The night was cold, Emma knew, and though she wore only a thin sweater under her jacket she did not feel the chill of the air against her skin as she ran. Despite having gone the wrong way she kept running, knowing full well what was happening just two streets over. She was at the harbor, and although it did not make sense for her to have gone this way it was too late to change routes and go the faster way now. Her panicked footfalls had her boots pounding against the boardwalk beneath her. In the near distance she could see the sloped roof of the Cannery and to her left were the vague, dark outlines of the boats that were housed in the maze of docks which currently looked quite ghostly in the mist and fog of the night.

What could not have come quickly enough was the moment when she finally turned onto the road that would take her directly into the intersection of Main Street where the old library stood. The clock tower grew nearer to her and so did the scene that was taking place in front of it. Now that it was within view she forced herself to move faster because if she could see them, then she could only expect that they had already seen her too.

"Stop!" She shouted breathlessly, feeling the strain on her lungs from running in the cold. She saw no sign of them heeding her request and so without really thinking she pulled out her gun and fired a warning shot, causing the air to erupt into screams and shouts as many of the bystanders closed in on each other for safety or attempted to find shelter in the shadows.

Right now Emma held no compassion for their fear. Her actions had been abrupt yes, but they had been successful in doing what she had intended. The small crowd that had moments ago been gathered in a haphazard circle spread apart to reveal a small figure huddled on the ground.

Feeling as if her heart had stopped, Emma rushed forwards. She dropped to her knees a little too quickly but ignored the sting of pain as she pulled the person into her lap. The woman was conscious, thank god, but she was already hurt badly. Emma kept a hold of the gun, keeping it in front of her as she wrapped her other arm around the brunette in a defensive stance.

Now she remained there, sitting on the damp ground in the middle of the road with hundreds of eyes on her. All around were what she knew must be familiar faces, some were hovering close by while others kept back from the group, opting to stay close the walls of the shops lining Main Street as though afraid, but whether they were afraid of the crowd or of herself and Regina Emma did not know. Emma tried to remain calm. She could not – or perhaps did not – want to see who was present and so the faces of the people who were there to watch remained unidentified around her.

As Emma looked up and took in the scene in front of her she felt a terrible pull of fear in the pit of her stomach. She was situated just before the intersection in front of the clock tower and currently in the open space where the streets crossed each other was a horrific scene, that of which she still could not believe was real even while it was happening before her very eyes. Her gaze skirted past flaming torches, pitchforks, and even wooden baseball bats to search for her parents, Ruby, anyone who could help, but there was no one. Instinctively she clutched even more fiercely to the woman in her arms. This couldn't really be happening. This was barbaric and cruel, and something that definitely shouldn't have been taking place in the twenty-first century in what was supposed to be a peaceful small town in Maine.

Emma's gaze dropped to the woman she had been trying to protect. Regina was shivering, her face was hidden against Emma's chest, she was clinging to her tightly and her breath was coming in short, shaky gasps, indicating that she was crying.

"Regina..." Emma's broken voice said as she held the brunette closer. "I don't know what to do. Please tell me what to do."

Regina sniffled, raising her pained, tearstained face to look up into Emma's eyes as the other woman cradled her.

"Mom!" Came the faraway voice. He didn't sound scared as she would have expected him to, but rather he sounded desperate. "Mom! Don't do it Emma! Please don't! You can still save her! Please don't let them do this!"

"Emma," the brunette's whispered voice said from below. Emma's tear-filled eyes moved from searching the crowd that seemed so shadowy and indistinct, to the only thing that still seemed real, Regina.

"Don't leave me," Regina whispered. "Please."

Emma swallowed heavily as she felt more tears fill her eyes. She placed her hand on the side of Regina's head as she nodded. "I promise Regina." She cried. "I promise."

She meant it more than she had ever meant anything in her life, but she still didn't know how she was going to get the three of them out of this. They wanted her to choose: Henry or Regina. Her son, or a woman she had only just met less than a year ago. An innocent child, or the Evil Queen. They had believed they knew what they were doing when they had taken Henry. They thought she would easily stop defending Regina as soon as Henry was in danger, but they didn't understand anything. Saving Regina's life was the most important thing to Henry right now, and so even though she never would have done it anyway, there was no way Emma would have been able to bring herself to sacrifice Regina in order to save Henry as everyone wanted her to do. Henry and Regina were two of the most important things in Emma's life, and so not only was it shameful to pass over one for the other, it was out of the question. She suspected she knew well what Regina would do if Henry were lost to her forever. Emma knew the heartbreaking way Regina would numb her own pain and Emma could never let that happen. However if the tables were turned, if Regina were the one who was taken from Henry forever, Emma believed with all certainty that it would change him forever. She couldn't condemn him to a life of grief, pain and guilt.

Emma had two options here today. Her first option was to choose one of them. She could either choose the woman she had grown closer to than anyone else in the world, the friend she didn't know she had been searching for all her life, or she could choose her brilliant, beautiful son whom she had loved since before he was born. Her second option was not to choose. The second had only one plus side: Emma would not have to make the impossible choice. The problem with this path was that the people who had orchestrated this public assassination would choose for her. She already knew what that meant because the consequences had been made very clear to her. Emma would lose them both, and she would likely be killed along with them for trying to prevent it from happening.

She knew in her mind what she had to do. If she wanted even a chance at saving them both she had only one option and that was to stay by Regina's side. Regina was the one they really wanted and she was also the most vulnerable. Emma knew deep down that the minute she did what they wanted her to do, to leave Regina defenceless, they would descend on her and finish the job that Whale had started. Regina's life would end today, and she would die in the worst way possible. It wasn't the torture or the longevity of it that would make it so horrible, but rather dying with the knowledge that she had been cast aside again, that no one had been willing to fight for her while she wasn't strong enough to do it for herself.

Everything that Emma knew about Regina told her that Regina wouldn't think this way, that the woman would rather face one hundred days of torture than to see her son be killed in her place, but there was something inside Emma that told her that in order to save Henry's life, she must first save Regina's. Also, the way Regina was begging her to stay told Emma that Regina knew Henry would be okay. Emma suspected that when it came down to it the townspeople wouldn't have it in them to hurt Henry, but Regina had known them even longer than Emma had. It was a horrible risk, but Emma also knew how scared Regina was. It was one thing to die, but it was another to be hated so much that those with whom she had shared a town and home with for twenty-eight years now wanted to drag her – already severely injured – to the middle of town to publicly torture her before ultimately executing her.

By now Emma was shivering too. She pulled Regina closer to her, hoping to keep them both warm as her eyes took in the sight of the wooden platform and stake that had been set up. They were close enough that she could even see where they planned to fasten Regina to it, apparently already knowing that she wasn't going to be able to stand on her own.

"Where's Henry?" Came a shaky whisper from below.

"He's..." Emma looked up, searching the crowd in front of them. "He's here, they have him."

"Tell me he's okay."

Emma continued to search, she couldn't see him but she knew he was still there. "Yeah... They're not going to hurt him. Regina I'm sorry, I'm so sorry. I never meant for any of this to happen."

"What's it going to be Sheriff?" A faceless someone shouted from the crowd ahead.

Emma's breath caught in her throat as she looked up to see who had addressed her. It had been Albert Spencer.

"Either give her to us, or you'll never see your son again."

"I–" Emma looked down at Regina, who was hiding her face against Emma's jacket again.

"Emma don't do it!" Henry shouted.

She could see him now, he was near the platform and someone had a gun pointing at him but he didn't look scared, at least not because of the weapon. Even from where she was Emma could see the desperation in his eyes. He was crying, and Emma wanted to run to him, to console him, but she couldn't do so without leaving Regina.

"Emma," she heard Regina's quivering voice say.

"Time's up," someone said, although Emma couldn't tell who had said it or where it had come from.

"Wha–" Emma's hushed voice trailed off as she looked up and saw that the voice was right, she had waited too long, she should have tried harder.

"No," Regina whispered fearfully. "Emma please." She begged, wrapping her arms around Emma to have a better hold on her.

Emma's grip around the smaller woman tightened in return. "I'll stop this." Emma said, even though she hadn't the first clue as to how to prevent what was about to happen.

As Emma tried to stand, she found Regina to be a dead weight all of a sudden. As soon as she tried to lift her she discovered that the task was just about impossible.

"Regina help me," Emma begged, trying with all her might to carry the brunette. It didn't make sense, there was no reason for Regina to be so heavy.

"Emma," Regina's voice broke.

There were cries of "Burn her! Burn the Evil Queen!" and Emma felt as if her heart itself was being torn from her chest and crushed.

It was too late, there were hands on the both of them now, pulling Regina from the safety of Emma's arms, holding Emma back from protecting Regina further. She had promised to keep Regina safe, she had promised to get Henry back to her, but she had failed. Once again she had failed and now Regina was going to die because of it. The thought of Regina having to endure the agony of the flames was enough to break Emma, but she also knew that it was useless to keep trying. She stopped fighting those holding her and simply fell back to the ground, sinking to her knees again. She could hear Henry's terrified screams; she could hear Regina's; and they were even more horrible than her own.

She still couldn't see the faces of those around her, and now the town itself was unusually dark and out of focus. As she tried to keep her eyes on Regina even the brunette was becoming difficult to see. They were trying to force her to walk, resulting in her feet being dragged along the ground as they pulled her forward too fast for her to even try to be able to keep up. She could still hear Regina screaming in fear as she was brought towards her fate. Amongst these horrible screams Emma could hear her own name. The sound twisted Emma's insides with pain and regret. Regina needed her, she had trusted her, and once again Emma had let her down.

Emma attempted to fight again, trying to throw her attackers off of her, but it was useless. She found her own body slowing, her muscles useless against those holding her. It was becoming harder to see, harder to breathe, and the people and faces around her were beginning to fade into complete darkness.

She could still hear Regina calling for her, she could still hear her voice, calling Emma's name even when everything else had dissolved into nothingness.

Emma...

Emma.

"Emma!"

The blonde woke with a start.

"Emma?" A tired, but concerned voice asked.

Emma inhaled sharply as she got her bearings. She had almost forgotten where she was, but as she blinked her eyes into focus she could feel her fast beating heart begin to calm once more as her eyes fell on Regina lying beside her. The brunette was safe, Emma had to remind herself. It was just a dream.

"Emma what is it?" Regina asked softly.

Emma gave a small laugh in spite of herself, quickly wiping the tears away as soon as they formed.

"Were you having a bad dream?" Regina asked. Her eyes still had that sleepy quality to them and Emma guiltily realized that she had probably woken the brunette up. Her eyes drifted over the few injuries that were visible on Regina and she felt a painful sting in her heart as she thought about all of the ones that were currently hidden by the bedcovers.

Emma shook her head, forcing another small chuckle. "I haven't been asked that question since I was a kid." She rolled over a little, wrapping both arms around her pillow as she looked over at Regina. The position was intended to look relaxed but Regina could see the vulnerability behind the mask.

"Tell me what it was about," Regina said softly.

Emma sighed, "I honestly don't even remember it Regina. I'm sorry if I woke you up. How are you feeling?"

"Well if it's not a dream that's bothering you then what's wrong?" Regina countered, still in a gentle voice, and ignoring Emma's question.

The blonde gave a small shrug. "Nothing's wrong."

"Emma you're crying," Regina said with a concerned look in her eyes. "Clearly something is on your mind."

Emma simply avoided her gaze, dipping her chin into the pillow.

"Emma?"

Upon being called out on the emotions she had been trying to suppress, the tears had only begun to swim even more freely in her eyes.

"Is it Henry?" Regina whispered, her tone immediately turned dreading. "He should have been back by now shouldn't he?" Her eyes flicked to the clock, but she didn't know how long they had been home for so she couldn't determine how long it had been since David had called over to Granny's.

Emma sniffled as a tear rolled down her face. She saw the fear in Regina's eyes now and was instantly angry with herself. The entire reason behind keeping the truth from Regina had been to prevent her from experiencing further stress. "No..." She whispered, closing her eyes as she felt more tears forming in her eyes. "No it's not Henry."

Regina didn't respond, her heart was still beating fast as she waited for Emma to explain.

It took Emma a little while to answer. She didn't want to say anything, but if she didn't tell the truth then Regina would only continue to worry.

"It's... it's you." Emma finally said.

"Me?" Regina asked in surprise, lifting her head from the pillow a little.

Emma nodded, sniffling again. "I'm so sorry Regina," her voice broke as she started crying more heavily. "I'm so sorry."

"Emma why are you sorry?" Regina asked gently.

"What happened to you because of me... I promised you I would keep you safe, I told you no one would be able to hurt you again. No one should ever have to go through what you've been though. You trusted me Regina... and I let you down."

Regina rested her head back down onto her pillow and was silent for a few moments as she gazed at the other woman. "You didn't let me down Emma..." She finally whispered. "I'm here aren't I? The only reason I was able to come home again was because of you."

The tears were flowing down Emma's face now, all of the emotions which she had been trying to keep bottled up for the past few days now breaking free. She could no longer pretend that she wasn't crying, and she no longer tried to stop the tears from coming. "But Regina you were tortured! You were raped! I took the bait, I left you here that night and you suffered because of it. The only reason they were able to get to you was because I let them."

"Emma..." Regina said in a barely audible voice. She closed her eyes, there were tears in her eyes now too at the thought of what Emma believed had happened. "Emma I wasn't." She said simply, touching the blonde's arm softly. She swallowed back her emotions, quickly blinking the tears away. When the blonde looked at her again Regina softly shook her head to the side once. "I wasn't." She whispered again even more gently.

Emma saw the look in the other woman's eyes. Regina didn't need to say it. She felt her heart flood with relief. "You weren't?"

"No." Regina whispered.

Emma breathed an alleviated sigh. "Thank god," she said quietly. Emma could feel the thankful tears behind her own pain as she and Regina held each other's gaze for a few moments. However after a minute Emma's eyes turned sad again. "But you were still hurt, you almost were raped. That's on me, I should have protected you from all this. I shouldn't have let myself get distracted. But I did... and there's no way I'll ever be able to make it up to you for what happened because of me."

"Emma..." Regina began slowly. "I don't even want to think about what would have happened if you hadn't arrived when you did. Trust me Emma, you're not the one who's to blame here. Please don't feel like you owe me anything because you don't."

The blonde couldn't respond. Regina was wrong, Emma had let her down.

"Emma?" Regina asked, there was a heartbroken look in her eyes as she watched the other woman falling apart in front of her.

"I was so scared that you were going to die," Emma finally spoke up again in a broken whisper. "I just kept thinking about the horrible way you were going to die. It was almost more than I could handle."

Regina felt a tear roll down her own cheek, her finger quickly caught it before she wrapped her arms around herself, needing to drop her gaze away from Emma's.

"But the worst part of all of it was the thought of never being able to see you again." Emma's voice broke with emotion at the confession. She closed her eyes, wiping at the corners with her sleeve.

There was an awestruck, but touched emotion in Regina's eyes. "Emma..." she whispered. Her eyes softened as she gazed at Emma. She reached for the other woman's hand. "I missed you too."

Emma felt herself smile at that, the tears welling up again as she did. Soon she cleared her throat, heaving a deep sigh as she tried to calm herself down. She sniffled, taking a moment to steady herself. She glanced briefly at Regina but almost immediately needed to look away again. She curled into her pillow a little bit more, before feeling restless and sitting up. "I nearly killed him you know." She said quietly.

"What?"

"I nearly killed him. For what he did to you. For what he..." Emma closed her eyes, shaking her head. "For what he wanted to do to you. David and Mary Margaret pulled me off of him as I was beating him to a pulp. I almost strangled him to death."

Regina let out a soft breath, she hadn't known about this. After a few moments of letting this information wash over her she touched Emma's arm, getting the blonde to look over at her again.

Emma saw that Regina's expression was soft with emotion. She could also see the pain that was hidden behind the tears in those now sparkling brown eyes.

"Emma..." Regina said again, this time barely audible.

With a little bit of effort Regina moved towards Emma and settled gratefully into her embrace.

Emma let out a quiet sob, wrapping her arms immediately around the woman that she didn't want to face the rest of her life without.

"Regina..." Emma cried as she held her friend close, grateful that Regina knew she needed her right now. Emma had been afraid to touch her, knowing that she was in pain, but she needed to feel Regina in her arms, she needed the comfort, she needed the reassurance. And now that Regina was there she never wanted to let go again. "I thought we were going to lose you."

Regina pondered this for a few moments. She had believed the same thing, she knew how difficult it had been. "Let's not dwell on the past Emma," Regina whispered, closing her eyes. "I'm here now, I'm here because you didn't give up on me, and soon, when Henry gets here we'll all be together again."

As she laid against Emma's chest she could feel the blonde breathing shakily, and could feel the way Emma clutched even more desperately to her now.

Emma was scared, she didn't know what was going to happen to Henry, and as a result she didn't know what would happen once Regina found out she had been keeping this secret from her. She was afraid that something bad would happen to their son, but she was also afraid that this was going to drive a wedge between her and Regina.

"I'm grateful for what you did." Regina said in a soft whisper, oblivious to Emma's internal war. "To... to Whale I mean. But Emma... I am relieved that your parents stopped you from killing him."

"You are?" Emma asked in a shaky voice.

"Yes. Because if you had killed him it would have changed you. Emma you're good. Genuinely good, which is something very few people can claim. I don't want you to ever be anything less than who you are, not because of me."

"Regina I was protecting you!" Emma responded in hushed dismay.

"No." Regina countered quietly. "You were avenging me, you were angry because of what he did to me and you wanted him to suffer in return."

"Well you got that right," Emma mumbled into Regina's hair.

The blonde closed her eyes, taking in Regina's scent and allowing it to calm her down.

"Emma I understand wanting to punish Whale, believe me I understand more than anyone, but please don't ever give into that darkness." Regina closed her eyes, feeling the pull of sleep trying to drag her back under again. "You're perfect the way you are."

"Whale did deserve what I did to him." Emma grumbled like a child, but nonetheless she felt a warmth flood through her upon Regina's words.

Regina gave a tiny smile that did not reach her eyes. "Yes he did, and believe me when I say that I more than approve of you 'beating him to a pulp' as you put it. But I would never want him to die at your hands." After a moment's pause Regina took a breath. "In fact to be quite honest I don't believe he deserves to die at all."

Emma looked down at the woman in surprise.

"No," Regina continued, burrowing deeper into Emma's embrace. "He deserves to suffer. He deserves to rot in prison for the rest of his pathetic life."

Emma's eyes sparkled a little at the tone she could hear in Regina's quiet, tired voice. She could hear the venom that she had actually found herself missing, along with everything else that made Regina Regina. So many people wanted to punish the brunette because she had been the Evil Queen. They wanted to destroy her, they believed the world would be better without her, but Emma saw things differently. She appreciated Regina's qualities in a way that most people would never even allow themselves the chance to see. Regina wasn't evil, she just really did not like to be wronged. So many people wanted to see the woman suffer because of who she was but just as Regina did not want Emma to change, Emma never wanted Regina to change either. The brunette did not try to be anything she wasn't, and she would never – as so many people were, Emma had spent her life realizing – she would never be fake.

"I'm really glad you're back Regina," Emma mumbled into the woman's hair.

"Mmm..." Regina replied sleepily. "I am too."

Emma felt her heart warm at the words but after a few moments she started to worry if Regina really felt that way. Did that mean she no longer wanted to die? Was now a good time to ask about that? Emma knew it wasn't. Regina needed to sleep, the only reason they were having this conversation now was because Emma had accidentally woke her up. Or maybe now was the best time to ask because this was the perfect transition into that conversation.

"Do you really mean that?" Emma found herself saying before she could stop herself. She winced a little at her own bluntness and lack of tact, but at the same time she needed to know.

Regina pulled back slightly to look up at her in hurt and disbelief. "Of course I do. Why would you ask that?"

Emma sighed, tilting her head back a bit. "Because I want to know... do you still mean what you said before? Do you still want to die? Do you... do you still want to leave us?"

Regina's eyes saddened as she settled back down into Emma's embrace again. "Oh Emma..." She said in a faraway tone. "It's not that I want to leave you all, because believe me that is the very last thing I want to do... I don't want to die."

"Then Regina what is it?" Emma pleaded.

Regina pressed her lips together, closing her eyes as a wave of painful emotions tore through her. "I just..." She gave a tiny sigh. "I can't keep going on like this, it's too much Emma. I'm just so tired of being sick. I'm tired of being in pain, I'm tired of constantly being hunted by the people of this town and..." Regina's voice dropped. "and I'm tired of wondering whether each day will be my last."

"But Regina we're getting you out of town today. This time I'm not letting anything stand in the way. We're going to get you the proper medical care. You might not be healed overnight but I promise everything will get better. You just need to give yourself some time that's all."

Regina gave a small sigh. "That's the other thing... The bigger reason. I want to stop putting everyone I care about in danger. I don't want any of you to risk your lives for me any longer."

Emma went to reply but stopped herself as she realized the unstated message behind Regina's words. "But Regina we want to protect you."

"I know. But I don't want any of you to die because of me."

"Regina..." Emma trailed off in an emotional whisper. "Please tell me you're not saying what I think you're saying."

Regina didn't respond.

"When were you going to tell me?" Emma asked. "Were you just going to wait until we were ready to leave and then tell us that you don't want to go?"

"I was going to wait until I was positive that I didn't want to go. Emma, I'm home now. I really don't want to leave again so soon."

"But Regina if you're unsure at all then you have to go to Boston. The regret of not trying will far outweigh the regret of trying. And Regina... I hate to say this but you're not safe here."

Once again Regina fell silent.

"What is this about? Is it the Blue Fairy? Is it because of what her wand showed you?"

Regina bit her lip, looking away. "Not completely, but that's part of it yes."

"Then please, tell me what it was. I can help."

"Emma... that's part of the problem," Regina said in a quiet, strangled voice.

"What is?"

"You. Wanting to help me."

"I don't understand. What did you see? Was it something bad that's going to happen?"

"No... in fact it was the past. There was a memory that I had forgotten, or rather, a memory the Blue Fairy had taken away from me. It made me realize just how dangerous it is for you and Henry – and all of you – to keep trying to protect me."

"Regina please tell me what you saw."

Regina gave a soft sigh, looking away, and by the look Emma saw on her face Emma knew Regina was about to finally tell her.

Emma sat up a little straighter, still watching Regina expectantly. Judging by looking at her she knew she should just let Regina go back to sleep but now that Regina was finally talking she needed to find out as much as she could.

"Blue came to visit just after the curse broke," Regina began slowly, "she came to check in on Henry after she had healed the gunshot wound."

"I remember. You asked her if she could help you too and the bitch refused."

Regina nodded. "She said I deserved my fate." The brunette recalled bitterly. "Well... apparently there was more to that story."

A/N: Thank you for reading, please review xx