A/N: It would be irresponsible to not mention that the season three premiere was extremely inspirational in the writing of this chapter.

Chapter 13

Emma Swan was experiencing an agony at that moment that was all too familiar. It called to recollection some of her worst memories, and dredged up all of the emotions that went along with them.

The crippling anxiety she'd felt when she'd been arrested and left behind by Neal. The earth-shattering sadness she'd experienced after giving birth to Henry, and having to lose that beautiful connection she'd had as a constant companion for nine months. The intense fear coursed through her when Henry was trapped in the mine.

And all of it lead her back to the scariest place of all. The place that built her. The place that used to be her greatest strength. And the place that, now, she didn't ever wish to go back to.

The place where she was scared and alone.

Screaming, crying and cursing, she railed against the restraints that held her to the jail cell bars. Pulling so hard that she was causing her wrist bleed.

"Grrrgh!" she groaned against the cuff. "Come on, Goddammit!"

She didn't have time for this. Didn't have time for this stupid bar, or metal, or wrist. She needed to get out of there. Needed to get to Regina before the crowd did. Before she lost her just when she'd found her.

"Please!" She used her other hand to grab the cuff and leveraged her foot to try to pull it hard enough to stretch the links in the chain.

"I need help!" she screamed. "Can anyone hear me?"

Her breathing increased and she could tell that if she didn't stop and try to regulate it she was going to hyperventilate and pass out. And then she'd be too late. Far too late to save Regina. Allowing her body to slip to the ground, her right arm still hanging on the bar and her left hand clutching at her chest, she tried to steady herself.

And as her hand rested there she remembered how, not long before, Regina's hand had been in the same spot. Only inside her chest. Holding her heart. She let the love she felt at that moment wash over her, remembering the brief but powerful caress she'd received against the very organ that kept her alive.

"Regina," the name slipped from her lips like a prayer as another tear raced down her cheek.

And that's when she felt it.

Her right arm falling to the ground with a thud.

Surprise and confusion swept through her as she tried to understand what possibly could have happened. Glancing down, she noticed the handcuffs were still in the locked position. One half was even still stuck to her wrist as the other dangled free.

She shook her head and stood to look at the bar to which it'd once been attached. And, there it was, completely intact. It was as if the restraint had simply slipped through the iron bar; like a knife cutting through butter.

Like magic.

"Magic," she whispered, as if giving herself the answer to her own question.

Racing to the cell door she shook at it with her hands to test its integrity and found that it was, in fact locked.

But not for long.

"Ok, I can do this," she wiped the tears from her eyes and focused. "How did I get it to work before?"

She thought back.

"I closed my eyes and thought about Regina," she said, not even realizing she was speaking anymore. "I grabbed my chest too. I wonder if that matters."

She thought for a moment about how ridiculous all of it was but pushed the thought quickly away from her mind. She didn't have time for doubt anymore and she knew better anyway. It was love she was feeling at the moment her hand fell. One single second of love, free from her fear and anger and sadness.

And if that's all she needed to bust out of this jail, she had it in spades.

Taking one last look at the cell door, she backed away and grasped at her heart before closing her eyes.

As her thoughts drifted all across the expanse of her memories of Regina, Henry and the family she wanted to create with them, warmth spread through her chest and she could actually feel the magic building. She tried not to get lost in the experience and continued to hone in on her feelings.

The way the smallest smile from Regina felt like a victory of epic proportion. How the adoptive mother knew to errantly stroke Henry's head from time to time simply to establish connection. The pride the Queen took in nurturing her apple tree. The softness of her kiss and the warmth of her arms. The vulnerability she showed when they in bed together. Her unending bravery in instances of protecting the ones she loved.

As the thoughts raced through Emma's head, her body started to glow and foster a building vibration that was very near its precipice.

It was one last thought that finally send her magic into a tailspin, the same thought that had kept Emma from running away from all of this when she had the chance to leave with Henry: home. Everything about Regina was now home to her. From the town, to the clock tower, to the lasagna on a table, surrounded by the people she loved most. Regina was home. And that was something Emma had never had before… and wasn't about to lose.

A resounding 'Boom' pulled her from her meditation and as her eyes flashed open she saw the cell door fly off its hinges and go crashing into her desk. She only allowed herself one second, and one word, to commemorate the experience before running at full speed out of the station.

"Wow."

Only one of two voices could have possibly pulled her out of the warm, safe, happy place she'd chosen to die inside of within her mind. Neither of them should have been anywhere near close enough to be heard yet, through the yells of the mob she heard it: the angry, shrill and determined cry of Emma Swan.

Opening her eyes, Regina shook her head and exhaled a sigh of frustration and, as much as she didn't want to admit it, relief. She watched as the blonde head and red jacket angrily pushed and shoved through the crowd until she was between them and their prey.

"You are NOT going to burn this woman to death!" She ordered, so much bravery and strength in her voice it made Regina's heart swell. "Don't you see what you've become? You're turning into the very monsters you've always fought!"

"Emma get out of the way," Regina ordered. "This is the only way it can all end. Their pain, my regret; all of it. It has to end. Let them take their revenge or you'll always be fighting this fight."

Emma then said something that none of them were expecting.

"Shut up, Regina!"

There was a small moment of silence allotted to her from both the Queen and the mob due to the fact that no one could believe that the words had ever been spoken by anyone in that specific order. It afforded her time to take in Regina's words and make a very bad, dangerous and stupid decision.

The decision was also very Emma.

"Fine," she said, understanding that Regina was not completely wrong, she moved to hitch the free end of her hand cuff to Regina's left wrist.

"What the hell do you think you're doing?" Regina growled at her.

"Same thing you did to me," Emma fired back. "Trying to protect you."

"Idiot!" Regina spat. "This isn't going to stop them. They're going to kill you too!"

"No, they're not," she argued. "You want them to have faith in you, then you're gonna have to have faith in them."

Emma looked back out at the mob, her eyes pleading.

"Let's get one thing straight," she told them. "This is the last time we are having this conversation. I am not living the rest of my life worrying about all of you barbequing…" she hesitated but held firm, "the woman I love and the mother of my child. I am not saying that she deserves your forgiveness but you will not kill her. Not without getting my blood on your hands as well."

She could tell that even Whale was starting to falter in his resolve with the idea of burning an innocent to death lingering in his possible future.

"I believe in the goodness inside of Regina," she told them. "I believe in the goodness inside all of you too. Maybe that makes me a fool. And maybe some fools need to be put out of their misery. So, this is your last chance to enact your revenge. If you want it bad enough to kill me too, then take it."

She then turned her back to them and wrapped her free arm around the pole, bringing her forehead to rest against Regina's. Tears were streaming from chocolate eyes and she bent to kiss them away.

"I love you," she whispered. "And we are going to finish out this life together. One way or another."

"I've never hated or loved someone so much before in my life," Regina cried, and exhaled sadly before speaking again. "I've never wanted you to be right more either."

"There's a first time for everything," Emma said sadly, hopefully.

And that was when they heard footsteps approaching and knew that, one way or another, their fate was being decided. Closing their eyes, they awaited it together.

The sounds of knives against rope seem soft to those who are not bound by the latter. But to Emma and Regina they sounded off loud like horns of victory. Elation escaped both of them through sighs of relief as the ropes loosened.

They were going to be ok.

The dark Queen shucked off the ropes and kept her eyes on Emma. Shaking her head the whole time in awe of the power held within the souls of the innocent and the faithful. They were met back with an arrogant smirk that certainly proclaimed 'I was right the whole time'. But their gaze broke as Whale started to speak up to both of them.

"Emma," he regarded only the Sheriff. "We won't be coming out for her blood anymore but this isn't going to be easy for any of us, including you. That woman has hurt every single person in this town and you're the Sheriff; the one who's supposed to protect us all. How are any of us supposed to feel safe?"

"Because you're the ones holding the gasoline and matches, while she's the one who gave herself up freely," Emma fired back with rapidity. "That's how you feel safe. Now disperse this mob and clean up this mess before I arrest all of you for attempted murder."

There were some grumbles but after a few seconds everyone was either heading back home or cleaning up the rope and gasoline cans. Emma took the hand she had cuffed to her own and gently pulled Regina away from the crowd with a confident nod. As they walked to the station, Regina noticed the blood dripping from the Savior's hand onto her own.

"Oh Emma!" she gasped looking down at the wreckage of the gnarled wrist. "What have you done to yourself?"

"Nothing that I wouldn't do again," the sheriff replied, raising her free hand to cup Regina's cheek. "Remember that the next time you decide to do something stupid, because I will always figure out a way to save you."

Tears welled up in Regina's eyes as she took in the sweet words. Shaking her head, she took Emma's hand in her own and turned to kiss it.

"Let's go find the key to these things and get you cleaned up," she ordered softly as they walked off together to do just that.

Upon entering the police station and locking the door behind them, Regina noticed the state of disarray the room was in. The fallen cell door was resting on the floor and the sheriff's desk was certainly looking worse for wear.

"Dear God, Emma," she said as they made their way to the desk to retrieve the keys. "How in the hell did you manage to do this much damage from within that cell?"

"Magic," Emma smirked as she grabbed the key from the desk and unlocked them both.

"Are you being serious or facetious?" Regina asked, knowing neither answer would surprise her.

"Serious," was the blonde's answer as the cuffs fell to the desk and she winced at the pain from radiating through her bleeding right wrist.

Regina immediately grabbed the pained limb and scrunched her face in pain and sadness.

"Here," she said, hovering her hand over the angry red area and healing it with her magic.

Emma gasped as the strange feelings passed over the injured area and looked in awe at Regina as she healed her. Once the evidence of her struggle had been completely wiped away, the brunette head bent down to caress the area with an even more important kind of magic: a loving kiss.

"I don't think you'll ever know how much this means to me," Regina explained as she continued to kiss away the pain and replace it with feelings much more pleasant. "I love you, Emma. I don't think I'll ever be able to tell you how much."

"Then show me," Emma said softly yet fiercely before bringing the Queen's lips up to her own and kissing them hard.

The adrenaline pumping through her body, after having just survived such a horrifying ordeal, had caused a stirring within her that made her feel very much alive. She wondered if Regina shared the passion that was running through her, but she needn't question it long. Her kiss was returned with reverence and heat as she was backed against the desk by the dark mayor.

"I'll spend forever showing you, if that's what it takes," She asserted, gripping the blonde hair softly with one hand as the other moved slowly down a pale throat, heaving chest and back to a firm ass.

Regina kissed her with hope, confidence, fear and love. Her touch begged forgiveness, understanding and patience. And it was all returned, in kind, from the blonde with emphatic promise, care and want.

Their movements were purposeful but not rushed as they simply enjoyed the moment and forced the circumstances of the world far away from their mutual expression of wonder at each other.

At some point their pleasurable journey lead them to a place of extreme vulnerability for the both of them. Nearly completely naked and sweating, Emma clung to Regina's hair and shoulder from her perch upon the desk as Regina stood between her legs and pumped slowly in and out of her. The Queen's free hand clutching softly at the small of her back, guiding the sensual movements of the sheriff's hips. Their eyes were locked onto each other and their lips alternated between kissing and barely touching; breathing the same labored breath.

Regina pulled back just a bit to speak, keeping her movements rhythmic.

"Do you feel this, Emma?" she asked. "This is the real magic. Our connection to each other. You've given me the ability to feel again. To love again. This kind of thing doesn't happen for everyone, and though there are so many more people out there more deserving of it than me, I promise I'll never throw it away again out of fear. My path to salvation exists within you."

Emma gasped and moaned as she felt the effects of Regina's ministrations to both her body and her mind. The combined feelings so overwhelming, the only possible response she could manage was a breathy 'Regina'.

The brunette responded with a daring smile as she started to pick up the pace and felt Emma responding in kind. She was dangerously close to the edge and the Regina could tell. Moving her left hand up the Savior's back and holding her close, she moved her lips to her ear and whispered to her.

"Let go for me, Emma," she commanded sweetly. "I promise to be here to catch you now and always."

They held tight to each other as Emma's release washed over her. Tears escaping her eyes as she both heard and felt Regina's words throughout her entire body. Once the aftershocks subsided Regina was there to kiss the tears away and gentle her strong, yet fragile Savior. As Emma caught her breath, she softly stroked the beautiful face before her and found her voice.

"Regina, you're my home," she admitted.

The weight of those few words was not missed by the enrapt mayor. She knew what they meant to Emma. Home was something she'd longed for all of her life. Something that was ripped away from her by the very person that offered it to her now. It was layered in so many levels of pain, happiness, sadness, elation and most of all, love. It was precious.

"And you're my happy ending," Regina smiled back through her tears, knowing that the reciprocation would be apt enough to make Emma understand that their need for each other was equally important.

They allowed the depth of their feelings to linger for a bit before Emma moved to switch their positions.

"Good. I'm glad that's all settled," the blonde expressed with a cheeky grin. "Now, Madam Mayor, I'm about to do something to you on this desk that I've wanted to do for a very long time."

Regina responded with a chuckle, "I do love how closely we work together in our respective political positions."

It earned a giggle from Emma before she put her mouth to work on much more pressing issues. It was easily the most productive meeting the sheriff and mayor ever adjourned together.

And neither would be able to regard the desk after without a satisfied smile crossing their lips.