Fail-safe
noemie dubois asked for a oneshot of Snowing not sharing a heart as the second curse arrives. WARNING OF MAIN CHARACTER DEATH (not Snowing)
"There's only one way this is going to work." Charming said, his heart heavy with sorrow. He turned to face Snow, a hand pressed against her swollen belly. He had never gotten a chance to be a father to Emma. Now, he would never even get to meet his second child. Snow's eyes widened with horror. She knew what he was suggesting.
"No." She choked. "No, Charming, you cannot be serious! Charming, I won't let you…"
"You have to." Charming told her firmly. "Snow, baby, we need to keep this child safe from the Wicked Witch. The only way to do that is to get them back to Storybrooke. You can find Emma and Henry again. Tell them I love them, Snow. Make sure this baby knew why I was doing this. Above all, Snow, remember that you were my everything…"
"Charming, please…" Snow began to plead with him to see sense. She couldn't do this without him. But Charming's mind was made up. He would make the ultimate sacrifice for him family.
"You're not killing yourself, David." Regina said calmly. "That's not the only way this curse can work." Both Snow and Charming looked at Regina, confused.
"Isn't it?" Charming asked. "Then what are we waiting for! We don't have a lot of time to find whatever ingredient we're missing…"
"We still need a heart." Regina cut in. "Just not either of yours." Snow and Charming still weren't sure they understood. Regina sighed. With a grimace, she reached into her own chest and pulled out her own heart. Snow and Charming gasped in surprise. What was she doing?!
"It's no surprise that the thing I love the most is Henry." Regina began to explain. "Very obviously, even if he was here, I wouldn't be sacrificing him. However, there is a bit of a fail-safe built into the curse. The creator can choose to sacrifice their own heart instead in order to save their loved one. Clearly, that's not been useful up until this point. But it is now."
"No, Regina!" Snow cried out. "What about Henry? How are we meant to tell him his mother is dead?" Snow asked, horrified. Regina walked over, heart in hand, to the bubbling cauldron. She turned back to her enemies-turned- friends and gave them a content smile.
"Tell him the truth. That his mother finally learned from you both. That she was finally brave. That she died a hero. Goodbye, Charmings. Just…just tell Henry I love him." Then, before either Snow or Charming could do anything, Regina closed her fist around her own heart, crushing it to dust.
