"Love, in itself, is not always enough. Everything that has gone on, all the fucked up shit that has happened. Fuck. I hate myself a little for what happened with Ruby, it's. Vile. Disgusting. Yet, I still feel like I won somehow. I love you Regina. I tried everything to stop, but nothing could ever diminish the fire my heart holds for you" Emma's words were softly spoken.
Soft as they were, the words hung in the air like a fine mist. Settling onto the three people in the room. Archie scared the two ladies would murder him, or each other, yet hopeful he could help out the true love couple. Regina looked devastated and guilty, and Emma. Emma just simply looked so lost.
"Emma. While it hurt, I love you, nothing could change that. I am more worried you could be infected with wolves blood, not all that are live. I can't even imagine a world where you didn't exist. That's my worst nightmare, because I love you." Tears silently slid down Regina's cheeks as she spoke.
"Ladies, this is really good progress in communication. If we keep on this trajectory I believe we can get through to the heart of the problems, and perhaps even find a way to come to common ground" Archie offered.
The two women were looking at each other and seemed to absolutely ignore the cricket. If Archie were a lesser man he was sure he'd feel incomptant as Emma leaned back and sighed while running her hands down her face and Regina wiped at the tears on her face. Even if they weren't listening to him they were at least speaking with each other and that was what was most important.
"I know I'm not dying. I don't know how I know, but I do. So let's not worry about wolves blood right now, but if it makes you feel better I'll go to the hospital later today." Regina nodded gratefully. "I love you Regina, and, I trust that you love me. I do. It's just not me anymore, it's Rhydian, and I am scared. Because, my Queen, love is not always enough. Love can't always fix everything"
Truer words couldn't be spoken. Archie had known true love couples who had not been able to overcome their differences, Leopold's dark nature had led his true love to kill herself and abandon their young daughter to him. Rumple had lost Belle due to his inability to give up his powers. Astrid had been forced to give up Dreamy by Blue. Love wasn't a cure all - not even true love. However, Archie held hope that these two ladies could beat the odds.
"I love him, to me he is as much my son as Henry. Emma. I can't lie to you - not again - will I be unhappy if we can't find a footing to be together yes. However, as long as I get to be near you, even if only as a friend, it will be enough and more than I deserve. Even if I couldn't have that I would be near enough to get whatever visitations you would allow with Rhydian. I am all in, on your terms"
"What if that isn't enough?" Emma asked quietly. "What if, what if nothing is ever enough? I can go to therapy until I am blue in the face, and I need to face my demons as much as I wish otherwise."
Therapist and Mayor sat quietly, both knowing Emma wasn't quite done. She was simply thinking, lost within her own mind. They knew she needed the silence to sort whatever it was that was flowing through her mind. Emma on the other hand just wished everything could have been simple, easy, but it wasn't.
"If you hadn't betrayed me with Ruby. Then I never would have had Rhydian back, for, even had I told you we never would have thought to find a way to bring him back. So. Was it destiny, was it some sort of cosmic joke? Coincidence? For, I wouldn't change it Regina. I love you, more then I ever thought possible, but I could not change having him back. I. I am petrified of starting again with you, even as friends, but I can not deny the love and connection I hold for you"
"What does that mean Emma?" Regina asked, her voice breaking. Emma looked at her once more, pain in her eyes. "I. I would not change our past, would not change what happened with Ruby because you are right. We would never have had Rhydian, perhaps another child but not him."
Slowly Emma reached out and laid her hand on top of Regina's. She squeezed it softly, the touch not scalding the blonde as she thought it might. It felt right, and she could feel Regina's love as she moved her hand to lace their fingers together. It was a small step, a step of understanding, but they still had mountains to move.
"I forgive you. For Ruby. I. You have told me why it happened, and I still feel unlovable and at fault in some ways but I promise to do my best to listen to you, and be there for you so we can work through your fears as well as my own. However. I can only be friends to start, and I can make no promises of our future" Emma spoke softly, and her voice wavered slightly. However she meant every word.
Forgiving Regina for what happened lifted a weight off Emma that she hadn't realized she had still been holding. Her words were true, and she knew she still needed to forgive herself as well but that was something to be worked on later. Regina burst into tears, the sobs wracking her whole body as she registered the words that had been spoken, the forgiveness that Emma had offered to her.
Without thinking Emma pulled Regina tightly against her as Archie dropped his pen. Emma let Regina clutch onto her and wail, while Emma rubbed her back and whispered that it was okay. That she forgave her, and it would be fine. Archie was flabbergasted, he had been Regina's therapist since Ruby had kidnapped her, and not once had she broken down like this. Hell the poor man had been almost shell shocked at the silent tears prior, this was truly the scariest thing he had ever seen the once evil queen do.
Twenty minutes passed before Regina was able to compose herself, silently taking the wet wipe Archie had offered for her face. Neither Archie or Emma commented on her little breakdown. Mental health was hard, and with all the bullshit going on the woman deserved to pretend she'd not broken down in the first place.
"One reason we need to start off as friends, and I must stress it's not the only one is I really need to sit down and work through my demons. Some of which pertain to both my parents and" Emma looked away not able to look at Regina when she softly added "Henry"
"Emma. I won't pressure you for more, I will support you in whatever you need to do. I love you, and I won't deny it but I won't stand in your way. I have only ever wanted to be in your corner, doing whatever it was that I could to support you" Regina vowed.
"As I said before I think we've managed to communicate tremendously, why don't we table this for now and focus on how we can help Emma communicate with those she needs to?" Archie offered, startling both women who'd sort of forgotten he existed for what seemed the millionth time that day.
Together the three of them worked through what Emma's therapist had told her, and Archie mostly agreed with her. So he helped the woman devise a plan so that Emma wouldn't be alone, but could also take point on dealing with the people who had hurt her in the past. He was surprised when Emma asked him to accompany Regina in watching over what happened and he readily agreed, he only ever wanted to help.
Of course, as mentally and emotionally exhausted as she was after therapy with Regina and Archie, the blonde had allowed herself to be taken to the hospital. Where Whale and Doc had looked over her wounds, which had mostly healed despite the severity of some. Blood was drawn and looked at, and eventually the two doctors deemed Emma perfectly fine.
Well, mostly perfectly fine. She wasn't high on wolves blood, nor had it turned her into a wolf but she had the healing properties of a wolf. Neither Doc nor Whale had heard of anything like that, and had sent them to Rumple if she wanted to know more. They weren't concerned, so Emma hadn't been but Regina had given her a look that left no room for a fight.
Which was how Emma found herself being poked and prodded in the laboratory-esqe room in the back of the pawn shop. Rumple's eyebrows had hit the roof when Regina explained the results from the hospital and he'd dove headfirst into a book and began to test the blood vials Whale had given Regina.
Dawn rose before Rumple had jumped happily away from a beaker that had turned white, racing over to one of the books written in a language not even Emma knew how to translate. She had learned spells to translate books from Cora's spellbooks, so she knew the book Rumple was using had to be old and powerful.
"You've taken her power, but not the curse" Rumple exclaimed. "The healing is but one part, you could have her strength and sense too. It could take up to a fortnight for them to appear. You, unknowingly, performed sexual transfer magic, it calls for pure hate born from pure love. It's only been successfully done twice, by the third and fifth dark ones! It's not been attempted for over a thousand years, it's. It's magnificent"
"What do you mean? Her powers? I never, I didn't speak magic. I. I didn't mean. I" Emma stopped staring at her hands, what had she done, knowingly or not. "Will I be dangerous? Could I harm my family?"
"No, no, this does not transfer the curse, only the gifts. More so, any child born after this could inherit those gifts. Sorry, I'm getting carried away. What's important, Emma, is that you understand that this happened because you had to have wanted to take something important from her" Emma glanced at Regina as he spoke. "So you took her gifts, and it's not reversible but you won't ever be dangerous. Despite what happened with Ruby, you are a good person. These gifts will not change that"
Emma was stunned by the information they had learned from Rumple, he had spent two hours fielding questions. Sometimes he'd had to open another book, or think through the past dark ones lives but he had done all he could. Despite knowing it was ripping something vital from Ruby Emma couldn't force herself to feel guilt, she knew she would have had it been intentional but it hadn't been. There was also nothing even the dark one could do about it, it was permanent. Still she was quiet as they left the pawn shop.
"I want nothing more then to take you home with me, to watch some animal documentary until we both fall asleep." Regina looked at Emma as the blonde spoke. "It isn't the best idea, Archie would agree. However. I don't wish to return to Granny's. Could I stay in your guest room? Morning it may be, but neither of us has slept in twenty-four hours at this point."
"You are right, that wouldn't be wise for us to fall asleep next to each other. Even as friends, I can understand not wanting to go back to Granny's, let's head home. I'll re-heat some apple bear claws I made for the kids so you at least won't be hungry" Regina offered with a smile, Emma nodded with a smile of her own.
They walked the mile in silence, they could have used magic, they could have gotten in Regina's car. However they both simply liked being in the other's company, and despite the lack of rest they were still processing everything that had happened since Emma's return to the small town. Not a word was spoken until they had both eaten warm gooey apple bear claw goodness and were at the top of the stairs. They had said a simple sleep well and entered separate doors, before falling into an exhausted heap on separate beds.