Chapter Twenty-One
It seemed like a good idea at the time, with no more excuses he had to eke out as much time with Regina as possible.
Going to the vault involved passing her physical body, however, and seeing just how nervous she was.
She'd said so many times that this was what she wanted, but she was terrified.
Of course, she was!
Never before had Henry come so close to begging on his knees for something.
He wanted to plead with her to put some faith in the Author but Henry had literally no reason to believe in the man. He had no solid proof that his goal was to prevent what was about to happen.
Not wanting his final memory of his mother to be of an argument, he opted to peruse the shelves after promising not to touch anything.
Sating his curiosity was preferable to watching the strangeness of Emma brewing a potion.
What came next was perhaps more unbelievable than anything else that had ever happened to him.
He heard clearly the goodbyes of Emma Swan towards Regina Mills. The sorrow was infinitely deeper than the only other time he'd seen her cry, just before he'd eaten the infamous apple turnover.
He really did try and stare at the oddly shaped ornaments that probably had some malevolent purpose, but he just had to allow his eyes to slip over to the alchemy table.
After all, what child wouldn't want to see just how in love their parents were?
Emma's hand hovered an inch away from Regina's waist and Regina's fingers twitched at her side, neither of them noticing that their heartfelt confession had an audience this time around.
"I love you, Regina, I'm sorry I didn't tell you sooner," Emma sniffed.
"I love you too, Emma," Regina said softly and Henry's hands formed fists. The words were so natural from both of them that he couldn't believe that this was about to end in tragedy. Regina's next words did little for the heaviness in his heart, "Promise me that you will try to move on?"
Emma took in a long breath, staring into the brown abyss that Henry had to assume was glittering lovingly.
"I'll…try…" Emma promised, wincing as her hand breached the distance to where Regina's waist should have been.
The cold must have crashed reality onto the saviour as she, at last, acknowledged that Henry was now openly watching them.
She wiped her eyes, then her nose before she called, "Hey kid, do you want to…" and she turned to cover her obvious desire to kiss the woman standing so close to her.
The saviour fumbled with the phial of blood as Regina reluctantly slipped away from her would-be girlfriend to approach their son who was rooted to the spot.
He wanted to distract her by asking her to explain every item in the vault but there was something by far more important for the final conversation with the woman smiling so warmly at him.
It was a warmth that would give way to tears at a moment's notice.
In lieu of stupidly trying to hug her, he embraced himself and asked, "You…believe I love you, right mom?"
"Yes I do," Regina replied instantly, "I am sorry that I ever doubted it."
"I'm sorry I made you doubt it," Henry mumbled, a tear escaping as he saw clearly what that statement meant to her.
She kneeled in front of him as if she were going to wipe the wetness away and he ached as she didn't even try.
Instead, she looked to the alchemy set where Emma's back was turned to them, likely knowing full well that she could hear their every word, she said, "Henry, promise me that you'll look after your mother?"
For some oddly complicated reason, this caused Henry to truly smile.
Perhaps it was the undeniable evidence of how much she loved and trusted him? How much she really wanted them to have their happy endings despite her absence.
Or maybe it was the mental comparison to the Regina he knew on the day that he brought Emma to Storybrooke?
Could the knowledge that she had changed be enough?
Before the young boy could attempt to condense all of these thoughts into something sufficient to bid a final farewell to the woman who raised him, a fourth voice joined in the impenetrable vault.
"How about you look after both of them?"
Regina sprung up, standing in front of Henry as if she finally forgot that she wasn't actually there.
Henry was too elated to be touched by her natural maternal instincts, however, as he leaned to the side and said, "Isaac! What took you so long?"
"I had to be sure that you were all ready and now I am," Isaac replied.
The clicking of a gun reminded them that the sheriff was also present. Emma stepped forward, leaving behind the phial of dusk as she trained her weapon on the impish man sitting cross-legged on a table as if it wasn't strewn with books.
Regina briefly smiled appreciatively at the saviour and then demanded, "Who are you?!"
Isaac hopped to his feet, grinning from ear to ear as he made of show of bowing, "I am just a huge fan! Your stories are so interesting! It's a shame about that ending though, I suppose you prefer it to being thrown from a cliff?"
Emma lowered the gun while frowning, but Regina kept her attention on the grinning man, "I am not a story!" she said forcibly.
"But you are," Isaac said, excitably, "You're one of the most famous stories in the world and this is just…such an honour!"
Regina remained bewildered but reached to grab Henry as he rounded her for a better look at the Author.
"Why are you here?" Emma prompted, motioning as if she was prepared to lift her gun again at a moment's notice.
Isaac brought his hand to his chin thoughtfully like his life was not currently in mortal danger from an increasingly trigger-happy saviour.
"Before I became the Author," he explained, "My master would never let me fix his obvious mistakes, but now that he is gone, I can finally give you the ending that better befits your sacrifice."
Henry was practically vibrating with excitement by this point, he knew that something like this had to happen.
He was going to get his mom back!
The woman in question was far more sceptical though, even if she had given up on standing in front of her son.
"You expect me to believe that you want to help the Evil Queen?" Regina demanded.
Isaac pointed gleefully at her and replied, "If you were really the Evil Queen, we wouldn't be here, would we? Look at the chance you have been given! You could have manipulated and tormented the saviour for the rest of her life. You could have made Snow White's daughter miserable!"
"I would never!" Regina said, insulted by the notion but frowning as Emma clipped her gun away.
It may seem premature to Regina, but Henry was sure that his birth mother saw in Isaac what he did. It wasn't hard when he spoke about the former queen with such reverence.
"Of course, you wouldn't," Isaac said, practically hopping, "But my predecessor refused to see that you had fallen for the saviour and she for you. He was too short-sighted to change the story appropriately."
Regina crossed her arms, looking at Emma pleadingly.
Was she scared of the hope he was spewing? The saviour must have been feeling the complete opposite, however, as she drifted closer to the eccentric man.
"And what ending is it that this predecessor of yours envisioned for me?" Regina asked.
"That your spirit would wander Storybrooke forever, watching the happy endings of others with no contact with those you care about," Isaac said, and Regina scoffed, "So you agree then? That isn't how it should be?"
"Of course, I agree!" Regina exploded, "But that isn't even what happened!"
"Because of your connection to the saviour, because she could never stop believing in you," Isaac said, throwing his arm in Emma's direction, "Look at what you have achieved together! You have found a way to release yourself into the afterlife. That was never supposed to happen!"
"What is your point?" Emma asked before Regina could make any more arguments.
Isaac smiled broadly at the sheriff and then clasped his hands together as he pitched back and forth on his heels.
Henry recognised the feeling that came from a story coming together. It was a story with a happy ending, right?
"Dr Whale missed something essential from his confession, he had Jefferson place a curse upon her and now you have a way to break it!"
"How's that?" Emma asked.
"Break the tether and Regina is free to move on, but I have another proposal, break the curse and she can live again," Isaac replied like it was the most natural suggestion in the world and Emma brightened despite Regina's continued storminess.
Surprisingly, Henry sided with his brunette mother's scepticism on this occasion.
"I already tried that, it didn't work…can Emma…" he said, filling with hope as he looked to the saviour, who was not nearly as terrified as he thought she would be.
"I'm afraid not," Isaac replied and Emma's smile dropped, "We have established that when she died, Regina didn't believe that anyone loved her, unfortunately now that she does that knowledge lies with her spirit and not her physical form. They must be reunited if there is a chance that True Love's Kiss will work," Isaac explained.
"Then it is impossible?" Regina interjected, cutting a swath through Henry and Emma's anticipation.
"Not exactly," Isaac grinned, "The curse is keeping your body alive in barely perceptible ways, with your tether broken you will have to return to it for a few moments at least to allow true death before you can move on. If you were to receive True Love's Kiss before that moment, however…"
"That's awesome! Let's go!" Henry shouted, running to grab Emma but the saviour remained rooted, staring at Regina.
Her facade of acceptance had finally crumpled completely into fear and Henry sighed.
He often forgot that other people were not quite as invigorated by hope as he was.
"Mom?" he asked.
Regina swallowed hard and addressed Isaac, "How do we know that we can trust you?"
"Because I am the reason that your son once again believes in you enough to see you, your majesty. I must admit that it was a lot of work, I assume he gets his stubbornness from you?" Isaac replied, but Regina only returned a blank stare so he softened and added, "I am only asking that you go upstairs to break the tether and then allow the people you love to kiss you, what do you have to lose?"
Regina spun her head around, receiving tentative smiles from Henry and Emma and they both knew what the problem was.
She was no longer prepared for it not working, but neither of them had that same concern, not when the Author himself was so certain.
"Let's go," Regina sighed to all of their delights, none of them noticing that Isaac had already disappeared to give the family their space to become complete again.
S
Emma really thought that she was nervous before. That having to say goodbye again to Regina Mills would be the hardest thing that she would have to do, but the woman proved her as wrong as ever.
Her vision blurred the concoction as it became infused with Whale's blood and turned to dust as the exchange between Regina and Henry hit her ears. Of course, Regina would somehow know the perfect thing to say to the boy even under these awful circumstances!
What was she going to do when she no longer had access to that soothing voice in the background of everything she did? Despite this anxiety, she knew that she couldn't expect Regina to exist as a shadow of who she was.
Before coming to Storybrooke, she was sure that she could have done this without tears, she could have remained strong during her final farewell with the woman she loved. Back then, though, she knew how to be alone, she knew how to deal with losing things.
Now that she had spent over a year living in a very twisted fairy tale, she was no longer sure that she had that ability.
As Regina asked Henry to look after her, any semblance of strength left her and she imagined rushing back to the loft and crying in Snow and Davids' arms. It certainly wasn't what Regina would have in mind for her now that she was solely responsible for their son, but now that she had parents after almost three decades, why shouldn't she be able to take comfort with them?
The way that Isaac burst with excitement, gushing over the ending that Regina deserved, shattered her plans to grieve tonight. It reminded her that things were not supposed to end this way now that she had personally brought back the happy endings.
How would it make any sense at all that the saviour had to lose the person that she wanted to be with before they ever even got to be together?
The injustice of it all fuelled her with the energy to grab the phial from the alchemy table and run up the stairs, with Henry only a step behind her.
During every other visit to the vault, she would have absolutely refused to look down at the coffin that was laid with surprising respect beside her son's namesake. She just couldn't handle processing the stubborn immobility of the woman that she would see if she turned around.
Having to pass through this room would have certainly kept her and Henry trapped in the vault for a while after she threw the dust into the air, but this time around, she was practically hopping.
She did frown as her hand came into contact with the clear glass that smudged under her touch.
"It took grandma and grandpa to take that off," Henry lamented and Emma noticed for the first time that they were both failing to look at the woman standing at the top of the stairs with her arms crossed.
Regina was understandably nervous. How odd must it be to go from accepting her death to this palpable exuberance? It was intoxicating for Emma and Henry, but obviously, this was all very different for the woman who was about to (hopefully) be returned to her mortal form.
Perhaps she could discuss this with Dr Hopper?
This conviction was strong enough that Emma was able to click her fingers to incite a cloud of smoke over the lid that kept Regina's body from the elements until it was completely de-materialised.
"This will work," Emma said adamantly, gesturing to the space next to her.
Regina took in a long breath, really staring at her body for a moment. How bizarre must this be for her? It was definitely therapy fuel for Emma.
Eventually, Regina did force herself to leave the steps to come and sidle beside the saviour where she eyed the phial.
Emma lifted it, but the least likely of the group was the one to interrupt.
"Wait!" Henry said, and Emma's fingers came just short of the stopper as they both turned to look at the boy who was holding out his hand frantically, "We haven't decided who will…you know…"
He gestured vaguely to Regina's body and Emma's arm dropped as it hit her how hasty she was being here. How could she forget that Isaac had explicitly said that they would only have a few moments?
They both looked at the spirit expectantly and she let out a long, tired sigh.
"Are you asking me to choose?" she asked, exasperatedly.
"You kind of need to," Emma offered.
Regina rolled her eyes and replied, "Well…I am not going to…you can both do it?"
Henry's face illuminated at the suggestion, and he jumped around Emma to stand on the other side of the slab, "That's a great idea!" he said.
Regina quietly observed as his fingers curled protectively around her physical arm and she, at last, breached the distance to Emma.
"If it doesn't work…" she whispered.
Emma shook her head, cutting off any doubts as her wet eyes bore into the former queen's.
"This has to work," she replied.
Regina swallowed but nodded, giving Emma no reason to delay any longer.
She was very aware of how uncharacteristic this was for her, but she was so certain that she didn't even waste time with one last longing stare before she dispersed the dust into the air.
It sparkled downwards like last time, but she was sure not to close her eyes as something felt like it was physically pulling at her heart.
She knew that it had to mean that the tether was breaking, but it was about to be replaced with something so much better.
All the same, she watched with fascination as the spirit who had been with her constantly for weeks faded.
Some figurative ticking in her head reminded her that this was no time to mull over the gravity of what had just happened and she spun around to see that Henry was already ready.
He placed his lips on Regina's forehead as Emma leaned down to the same to her lips.
The warmth of the bright light was immediate, rushing out from both sets of lips and neither Emma nor Henry had to gasp because they each knew what was going to happen.
They both needed this woman too much for it not to.
They probably should have guessed what happened next, but they were too caught up in the moment to remember what it was that had brought them to this point.
For a few blissful seconds, Regina's eyes cracked open and she blearily alternated between her verifiable True Loves.
"It worked," she croaked.
Emma's laugh came out as a huff of air as she asked, "Does this mean that I can say 'I told you so'?"
Regina's laugh was much raspier as her eyes drifted to Henry lovingly, but it all went wrong when she tried to sit up.
She gasped and clutched at her chest, pulling her hand away to reveal blood from the newly open incision that they had all forgotten about.
"Mom!" Henry gasped as she curled involuntarily into herself and Emma leapt forward to grab at her arm.
It took a few seconds to recognise what this was.
True Love can't heal a bullet wound.
Regina's voice in her head forced the saviour to recall that magic wasn't the only solution to their problems, so she summoned yet more smoke.
It faded away to reveal clinical white and all staff paused mid-bustle to take in the odd sight of the saviour holding the 'dead' Evil Queen and breathing deeply as she searched for help.
Emma and Henry didn't actually have to say something as a woman in a white coat swept over to them.
"Sheriff Swan, what on earth are you…" the doctor began to demand, but trailed off the moment that she got a better view of the supposedly deceased woman, "She's…breathing?"
"Yes!" Emma all but shouted, "but she won't be if you don't do something now!"
The doctor hesitated a moment, allowing her to take in the wild looks in both sets of green eyes before she clicked sharply so that two nurses rushed over with a gurney that Emma deposited Regina onto.
"Page the OR, tell them to set up for a cardiac trauma," the doctor began rattling off orders but stopped when she saw that there was still a hand closed tightly around her patient's arm. "Sheriff…let us help her?"
Emma ran her tongue over her lips and zeroed in on the pained twist to Regina's newly-expressive face and she finally let go, stumbling back into Henry.
The gurney was pushed away and Emma fumbled around to grab her son's shoulders and reluctantly lead him over to the plastic chairs lining the hallway.
They didn't sit until the gurney was pushed through into the restricted section.
The people around them continued staring at the pair as if they were going to jump into an explanation of what was happening, but instead, Henry leaned into Emma and sniffed.
Apparently, they had found the thing that could bring their elation back to earth.
In a small voice, Henry asked, "Do you think that she's going to be okay?"
"She has to be," Emma replied, pulling her biggest connection to Regina closer to her body as if he would shield her from her anxiety.
"How can you be so sure?" Henry mumbled.
"Because if that woman dies again, I will kill her."