**** I do not own OUaT nor its characters ****

She was so tired. But unfortunately, not numb. A heavy weight pressed down on her entire being. The ache in her heart flooded her entire system. The pain wracked through Regina's body. Henry had chosen. And it wasn't her.

She walked back into the house with the document that Emma Swan had just thrown into her face. She wished she could just slap the woman. But she knew it wasn't all her fault. She was just doing whatever it took to keep everyone on her side. And she'd won. She'd beaten the Evil Queen.

Cora was dead by none other than the goodly Snow White's conniving ways. But as usual, Regina was the epitome of all that is evil while Snow was held up as all that was good. And Emma had decided that she needed to do something to stave off any retaliatory acts by Regina.

Regina walked upstairs to her bedroom. Every step she took in her house just echoed throughout the empty house. Much like her pain echoed throughout her system.

She made it up to her bathroom. She stood in front of her medicine cabinet thinking of taking some migraine medicine to stop the pain reverberating through her skull. Then her eyes lit upon a bottle of pain killers she'd gotten when she'd had an accident years before.

Regina didn't like taking meds much at all. She liked to be in complete control of her senses. She had only taken 2 out of the bottle of 30. And that was only because her pain had been too severe for her to pretend it wasn't there anymore. She knew that pain medication got more potent over time. And for the first time, that sounded like music to her ears. She put the pills on her nightstand and went back downstairs.

She went back down into the kitchen. Her heels clicking across the sterilized floors as she walked in and poured herself a glass of juice. Then she went back up to her suite. She sat on the edge of her bed for an extended period of time. Then she calmly popped the pills into her mouth one by one washing away the acrid taste with some cold apple juice

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Emma slowly followed her parents from the mansion. She knew that it was what they wanted and felt was needed. She had known that Regina wouldn't take her decree of not being able to see her son until SHE'D deemed her fit very well. And she hadn't.

But nothing had prepared her for the actually feel of it. Or for the pain she'd seen in the woman that to her was bigger than life being brought down by something she knew from experience was one of the most painful things in her life. She had given Henry up of her own free will and that had hurt. But she had just taken him away from a woman who'd loved and cared for him when she hadn't. She had been unprepared for the way her heart clenched in her chest as she'd watched a part of Regina crumble. And to know that she was the cause of it nearly killed her.

She followed behind her parents as their dutiful daughter should. She'd found that giving into whatever they decreed was easiest for her. And Henry was so in love with the fairy tale of them all he'd eagerly follow any of their commands. Emma had had no choice.

Or so that's the way she'd rewritten the tale in her head. It was for the best. She was sure. After things calmed down, then she'd assess where they all stood.

She walked out and climbed into her car. Her heart clenching as she stared up at the house. She banged her hand repeatedly on the staring wheel while screaming. Then with one last glance at the house, she put the car in drive and drove away.

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She arrived next to a lake. The moonlight glinting off the waters held her mesmerized. Regina had no idea where she was or how she'd gotten there. She quickly found she didn't care.

It seemed a tranquil spot but she knew it was no place in Storybrooke. She had built that town from scratch herself. She knew every square inch and landmark there.

She saw a small towheaded child next to the water. She was softly humming to herself while she played with a stuffed swan. The swan had a golden halo attached to its head. Regina looked around wondering where the child's parents were.

Regina had always had an affinity for small children. She watched the child happily skip towards her. She put her arms around her and leaned into her. Regina felt a joy flood her system. It had been too long since Henry had been this way with her. She soaked up the loving feeling. She put her arm around the small child before bending down to her level. "What's your name little one?"

The child giggled and hugged her swan but said nothing.

"Is it a secret?"

"No. It's just you haven't given me a name yet. You'll know my name when we meet."

Regina's brow furrowed. "When we meet? Do you know me?"

Again the child giggled and went back over to the lake. She skipped around humming to herself.

"Regina?"

Regina froze at hearing her name called. She knew that voice. She turned slowly. Now she was sure she was dreaming. Or dead. She had to be. Because this couldn't be real.

And yet it was. Or seemed to be. She was standing right before her true love.

"Daniel?"