished in a plume of white smoke.

"… go," Regina finished her thought. Then she turned towards the box.

Maybe she should have said goodbye.

o o o

Regina took a deep breath as she stared at the orange line on the ground a few feet away. She had no idea if this would work, if she could come back from the other side, and if so, if she'd still be the same woman. She'd crossed the town line several times during the curse, sometimes just to get away from it all for a day, but hadn't tried since the curse had been broken. She knew that others couldn't cross without losing part of themselves — apart from Emma and Henry — but she hoped that her status as the caster of the curse hadn't changed with the breaking of it. Still, she wrapped Henry's scarf tighter around her neck, wishing once more she had something of Emma's as well, to be doubly sure that she was as connected to Storybrooke as she possibly could.

She knew that nobody would blame her if she didn't do this. In fact, Emma was sure to be completely livid once she figured out what Regina had done, but by that time she would hopefully be back across the line, back in Storybrooke, where she could soothe Emma's anger with a loving touch and some groveling.

To come back, however, she had to leave first. She shouldered her shovel, clutched the box tightly under an arm, and started walking. She stopped once again, an inch from the town line, and looked at the shovel. Maybe she could get her magic to work a little if she stayed inside Storybrooke? Just to make things easier?

She set the box and the shovel down and held out her hand as she focused on making a deep hole in the ground a few feet away. There was a crackling sound as her magic traveled across the line and died out before it ever reached its designated spot.

"Well, then," Regina breathed. "Digging it is."

She picked up her shovel and the box again, and stepped over the line.

o o o

Snow gasped and dropped her tea cup, which clattered to their kitchen table and spilled the last drops of its contents in a thin stream along the grain of the wood.

"Snow?" David asked, surprised at the sudden sound. Snow had been giving him the silent treatment since they had left the shop, and he had not expected that to change any time soon. "What is it?"

Snow smiled at her husband, freely and openly. "Charming," she breathed, and even her voice sounded a little different. She took his hand and squeezed. "I missed you."

David looked taken aback for a second because it had been quite some time since he'd heard words of that kind, but then he saw the look in his wife's eyes, the love, the light, the openness. "Whatever Regina and Emma did worked," he surmised with a huge smile. "You're you again … completely, I mean."

Snow nodded, tears pooling in her eyes. Then she launched herself into David's arms. "I'm so sorry," she breathed against his neck as his arms tightened around her. "I love you."

David's smile was just a little bit tremulous. "I love you too, Snow," he whispered. "I missed you so much."

They kissed, reconnecting on a level they both craved. Suddenly, Snow leaned back. "I have to apologize to Regina and Emma and … and Henry, oh my," she rambled. "I owe them so much."

"Yes, we do," David agreed. "But give them tonight, okay? They're having a pretty rough day …" Snow bit her lip, hesitating. "Besides, wouldn't you much rather spend the next few hours getting reacquainted?" he tempted her.

With a grin, Snow nodded and leaned back into to resume their kiss.

o o o

Emma checked the time on her phone for the tenth time in almost as many minutes but apparently she wasn't doing it surreptitiously enough.

"Are you sure Mom said we'd meet her here at home?" Henry sounded worried, and Emma wondered if he really was or if she projected her own feelings onto his tone. "Maybe she's waiting for us at Granny's or at the cabin?" Nope, he was worried.

Emma shook her head, not sure what to tell their son. It had been well over two hours since she had last seen Regina, and the worry was eating away at her insides. "I'm sure everything's fine, Henry," she forced out with a smile that she hoped looked more convincing than it felt.

"Yeah, sure," Henry replied with a frown. "That's why you can't look at me and why you've been checking your phone every thirty seconds or so." He gave her a glare that was pure Regina. "What's going on, Ma?" He hesitated. "Do you think … did Mom leave again? Did something happen between you? I thought you two were happy …"

"Oh, Henry, we are," Emma reassured him as she gathered him into her arms. "Your mom didn't leave." At least she better didn't. "She's just taking care of that evil magic that was inside the wand."

"Yeah, that's what you said earlier," Henry mumbled against her neck, suddenly a little boy again. "But what does that mean? What is she doing with it? Where did she go?"

"I don't know, Henry," Emma admitted with a heavy heart. "She didn't want to tell me."

Henry considered that. "She probably thought it was safer that way, but sometimes she doesn't know when it's better to accept help." He picked up Emma's phone and scrolled to his mom's number and pressed the button. The call went straight to voicemail. "She's not answering," he sighed.

"I know, kid," Emma replied. It wasn't like she hadn't tried. "How about you spend some more time with Ruby at the diner?"

"Are you going to go look for mom?"

Emma nodded.

"Sure, and if Ruby doesn't have time, I can always go spend time with Belle at the library."

"I'll call you as soon as I know something, okay?"

"Promise you'll find her," Henry said seriously.

"I promise."

As soon as Henry was out of the house and on his way to the diner, Emma closed her eyes to concentrate. Since she had no idea where exactly Regina had gone, she'd have to follow her using her magic — or their magic connection, to be more precise — and hope for the best.

"That sounds awfully familiar," Emma muttered as she focused on her feelings for Regina, the tiny tingle at the base of her spine, and willed herself to Regina's side.

o o o

Emma carefully opened her eyes to look around, only to close them again in dismay when she realized that she had only gotten as far as the mansion's porch. "Great time to stop working," she groaned. Stupid magic.

"What are you doing, Emma?" Regina asked from behind her, voice a mix of confusion and tiredness. She had been about to open the door when Emma had materialized behind her. "You shouldn't use your magic this frivolously, not after using up so much energy earlier. Why didn't you use the door like a normal person?"

Emma whirled around on the porch to face Regina. "You're here," she exclaimed. "Home … you're home."

"Yes, I know," Regina said slowly as she opened the door and walked inside. She closed the door behind them both. "What's going on, Emma?"

"You're asking me what's going on?" Emma's worry came back at the state of Regina and her clothes, flaring just as quickly as it had vanished with the relief that Regina was home and safe. When she noticed Henry's scarf around Regina's neck, she put two and two together, and her worry turned to anger. She grabbed Regina by the shoulders and walked her backwards until she hit the wall next to the front door with a thud.

"Emma! What ar—"

"Do you have any idea how long you were gone?" Emma growled low in her throat. "How worried I was? How worried Henry was?" She pressed her whole body against Regina until she could feel every breath the other woman took on her face, against her chest, against her stomach. It was distracting, to say the least. "I called you like a million times … so where the hell were you?"

"Language, Miss Swan," Regina said firmly. "Henr—"

"Henry isn't here," Emma interrupted. "Sent him off to the diner, so I could go and find you." Emma saw understanding bloom in Regina's eyes and relaxed a little at the look she received. "I didn't know if you were okay," Emma whispered. "And I need to know that you're okay." She rested her forehead against Regina's chest, not even caring that she sounded needy and clingy.

"I'm fine," Regina said soothingly. Well, fine was quite an exaggeration given that she was bone-tired after digging a deep hole in the ground and burying that blasted box with its evil occupant in the middle of nowhere, outside of the reach of any magic. But at least the danger was over now. Regina knew nobody could ever be one hundred percent certain with magic as old and resilient as that, but even ancient magic should find it hard to endure where magic simply didn't exist. "I'm fine," she repeated. "It's taken care of, and I'm fine."

Emma looked up, her hands unconsciously running over Regina's body. "Are you sure?"

Regina nodded, then raised her hand to push a lock of hair behind Emma's ear and cup her cheek. "I'm sorry I worried you but it took … longer than I expected."

"I guess you're not going to tell me where you went, are you?" Emma asked as she leaned back and gave Regina's appearance a long look. "Or why you look like you spent some time rolling around in the dirt?"

"Maybe some day," Regina replied. "Now I just want to take a bath and then get started on my happy ending."

"How about some company?"

"Well, since you're a big part of my happy ending, I was actually counting on that …"

"For your bath," Emma corrected with an eye roll.

Regina pretended to think about that. "I guess since we're all alone, we could make use of the opportunity—"

Emma stopped her with a kiss that turned from fierce and almost desperate to sweet and soft. When they parted, Emma had tears in her eyes. "I don't need you to tell me that you did something potentially dangerous again," she rasped. Regina took a breath to say something but Emma stopped her with a quick shake of her head. "I love that you're doing the right thing these days, come hell or high water, but …"

"But?" Regina's tone was gentle.

"But don't ever do something like that again, no matter what it was," Emma demanded hoarsely. "I can't lose you, or even a part of you …"

Regina cocked her head in question and Emma snorted. "I may not be as smart as you, Regina, but even I can guess from the state you're in that you buried that box somewhere … and the fact that you're wearing Henry's scarf?" She pulled on the ends. "Dead giveaway as to where you went to do it."

"Emma, I—"

"No, no, it's fine," Emma pressed her thumb to Regina's lips and continued. "I agree, it was the right thing to do … I just wish you'd have told me or let me do it." She replaced her thumb with her lips. "Please promise me you'll at least talk to me before you do something like that again," she added after the kiss.

"Emma …" Regina wasn't sure if she could promise something like that. Trying to be good had so far proven to be decidedly bad for her health.

"Promise!"

Regina took in the look on Emma's face, the fierceness of the love directed at her, the fear of being left alone, and she found herself nodding despite her misgivings. "I promise … if you promise the same," she whispered. "Because we both know that between you and me, you are the one that is much more given to stupidly dangerous heroics in the name of the greater good."

Emma grinned sheepishly at the truth of that. "I promise." She kissed Regina again, just because she could. "So, about that bath … do you really have a hot tub?"

Regina grinned and pulled Emma up the stairs.

A/N: I decided to leave their rejuvenating bath - potion and all - to your imagination, knowing it would be hotter than anything that I could write. ;-)