A/N: Hi everyone, I hope you are all having a good 2018 so far. Thank you so much to those of you who reviewed on the last chapter! I will try to update sooner this time I promise. xx

Snow and Emma were still standing in the upstairs hallway. Snow's hand was on her daughter's arm trying to stop her from making what she herself saw as a mistake. Emma glanced in the direction of Regina's room, there was an internal battle raging inside her. She didn't want to do this to Regina, she didn't want to hurt her and she didn't want to see the look in Regina's eyes when she did betray her trust. She didn't want to feel Regina fighting and struggling against her as the brunette tried to protect herself. She didn't want her actions to stir up any recent bad memories for the brunette and most importantly, she didn't want it to be what would destroy their relationship. On the other hand though, she needed Regina to make it through this. She wanted her to live, and she wanted her to be safe.

She knew Snow was right, it was kind of horrible what she wanted to do to Regina. Snow had asked her what her plan was but the truth was that she did not have one. Despite what she had said to her mother, Emma knew it was nearly impossible to take Regina without hurting her. Regina was frail, but if she was adamant enough she could get out of a car on her own even though she would most likely hurt herself in the process. If Emma were to kidnap Regina she would have to find some way of holding her there. And in Regina's current physical state it was true that most options would require hurting Regina at least a little bit. At a loss for what to do, she looked to Snow. Without any warning, and to her own dismay, she felt herself break into tears.

"Oh honey..." Snow said, stepping forwards and pulling her into a consoling embrace.

Emma's arms wrapped tightly around Snow. "I just don't know what else to do." She cried as she clung to her mother. "What am I supposed to do? It can't end like this."

"Talk to her." Snow said gently.

Just then David appeared in the doorway to Regina's room looking quite agitated. He gently closed the door behind him before hurrying purposefully over to them and taking them both by the arm, pulling them towards the staircase.

"David what–?" Snow asked.

"Hey!" Emma complained.

"You two really need to keep it down out here." David said in a quiet, but angry voice. "I heard almost everything you said which means if Regina was awake right now she would have too." He turned to his daughter. "Emma, what's this about wanting to take Regina to Boston without her permission?"

"I–uh–" Emma stammered looking back up in the direction of Regina's room as she was carted down the stairs. Her face was burning in a light blush. What if Regina hadn't been asleep just now?

"I thought you cared about her?"

"That's why I'm doing this!" Emma argued. "She can still make it through this if she only gives herself a chance."

"Well forcing her into it isn't the way." David countered. "It will only drive her away from you."

"And Emma, the friendship that's developed between you and Regina is so genuine and pure." Snow said, thankful that David was on her side. "You actually managed to break through Regina's emotional walls and uncover the compassionate, kind person that's been buried deep inside her all this time. She trusts you. Please Emma, after all that's happened you don't want to destroy what you have between the two of you."

"Because you think she might revert?" Emma asked in a quiet, but accusatory way.

"No. That is a possibility but no. Relationships and bonds like this are so rare. I think if you betray her now you'll break her heart."

Emma sniffled, wiping the rest of her tears away. "What do you mean?"

"She's come so far Emma. Letting people in, trusting them... that's been difficult for her almost since the day I met her, and I'm sure I don't have to say that it is partially my fault. Over the years her life has been dark. She has made a lot of bad choices and she has hurt a lot of people. However while some of the decisions she's made may have been wrong, her motivations were not. For years she pretended that she didn't need it, but what's always been most important to Regina is love and her family. The saddest part is that for the longest time she didn't really have one, and part of the reason why is because she wouldn't let anyone in. She was afraid of getting hurt again."

"So what are you saying?" Emma asked quietly although she suspected she already knew.

"Right now Regina feels like she has a family again–"

"She does have one." Emma cut in.

"Yes." Snow went on patiently. "She feels safe with us, with you. But this is a relatively new concept for her. She's only just begun allowing herself to make connections with people aside from Henry, but if she is betrayed again, history could repeat itself. I'm not saying the Evil Queen would return, all I'm saying is that she will be devastated. She never truly recovered from what happened with Daniel. It broke her. You don't want to dig up those old wounds, not while Regina's emotions are so fragile right now."

"But I'm not going to... kill anyone, I'm not taking anyone away from her."

"I'm not talking about Daniel being killed. Well I suppose I am... but that's not the point. The point is that she trusted me, and she also more or less trusted her own mother. She was still young, and while she may have disagreed with Cora on some things I'm sure she must have still loved and felt even the slightest bit safe with her. But then, because of me and Cora, Regina lost someone she really cared for. When Daniel died something inside her changed. It awoke a darkness that I never believed someone as kind as her could ever be capable of."

"It's because she did nothing wrong." Emma whispered. "She just wanted to be with the person she loved. Losing him... that definitely must have been painful."

Snow smiled. "And that Emma, that is why you shouldn't do this to her. You know her and understand her in a way that very few people ever have, and probably ever will."

"But what does all this have to do with me now?"

"If she discovers that you're deceiving her and are willing to break a promise with her, and even more, are willing to physically harm her, I've said this before, she could close herself off from everyone permanently. That wouldn't be good for her or anyone in this household. We'll lose her, and I don't necessarily mean to death."

Emma breathed a heavy sigh. "What do I do?"

"Find another way."

Emma sighed, practically rolling her eyes as she wracked her brain for another solution. "I just wish Regina had her magic back so she could heal herself. Or if... I don't know... If I had magic."

David looked at her curiously then. "If you had magic? I didn't know that was something you wanted."

"Well, I don't know if it is exactly..." Emma responded uncertainly. "But it would certainly make things easier right now." The look on Emma's face changed just then. "Wait... That's it." She said.

"What is?"

"Magic. What we need right now is magic. He helped us once before... in his diagonal sort of way..." Emma said thoughtfully, more to herself than to her parents.

"Who did? Mr. Gold?"

"Yes." Emma said, her eyes shining. Suddenly without warning, she took off towards the front door. "Stay with Regina, make sure she's comfortable and please, keep her safe. I'll be back soon."

"Emma wait I don't think this is a good idea. Gold isn't–" Snow cut in.

But the front door had already shut behind her.

By the time Emma had arrived at Mr. Gold's she had lost any composure she may have had. She knew it was probably not the greatest idea to go to him after the frustrating and cryptic 'help' he had provided her with the last time she had seen him, but his information had turned out to be very helpful and as a result they had found Regina. At any rate it was worth a shot.

"Miss Swan," Gold greeted in a falsely cheery way as the door to the shop closed behind her. "I wasn't expecting you back again so soon. Did you find Regina?"

"You know we did." Emma replied dryly, not in the mood for any of his games. She breathed a heavy sigh. "I need your help. Again. I need to get Regina out of town safely..." She leaned forwards onto the counter, her shoulders slumping a little. "And possibly without her knowing about it..."

"And here I was thinking you came simply to thank me for my help." Gold replied sarcastically.

Emma was fuming inside. Yes it was true that without Gold's help they likely would not have found Regina by now, but...

"Yes we found her," Emma began in a low, measured voice, "but do you have any idea what kind of state she's in? She's been beaten so badly it's almost a miracle she's still alive. She was drugged, and she was given these needles... I don't know what the hell they were but from what Regina said it sounds like they were practically electrocuting her. She was left lying on a freezing concrete floor all night when she was already in so much pain and, and Gold... she was almost raped! You can't honestly tell me you wanted that to happen to her?! I know you guys aren't exactly friends but this?!"

"No... I did not. I knew Whale would try, but if things were to go the way I believed they would, I knew he would never succeed."

"But why put her through it at all? You could have been wrong and he could have succeeded, he could have killed her! Why risk it? Tell me," Emma demanded, "tell me why you couldn't tell us where Regina was from the start?! Why did she have to go through all of this?"

"Because Whale would have killed her," Gold growled. "I told you this before. If I had told you where he was keeping Regina, she would have died. You would have found her earlier yes, but she would have been in a far worse state than what you found her in. I saw it. Whale would have stabbed her, or given her a lethal injection. What I see of the future is not like watching a film, it's hazy, and constantly in a state of flux. But what I do know is that her entire body was so broken that the move alone would have been agony, and it likely would have resulted in a punctured lung or other major organ. Not to mention, with all that damage she never would have been able to recover properly. But since you arrived later, Blue had healed her by then."

"Then why didn't you come with us? Why couldn't you heal her? Or better yet, why didn't you prevent all this from happening to her in the first place?!"

"Because for one, I couldn't have entered that house. It had the same protection spell around it that Blue placed around Regina's house before the fire. No one wielding dark magic could enter."

"And you wanted her to suffer." Emma added for him, remembering all too well that he had been the one to start the fire in the first place. "Hold on..." Emma suddenly realized. "Regina has dark magic too. Is that why she reacted so badly when she tried to leave her own house the day she was kidnapped? She was trying to follow me, and it was like all of a sudden an invisible force pulled her back. At the time I thought it was just a bad memory that triggered her."

"It's very likely, yes. The spell can keep people like me and Her Majesty out, but it can also keep someone in."

"But then how was she able to cross when we left Sidney's house? Shouldn't she not have been able to leave at all?"

"My guess is she was only able to cross because you Emma, were carrying her. If she had tried to leave either place on her own she wouldn't have made it."

"Why does it make a difference that it was me?"

"Because you're the Savior, created from the lightest of magic. Honestly Miss Swan, is your personal history completely lost on you?"

Emma considered this. After a time she breathed a heavy sigh. She just wanted to go back to the house to be with Regina. She had promised Regina she would stay by her side, and now she had gone without even telling the brunette she was leaving. "You must agree with me that Regina's been through enough at this point." She said a little quietly. "Would you consider healing her? Her kidney damage, liver damage, everything?"

"No."

Emma's expression changed. "Why not?!"

"Because magic didn't do this to her, magic shouldn't be used to undo it. Of course there are elixirs I could make up, but that kind of magic is powerful, and like everything else it comes with a cost. I don't think you want to risk Her Majesty having to pay another steep price."

"But if it could heal her–"

"As you said, she's been through enough. Just give her time, let her heal. I have certainty that the medicine of this world can cure her."

Emma gave a frustrated sigh, she had a lost look in her eyes. "But she doesn't want to go to the hospital..."

Gold studied her, he didn't say anything as he watched her. He seemed to expect her to say something more. When her eyes finally raised to his at his silence, he decided to speak up again. "I think I have something that may help you after all Sheriff Swan."

Emma's head shot up at that. Her breath seemed to catch in her throat. "You do?"

With a wave of his hand as response, in a puff of smoke appeared a small vial in Gold's palm. He handed this out to her.

"What is this?" Emma asked as she cautiously reached for the bottle.

"A potion that will render Her Majesty unconscious. I believe it should solve the problem you're having as to how to get Regina out of town."

Emma eyed him suspiciously. "It won't hurt her?"

"Not in the least, you have my word."

"How long will it last?"

"Several hours, possibly longer depending on how much strength Her Majesty has right now."

Emma's eyes raised to meet his uncertainly. "And you're sure this won't hurt her? It won't affect her health or anything?"

"As I said you have my word. It will simply put her to sleep, nothing more."

"Okay..." Emma breathed. "So what do I do? Put it in some water or something? Camouflage it in some soup?"

"I think you'll find that the most effective method of distribution in Regina's case is to soak a cloth in it and have her breath the potion in. All you must do is hold it over her mouth and nose until she is unresponsive. You will know when it's done its' job."

"What do you mean in Regina's case?"

"Well it's my understanding that she is being a little difficult when it comes to eating or drinking anything?"

"Oh... Yeah I suppose you're right." Emma responded, unsettled at the prospect of him knowing that. "So what do you want for this? I guess you want to make a deal or something?" She was already slightly dreading the response.

Gold gave an amused chuckle. "You're right, all magic comes with a price, including that potion."

Emma's eyes dropped to the bottle in her hand. If he had already given it to her, did that mean he already knew that she would agree to the terms?

"What do you want for it?" Emma repeated.

"The Blue Fairy's wand."

"I don't have it." Emma responded, eyebrows raising in surprise.

"Of course you do." Gold said a little dangerously.

What.

Emma wracked her brain. She remembered David tackling Blue to the ground and knocking the wand from her hand. She remembered Regina being knocked unconscious after touching the wand, but after that she hadn't paid much attention to anything except for Regina. She thought long and hard. Had she herself picked up the wand while she had been holding Regina?

But then she remembered something she had seen from the corner of her eye. "Mary Margaret..." She muttered to herself. She lifted her head to Gold. "It's back at the house."

"That's not a problem... I know you'll get it to me soon."

Emma raised her eyebrows, not having pegged him to be so trusting. She gave him a single nod, her mind racing as she turned to leave the store.

"Oh and Miss Swan," Gold stopped her. "If you don't get that wand to me, I think you'll know that I'm serious when I say I'll kill everyone in your family. And yes that includes Regina."

Emma swallowed, but kept her expression stony as she forced a small smile. She nodded before turning away from him and leaving the shop.

Back at the house David had gone upstairs to check on Regina.

He knocked on the door lightly before entering. "Hey," he said as Regina lifted her head slightly from her pillow. Henry seemed to be half-asleep in her arms, but he began to stir a little. "Just came to see how you were doing. Do you need anything?" David asked.

"Where's Emma?" Regina asked him sleepily, not having expected to wake up without the other woman at her side.

"She's gone into town to see what the situation is like," he lied. "She wants to be sure we're not going to be surprised by another mob arriving at the front door."

"Is that likely to happen?" Regina asked with a slight catch in her voice. She wondered why Emma didn't just call Ruby and Kathryn to ask them since they were already in town.

"Honestly, the longer you're here the greater the possibility." David responded.

Regina breathed a heavy sigh. She was silent for a few moments, her expression was troubled. "David... I'm sorry to bother you, but I think it's time I try to build up a bit of strength. I'm starting to feel a little bit hungry." She said, sounding tired again.

"Yeah," David's voice rose in pleased surprise, it was the first time she had shown the will to eat anything since even before she had been kidnapped. "Yeah of course, it's no problem at all. I could heat up some soup if you want, I could make some toast... or there are some sandwiches too."

"Just some soup is fine." Regina said, still in a quiet voice. "I think it will be easiest to digest and I'll be able to get some vitamins in."

"You got it." David said, already knowing there were several boxes of blended organic vegetable soups still in the pantry.

"Henry, sweetheart are you hungry?" Regina asked softly. The boy lifted his head slightly from where he was lying against her side.

"You can have some soup down in the kitchen if you are."

"But are you going to stay up here?" Henry asked.

Regina nodded gently.

"Why can't I stay too then?" Henry complained.

"Because the last time I gave you soup in bed you spilled it."

"What if I just have a sandwich?"

Regina looked up at David before wrapping her arm around Henry. "Okay."

David nodded at her and was about to leave when he caught sight of her expression. He realized she had had it ever since he entered the room. "Hey, are you alright?" He asked in soft concern.

Regina held his gaze for a few moments, it was as if she was waiting for him to tell her something. She had an uncertain, almost nervous look in her eyes.

"Regina?"

"It's nothing David." She said, settling a little closer to Henry.

"Are you sure?" He asked, not liking how bothered she seemed.

Regina nodded silently.

David waited a few moments, wondering if she would say anything more. "I'll get you some water okay?" He began uncertainly. "I don't think you've had much of any in days. You need your strength but you also need to stay hydrated."

David was surprised to see a few tears in her eyes as she nodded again. She looked grateful at the offer, but there was something else there too, something that his words had in some way initiated. Was it fear? Heartache? Betrayal? He knew she was scared at the prospect of facing an ambush if they tried to leave Storybrooke, and he knew currently she must be a powerhouse of emotions after her confession that she wanted to stop fighting for her life, but whatever she was displaying right now seemed to be separate from that. He couldn't find a reason why, but David felt almost as if her anxiety was directed at him, as though she was afraid he himself may want to harm her.

"Regina please tell me what's wrong." He said gently.

Regina looked up at him again, sighing softly. She wanted to believe that she was wrong, but it was difficult. She wanted him to just go, so she could continue convincing herself she was indeed wrong about her family's intentions, but when it became clear that he wasn't going to leave without an answer, she resolved herself to speak.

Regina looked away, clearing her throat softly. "I just want to be sure that I can trust you." She said, her eyes flicking back to his.

"Me?" David asked in surprise.

She breathed one small, cheerless laugh as her gaze dropped. "All of you." She responded, her eyes raising back to meet his. The look on her face almost seemed to dare him to deny it.

Henry looked up in surprise at that.

"Regina of course you can trust us." David said. Regina's eyes followed him as he sat down at the end of the bed.

She still had that same expression. He saw the way her chest seemed to be rising and falling more heavily as her breathing intensified, and he felt guilty for moving closer. He hadn't meant to scare her by sitting down, he hadn't meant to scare her at all. Maybe Emma had actually been right earlier, maybe Regina really wasn't thinking rationally right now, unless she somehow knew about Emma's plan which he didn't think possible.

"Regina I promise, it doesn't matter what happened between us back in the Enchanted Forest. Things are different now, we will do our best to keep you safe. We are willing to do everything in our power to protect you. I promise, none of us are here to harm you."

"I know," she whispered, to his surprise.

"Then Regina please, I don't understand what's wrong." He said. "Just tell me, I'm sure we can help."

She shook her head. She turned away from him, lying back down. She clearly didn't want to talk any further.

David shared a concerned look with Henry, who shrugged, biting his lip as he turned to look at his mother again. David felt a tug in his heart, he felt bad for Regina, even more so because he didn't know how to put her mind at ease.

"I'll just... go get that soup okay?" He said softly. "Just rest for now."

David patted Henry's shoulder comfortingly before turning to leave the room to discuss Regina's worrying change in attitude with Snow.

After David had gone, Henry moved around to Regina's other side to so that she was facing him again.

"Mom?" He asked, his voice was sad and his eyes were round. He saw that there were tears in her eyes that threatened to fall.

She didn't look up at him, she looked almost ashamed of herself as she clutched her pillow.

"Mom why did you say those things to David? They're not going to hurt you, they're our family. They just want to help you."

Regina sniffled, looking up at him. "I know they do." She responded in a shaky whisper.

"The why did you tell David that you didn't trust him? I think you hurt his feelings."

Regina wiped a tear from her face as her eyes raised to meet his. "Henry..." Her voice trembled even as she tried to calm herself down. "Henry would you..." She took in a heavy shaky breath, closing her eyes for a few moments. "Henry if they... Emma and David and Snow... if they wanted to force me to leave Storybrooke, would you let them?"

"What do you mean?" Henry asked uncertainly. Did she know? He wondered nervously. Or was this just hypothetical?

"Would you let them?" She repeated in an almost inaudible whisper.

"I..." Henry trailed off, not knowing how to respond.

"Henry please don't lie to me." She begged.

"I wouldn't let them hurt you Mom." He finally settled on.

Regina breathed a heavy sigh, she looked away from him. Henry felt nervous. She looked disappointed in his answer, but she see seemed satisfied that he had been honest.

"Mom are you mad at me?" He asked in a small voice.

Her tearful eyes raised to meet his. She reached for him, drawing him gently into her arms. "No Henry, I'm not."

"I just want you to get better." He said, his voice shook a little as his emotions started to get the better of him. He burrowed into her embrace, holding onto her as tightly as he dared.

"I know you do." She whispered, closing her eyes.

Not long after David and Snow had brought the food up for Regina and Henry, Emma had arrived back at the house.

"Emma where did you go?" Snow asked as she and David emerged from the living room, having opted to leave Regina alone with just Henry for a while so she could hopefully calm down a little.

"Gold's shop. He gave me this." Emma took out the bottle to show them. "He says it will keep Regina under for a couple of hours."

"Are you sure we can trust him?" Snow said, eyeing the vial uncertainly.

"I think so."

"That doesn't sound very comforting."

"He helped us find her before." Emma pointed out. "I trust him."

"And it will last until you get to Boston?"

"I don't know if it's that strong, but I think by the time she wakes up Storybrooke will be well behind us."

"And it's not going to do any damage to her health?" Snow asked.

"None at all." Emma looked back and forth between her parents' uncertain expressions. "You guys aren't going to try to stop me?"

David folded his arms, sighing as he and Snow shared a look.

"Emma..." Snow said softly. "I don't think we agree with you that it's okay to ignore Regina's last wish... but sweetheart, if you truly believe this is what you need to do, if you really think this is the right thing to do, we will support you."

"Does that mean you're going to help me?"

"The last thing we want right now is for Regina to get hurt because we're trying too hard to help her." David responded. "If things will go more smoothly with us helping you, then yes, we will help you with her. But you need to be one hundred percent sure this is what you want to do. Because once you do this there is no going back."

Emma slipped the bottle back into her pocket, not giving a response. There was a whirlwind of emotions going on inside her and she wanted to listen to all of them.

"So how has Regina been?" She asked, there was a distracted look in her eyes. She kept her hand wrapped around the bottle inside her coat.

"To be quite honest she's been acting a little strange," David said.

"What do you mean 'strange'?"

"She's jumpy. And suspicious. It almost seems like she's afraid of us all of a sudden. She doesn't want anyone to touch her."

"What? What were you trying to do?"

"Nothing." David replied defensively. "She started questioning our resolve to help her. And then I brought her some food, all I did was touch her shoulder to wake her up, but she wasn't asleep and from the way she pulled back it was as if I had hit her. She reacted pretty much the same when Snow tried to place a hand on her arm."

"I'm sorry," Snow said sadly. "I didn't even think about it. She was already on edge and I know I should have kept my distance. I was just trying to comfort her that's all."

"What about Henry?" Emma asked.

"She's fine with Henry. He's still up there sitting with her."

"You don't think she could have heard us talking before do you?" Emma asked, feeling a chill run through her.

"I mean it's possible," David responded, "but I was sure she was asleep."

"Okay," Emma sighed through her words. "I guess I'll go see what's up." She began to head for the hallway.

"Emma wait." Snow's voice asked from behind her. "So... are you going to do it?"

Emma stopped in her tracks, breathing a heavy sigh. She turned around again for a second. She looked as if she were about to respond, but then she seemed to change her mind. She turned and left the room without answering the question.

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