Chapter 14

"Regina, please. I know you're in there." Emma stood at the door that led to Regina's office. She knew that Regina was there, and yet she was met with silence. It had been almost a week since her return from the past, since she'd last felt Regina's embrace. Every night plagued her with loneliness and only the empty pillow beside her offered any warmth or comfort. The days had been worse, with everyone seeming content with giving Regina space to be alone. Emma had no one to confide in who would understand what was happening.

As time passed on, Emma found that she hadn't just missed the intimacy she had with Regina in the Enchanted Forest, but she also missed her friend from Storybrooke. Whether they had wanted to admit it or not, they shared a bond that Emma lacked with everyone else. It was as if they were the only ones who saw the world as it was: not in black and white, good and evil, but as a gray, blurred world where good and evil was only a matter of perspective. Despite the silence that greeted Emma in the mayor's office, she couldn't help but to feel close to Regina once more. Even if a door stood between them. Emma just had to find the right way to express herself, which, unfortunately, was not her forte.

"I…I'm sorry…" She whispered just barely loud enough to be audible. Her hand reached up and rested against the door, feeling the cool glass of the window against her fingertips. There had to be something she could say that would break through the barrier between them.

It was harder now that she had changed the past. What Emma hadn't expected was to have changed Robin's plans for killing Regina. With Marion having chosen to come back, the plot against Regina had changed. It seemed now that the man was actually torn between Marion and Regina. To accuse him of anything otherwise would make her look suspicious. All Emma could do now was…play along and hope to find a way to make everything right again.

"I didn't know who she was, Regina. You have to believe me that I would never intentionally try to sabotage your happiness." I love you, she thought, but this was neither the time or place to admit that. Her forehead rest gently against the glass. Open the door, Regina. Let me see you, she silently begged. Even just a glimpse of the woman she loved so dearly would have curbed the ache that resided in her chest, but she was met only with more silence.

"I'm the Savior, Regina. I promise, I'm going to bring back all of the happy endings. Including yours." Ours. Emma's hand pushed away from the glass only to clench into a fist at her side. She would have preferred standing at that door than being anywhere else in the town, but she couldn't. There were too many responsibilities that still clung to her. Plus, someone had to be strong for Henry. He was equally as worried and the last thing he needed was more concern.

"You know where to find me if you change your mind," she said softly before turning away from the door, boots thudding on the tile ground as she slowly exited the mayor's office. As she reached the doorway, a body slammed immediately into her, knocking her back a few steps. Her green eyes lifted up to the one who had bumped into her, but his voice gave himself away before her gaze came into focus.

"Emma! I'm so sorry. Are you all right?" Robin's voice echoed in her ears, developing a rage that boiled from the pit of her stomach. While no one else knew about it, all Emma could see before her was the man that tried to kill Regina. Her eyebrows furrowed as she fought the urge to pull her gun from the holster and put a bullet between his eyes.

"I'm fine. What are you doing here?" She asked, hands clenching by her sides.

"I came to see Regina. Is she here?"

"I…I don't know…" Emma wanted to maintain the barrier between him and the door, but could no longer justify it. Robin stepped past her and walked to the door. It took everything inside of her not to fight him. Was this the punishment she had to bear? Being the only one to remember the satisfaction on his face as Regina died in her arms? Clenching her jaw tight, her hands curled into fists by her side as he knocked gently on the door.

"Regina, it's me. It's Robin. Can you open the door please?" He, too, was met with silence. There was a moment of satisfaction in Emma's heart, knowing that he, too, could not pull her out of the room.

'I need to talk to you. I…talked with Marion. I told her that I couldn't go back to what we were. I've already made my life with you and that's what I'm choosing. I choose you, Regina." Emma's heart sank. It just seemed to get worse, didn't it? In a matter of moments, she heard shuffling behind the door. The door was opened with Regina standing on the other side, staring at Robin incredulously.

"But, Roland.." Regina said softly, trying to make sense of it all.

'Roland will understand that his father couldn't and wouldn't give up on love," he smiled and reached for her. Regina fell easily into Robin's embrace. She wrapped her arms around his neck and rested her head on his shoulder. He was choosing her. Her happy ending was here and wasn't ruined after all.

As she stood there being held, her dark eyes lifted to see Emma standing there. Regina wanted to be angry with her for almost ruining her perfect relationship, and yet she wasn't. It was always in Emma's character to try and do the right thing. That was one thing she took after her family on, a flaw that would always inherently be there and receive praise. Tonight, however, there was a different look on Emma's face. It wasn't relief that she hadn't destroyed her relationship with Robin. It was…pain. Her eyebrows furrowed in confusion. Why would Emma be sad? Pulling away from Robin for a moment, she started toward Emma.

"Emma? Look, I d-" Regina started, but Emma cut her off.

"I'm..really happy for you, Regina. I gotta go."

"Wait." Regina stepped forward, but was pulled back by one of Robin's arms as it wrapped around her waist from behind. Emma's eyes dropped to the arm and then back up to Regina's face.

"We can talk later. I have to go," Emma's urgency in her voice caused alarm to arise in Regina as Emma turned quickly into the hallway. She didn't pause, hesitate or even slow down. Emma had to leave before Regina caught the sight of the tears forming in her eyes, though it was already too late for that. Seconds before she turned and disappeared, Regina caught the glistening of tears forming in her eyes and felt curiosity's sting. What was going on?

Emma offered no explanation. Boots thudded rapidly on the ground as she rushed outside and headed toward her house own the street. It felt as though her heart were being ripped from its chest, and there was no relief for this pain. She was met only with the ache of Regina's absence and the reminder that those days between them were quickly becoming a distant memory that would only exist in the forefront of her own mind. Quickly, she wiped at the tears that dropped onto her cheeks and walked faster out of fear that Regina would have followed her.

There was a soft scent of clean laundry and forest, mingling with a hint of roses. Regina could feel hands gliding over her body as if it knew exactly what places to touch. She was on fire with desire and want, lost in the gentle caresses over her naked body. A soft moan echoed in her ears, and she had been so focused on the one on top of her that she was almost surprised the moan came from her own lips. When her hands reached up to grip the body above hers, Regina found that the body pressed against her own was one equally as soft and curvy as her own. Her eyes opened slowly to find Emma staring down at her with a soft smile curling upon her lips. Bright green eyes matched her own in desire and love as they remained tangled in each other's arms, naked with only a soft candlelight to tease at a hinted view.

"I love you," Emma whispered before she leaned in to press her lips against Regina's. Before their lips touched, Regina's eyes opened rapidly, waking her from the dream she had been having. It was the middle of the night and Regina lie curled within Robin's arms. His slow breathing trickled onto the back of her head as he slept. Her heart pounded hard inside of her chest, leaving Regina almost breathless. What was it that she had dreamt? Why did it feel so real?

Lowering her eyes down to the hands resting on the front of her stomach, she let her own hands rest on top of them. Fingertips lightly brushed against the inside of Robin's arm, over the lion tattoo. This was her true love. That's what she had been told, and that's what she was led to believe. There was proof of it and her fingers were touching that proof right then. Why, then, did she feel so…empty? Before Emma's visit to the Enchanted Forest, she was content to continue living her life the way that it was. Now, she was oddly dissatisfied.

Clenching her jaw, her dark eyes slowly lifted up toward the window that gave way to the moonlight shining into the room. Did this have something to do with why Emma was so sad? Would Emma have any reason why she was dreaming such intimate moments? How could she even admit to Emma that she was having such dreams about her? How could she admit that to anyone?

"You all right, love?" Robin's sleepy voice broke through her thoughts as she turned her head to see his sleepy, concerned face. She was frightened to admit that his face wasn't the one she'd wanted to see just then. Forcing a soft smile onto her face, she gave his hand a squeeze.

"Yes. Just had a weird dream is all."

"You want to talk about it?"

"No. Not at all. I hardly remember much of it anyway," she replied quickly. Usually, Robin would have pursued this further, but sleep overtook him. With a nod of his head, he closed his eyes and landed back against his pillow. Regina relaxed the moment his arm loosened around her. Thank God. She did not want to have to explain this to him. She could barely explain it to herself. Nestling her head against her pillow, Regina closed her eyes once more and attempted to go back to sleep. She would deal with all of this tomorrow.

"Mom. What's going on?" Henry was never the type to beat around the bush…Emma would give him that much. She'd been standing at the kitchen counter sipping her coffee quietly while lost in thought, which clearly was a dead giveaway to her incredibly observant son. Nevertheless, she attempted to play dumb.

"What? Can't a girl just drink her coffee without something going on?" She shrugged and met his gaze. No dice. The kid wasn't buying it.

"Mom. Come on. I can tell when something is eating at you. You can tell me. It's us against the world, remember?" Henry prodded, coming around the other side to stand beside her. There was something in those green eyes staring back at her that just crumbled her defenses. The wall she built up around herself came tumbling down around her when Henry was involved. A soft sigh escaped her lips and she placed her coffee mug back down onto the counter.

"You know, kid. I wish you weren't growing up so fast. There are a lot of things that I wish I could spare you from. Even if just for a little while longer." Emma lifted her eyes to their surroundings, looking for her parents. The last thing she wanted to do right now was get David and Mary Margaret all worked up over this.

"Don't worry. They already left for the day. It's just us. What is it? Out with it already!" Henry smiled playfully while nudging Emma's shoulder.

"Okay, okay. I'm…I'm in love." Henry's eyes widened in shock.

"Is it Hook? No offense, Mom, but I think you could do better," he started and Emma frowned, shaking her head.

"No! It's not Hook. Why does everybody always think that?"

"Well, he's always pursuing you…"

"That doesn't mean I'll change my mind. I said no, and meant it. You remember that, Henry. If a girl isn't interested, let it go. I mean that," she said firmly with a finger pointed toward him. Henry's hands shot up in surrender.

"Whoa, Mom. Relax. We're talking about you right now. Not me."

"Right. You're right. I'm sorry." Emma let out a soft sigh and raked a hand through her blonde hair before she dropped onto one of the bar stools.

"Who is it, Mom?" Henry pushed as he followed to take a seat beside her. She wasn't getting out of this one. Not one bit.

"It's…Regina." Emma's confession only made Henry's expression look more lost than before.

"What about her? Wait. Whoa. Waaaaait a minute, wait a minute, wait a minute. You're in love with MOM?" His eyes suddenly widened in shock, mouth dropping open. Clearly, he had not mastered subtlety yet. Emma laughed just a little, moreso in surprise that this was actually happening rather than finding something humorous.

"Yeah, kid. It's mom." She genuinely had no idea what his reaction to the news would be. Would he be upset about it? Indifferent, perhaps? What she didn't expect was to see the smile widening across his face. For a moment, he simply stared at her in silence with a bright grin.

"Henry, you look like you just won a free Xbox or something. Stop staring at me like that and just say something," she said with her eyebrows furrowing just slightly.

"Sorry! Sorry, that's just…really great. I kind of always wondered…"

"Wait a sec. Wondered what?"

"About you and Mom."

"Me and Regina? How could you have wondered that?"

"Oh, come on, Mom. It's not that crazy of a thought. The two of you have always had some weird connection to one another. Even from day one, I noticed a difference. Maybe that's not what you two thought, but it's more apparent than you think. Even before all of this, you guys cared about each other more than just average friends. Think about it. You really think that Mom was the most upset about Robin's wife being brought back?"

"Well…yeah."

"No. She was more upset that you brought her back. That you hurt her." Emma sat back and straightened, thinking back on the look in Regina's eyes when she realized that it had been Emma who brought Marion back. The hurt in her eyes made Emma's chest ache once more, causing her to slump over just slightly.

"I guess, I just was so caught up in the pain of losing her. I didn't think about that," she said softly, looking down at her hands that toyed with a string from her shirt.

"Mom. We're gonna get her back."

"Kid, no. She's happy with Robin. Hook was right. I changed the past and now this is the reality that we're living in. I can't bear to see her hurt again. Not by me, and not for my own selfishness. I'm the Savior, remember?"

"She thinks she's happy with Robin, because she doesn't know what she could have with you. Trust me. Robin's not good for her. I don't know what it is, but I can feel it. He's not going to make her happy. Not like you will. Besides, I want you both to be happy. We're a team, remember? We just need a code name."

"Another code name?"

"Yeah! Operation...Bald Eagle."

"Operation Bald Eagle? What the hell kind of name is that?"

"Bald eagles mate for life! They find each other and are there until the end."

"Bald eagles, huh?" Henry nodded with that typical proud, cheesy green spreading across his face.

"Yep. I like it. It's decided. Operation Bald Eagle starts now!" He nudged her shoulder and pushed himself off of the chair, reaching for his bagged lunch before slinging his backpack onto his shoulder.

"Have a good day at school, kid. Don't do anything I wouldn't do."

"Like go after the love of my life? Don't worry. I won't. I'll be too busy helping you do that," he teased as he headed toward the door, letting it slam shut behind him. Emma remained by the counter with her coffee in hand. Maybe it was just having time with her son, but there was a little bit of warmth she'd felt since her return from the past. Suddenly, things didn't seem so dim. She actually had…hope. Hope that maybe Henry was right and she still had a chance to win her back.

"Operation Bald Eagle," she whispered to herself with a small laugh before setting the mug down into the sink. If she was going to try and win Regina back, then she couldn't waste any time. She'd start today. Getting out of her pajamas might help with that. With a new bounce in her step, she headed toward the bedroom.

Today was a new day with new possibilities.