Beep.

The incessant beeping of machines around her left her entire body shaking. Beside her, still leaving her in some semblance of shock, both her mother, and Emma Swan sat beside her. Her mother, on her left. Emma, on her right. Lynn's hands tightened around both of theirs, each of them holding on of hers. It was surreal. It was also terrifying. Near them, Henry was bouncing up and down on his toes, unable to stay still. The doctors and nurses seemed to be circling them. Like vultures. From mourning doves when they first saw the state I was…to saving swans, and, now, to vultures. She started to shake again. The monitors began beeping again. Footsteps. Faster. Faster. Faster. Lynn squeezed her eyes shut, and squeezing both her mother's, and Emma's, hands. Her glasses were sliding down her face a little. She barely noticed, could not care. The beeping seemed to grow louder. Louder. Louder. Louder. Then, hands pressed against her head, then her shoulders, and then her chest. The beeping began to subside, just a little. Lynn slowly opened her eyes. They started to flutter. Open. Shut. Open shut open shut open -

"She's cleared from having seizures," A doctor said, slowly detaching Lynn from the machines. "But I must ask: when was the last time she experienced one?"

"About two and a half years ago," Regina said, her voice catching for just a moment. "Shortly after she left hospital following her…the attempted murder of her."

"Well, do keep a close watch on her," The doctor paused to write a few things down. "We will be increasing the dosages of her anticonvulsant medications. A few of her scans have indicated her as being at higher risk of experiencing seizures again. However, this was merely a panic attack, albeit a severe one."

Lynn managed a weak nod, wincing as the heart rate monitor was detached from her.

"I must ask," A nurse began. "What -"

She whipped around suddenly on her heel, hearing the door to the room swing open. She looked almost faint when the huntsman entered. Lynn began shaking again, and both Emma and Regina reached over with their free hands to set one to each of her shoulders while still holding onto her hands. Her mind began to swim again. She closed her eyes, trying to focus on breathing, trying to calm herself down the little she felt she could. Though she did not see, nor was cognisant enough to feel, Emma and Regina grew a little closer to each other, still held apart by holding onto Lynn. Henry, on the other side of the room, stared at them with wide eyes. They don't hate each other anymore, do they? Are they going to… They stopped. Regina pulled back. Despite herself, she felt a little dizzy. What is wrong with me? Why do I want to reach across and kiss her? What in the world is - She did not dwell on the thought for long when Henry suddenly came over and hugged her. Taken by surprise, she did not notice how closely Emma was watching her. Neither of them noticed how terrified Graham seemed when he took in the state Lynn was floundering in.

Something in his chest had felt as if it would burst. As he had been driving, that had felt to be the one thing consistent about it. His stomach churning, his chest hurting. But his mind had begun to wander, too, and, somehow, he could have sworn the second he left town that he had no heart in his chest. That was impossible. It had to be. He had forced himself to refocus on the road. How could he have been so exhausted when he had woken up? The second he had heard Lynnetta's voice on the other end of the line had left him with a sense of abject horror, and with a terrifying sense of urgency. It had almost felt as if he had to serve her. As if he had to do a service to her mother. The sound of the screeching sirens had become his companion, and he did not feel anything but a terror he would not find the princess. The princess? Where did that come from? The car had materialised almost out of nowhere. He all but leapt out of the car. Pulled out a flashlight. Tore open the door to the car. She was there. The light shined in her face but he quickly moved it away. Clipped it to his belt. Without even thinking, barely aware of it, he had scooped he up, and pulled her out of the car.

"Lynnetta!" Panic had swept over his voice as he felt and saw her writhe in his arms. "Holy -"

He had found himself unsure if he were still speaking. His footsteps had broken into a run against the grass, and then the highway. It felt to be only seconds before he was back at the police car. He had all but latched her onto his chest, and whipped open the passenger side door. Gently sat her down. Securely strapped her in. Took a quick look over her makeshift bandages. They were nearly falling off. Was she still bleeding? No, she -

"I thought…" Lynnetta's words had started to slide into incoherence. "It's..no…legal…not -"

"This is not a normal situation," He had quickly replied. Checked her to be secure one last time. Closed the door slowly enough not to startle her. All but jumped around to the other side of the vehicle. Got in himself. "This is a true emergency," He had gone on, his words growing quicker and quicker as he strapped himself in and then turned around and began to drive back. "You'll be at the Storybrooke General Hospital soon, Lynnetta. Just hang on for me. Please."

In the mirror, and with the minimal light of the sun as it had begun to rise, he saw Lynn staring at him, though she was barely able to turn her head.

"I told you that you are not going to die, Lynnetta," He had spoken as gently as he could muster, glancing between her and the road. "Do you believe me?"

He had found himself unsure as to whether or not she nodded. But she had begun to cry again. He told himself she had nodded. She had to have. She had to live.

He could not let the princess die.

Princess.

Why the hell did his mind keep insisting that defined her?

"Well?" Regina's voice cut into his thoughts. "I hope you haven't been completely useless."

"I should hope to be far from it," Graham hesitated. "We have her in custody. I managed to nab her just as she crossed the line out of town."

How dare she try to run from me after everything she has ripped away…how dare she after she was responsible for Leah and Stefan's plot to murder my daughter.


"Miss Swan, I'm afraid I haven't been quite truthful with you," Regina said, glancing between her, and the stairwell up, where Henry and Lynn were asleep. She began to walk, waving the bounty hunter to follow. "I suppose I ought to explain myself."

"Yep," Emma snorted, kicking off her shoes while Regina primly stepped out of her heels. "That's an understatement."

Regina turned around towards her, arms crossed.

"Has it not even occurred to you why I might not have been keen to let you know everything about my life, past and present?"

Emma grimaced before following after her again.

"You tricked me into telling Henry I think he's crazy, when all along he was correct. Do you have any idea how that makes me feel? How that made him feel? Or do you just not give a damn? Regina, honestly, that was cruel."

"What is cruel is your encouragement of him to try and leave me," Regina coldly replied. "Don't play that against me."

Emma raised an eyebrow as they entered the sitting room, and uncomfortably sat down. She stared down at her hands for a few minutes, hearing Regina moving around her, and even leaving the room. Much to her surprise, when she looked up, Regina came back into the room with two glasses, a bottle of wine, and a decorker. Somewhat awkwardly, the bounty hunter took them from her, catching the queen by surprise, before quickly uncorking and pouring for the two of them. After a few moments of hesitation, the two women sat down across from each other. Uncomfortable with each other, they each sipped their wine, unsure of what to say. Is Lynn correct that she is the one from those dreams all those years ago? She frowned at the thought, Caity's words on the matter coming back to her. Well, perhaps the one who can save is the destroyer…but the sweetness of giving in can conquer any power. Struggling to appear disinterested in conversation, Emma, across from her, did her best to avoid looking too intently at her. It was of little use.

"Regina, look," Emma finally said, flinching when Regina suddenly turned to her. "I don't think you're a…terrible person. I don't even think you're a bad mother. But I can't even begin to fathom what any of this means."

Regina sighed. "Tell me: if I had been honest with you from the start, would you have honestly believed a damn word I had to say?"

Emma hesitated. "I guess I wouldn't have," She admitted. "But, once things became apparently so strange, why didn't -"

"You had not seen anything that could have possibly suggested the truth until today," Regina said shortly. "I am not going to put up with you pretending you would have unconditionally believed things as they are if I had been forthright with you."

She's such an enigma. Why do I always want to agree with Henry that she's the evil queen, but, whenever I'm with her, I want to…

"Well, I've seen plenty, now," Emma said, her voice quieter than she had wanted. "So, Lynn has magic. She used it in a struggle against your mother and, potentially, two of my childhood friends. Does that about sum it up?"

Regina nodded shortly. "It does."

"Then, what else is there? Is Henry right? Were you called the evil queen before you all…ended up here?"

Regina winced. "Don't use that name," She snapped. "I've heard that too much, and by far too many hypocritical people. I may have done plenty of terrible things, but I refuse to be a habitual hypocrite."

Emma shook her head. "Regina, what on earth are you talking about?"

"She's not a queen anymore!" Snow had callously shouted. "She's nothing more than an evil witch!"

"How much do you know?"

"Only what I have deduced from what Henry has said."

"And what might that be?"

Emma swallowed hard. "You were once the queen in a world different from this one. You were forced to marry someone you didn't love after your mother killed your fiance, who is also Lynn's father. You killed the man you had been forced to marry and became queen."

Regina frowned. "I suppose that is just about right."

"Alright," Emma nervously took another sip of wine. "You let things become stagnant for a few years, and then sent out your step daughter to be killed. You all but started a war with her, and killed a lot of people, either by your own hand or through others. Lynn was kidnapped by your step daughter, her partner, and her best friend, the latter of whom returned Lynn to you. Again, you kept seeking out revenge against your step daughter, but she and her partner, with the help of Aria's parents, managed to catch you off guard."

"They did," Regina bitterly agreed. "And then sent me to be executed, and tricked me into trying to kill my step daughter again."

Emma took another sip of her wine, unsure of what to say.

"From there," She eventually said quietly. "You found a way to curse everyone to end up here. And you killed your own father to do it."

Regina hesitantly met the bounty hunter's gaze.

"Do you know why I killed my father to make the curse work?"

"No," Emma stared at the queen, trying to fathom her. "I couldn't quite figure that one out, and neither could Henry. It is not explained in the book at all."

"Unsurprising," Regina struggled to mask the anger in her voice. "I killed him because I could never do anything to harm Lynn. Yet, that book doesn't seem to paint anyone but her in a positive light."

"It's also gotten a lot wrong," Emma softly put in. "The Watsons couldn't possibly as good as they are portrayed in the book to have produced an environment where Aria decided it was rational and acceptable to attempt to brutally murder Lynn, her best friend, all because she decided on a whim with their other best friend that the two of them just didn't like her anymore. Just as much, you couldn't possibly be as evil as you are portrayed when you care about your family so much. And…you might as well have just proved it."


Replies To Reviews:

Guest: things in Storybrooke never stay stagnant or calm for long…

Sammii16: i'm glad you're enjoying the story as it develops! and, yes, Emma is beginning to piece the entire picture together

barrattajennifer: Cora completely lacks any semblance of self awareness when it comes to her relationship with her daughter, and especially her granddaughter; more than that, she is a masterful manipulator

Guest: thank you so much for the support!

Julz: i know i'm inconsistent with uploads, but i hope when i do that the story continues to make you as happy as writing it makes me

Guest: i hope this chapter has not been a disappointment! it's been a long way in the works, but i'm rather happy with how it has turned out.