Chapter 6: Second Star to the Right Season 2 Episode 21

Another electroshock jolts through Regina until all she can see is splotching white, but this time there's no reprieve from pain, it just doesn't stop.

She has told Greg or Owen, or whatever the hell he calls himself these days, what he wanted to know.

That his foolish father was dead.

Regina should have slaughtered the child that ran with her secret but couldn't bring herself to kill the piece of love ignited in her heart.

Look at what she's brought unto herself.

Love surely is a weakness.

There's no reason for her to stall the inevitable. Her death feels as an occurrence that should have happened eons ago. Henry was protected by his other mother, they were both safe and the Evil Queen who ruined their lives was about to get her just rewards.

Her body jostles from the continuous current, she has held on as long as she could but her vision has gone from white to darkness and the heated tingly sensation is close to snapping her body in half.

There is a crank of a dial in the far off distance. Her grimace is frozen in a bite, crushing her teeth into her jaw. Her muscles contract into themselves all in one go until she is sure she's about to be torn apart.

At the very threshold of agony when she was about to let it go there was suddenly nothing.

A hand strokes against her squared jaw and it feels as if a horse is pummeling her chest. Regina gasps and chokes on air as the braces around her wrists dig deeper into her flesh. She's still in the throes of aftershock and can't help but buck and tear at her restraints.

She remains silent through the whole ordeal. She refuses to break down, to let one iota of her suffering be enjoyed by yet another man that attempts for her submission. She renounces any that dare use her for their entertainment and withholds each and every piece of herself from anyone but-

"Emma!" Charming blunders into the room with all the grace of a sheep herder. "You found her!"

There's a terrible moment when Emma wants to fling her hour long frustrations onto her father. Inform him that she'll always find Regina just to irk him. No one but Regina believed in her suspicion of Tamara and Greg, if they had just listened then it wouldn't have taken so long to find Regina.

Mary Margaret had a droplet of Regina's torture and promptly passed out; Emma could only imagine what Regina had been forced to endure this whole time they were running around like a pack of idiots. "We need to get her help."

"Right." He moves forward, prepared to throw Regina over his shoulder in a firemen carry; it's the most efficient use of energy and provides the quickest transportation to the car.

Emma grips his shoulder until he backs away, confusion in his eyes. "As in, go outside where there's reception so you can call the ambulance, we shouldn't move her."

Charming nods, "Right." He runs back out just as Snow charges into the room, her bow at the ready.

Emma threads her fingers through Regina's sweat matted bangs and presses her lips to Regina's brow. "It's okay, I've got you."

"Catch. Greg." Words trip over themselves through Regina's parched throat.

"Emma, let's-"

"Mary Margaret," Emma's tone is acerbic but she hides the strain behind cordialities, "could you please look for Greg, he should still be around here." Emma moves to unbuckle the restraints now that Regina is more stable.

"Emma, your father has called the ambulance and we should stick together-"

"That's why I'm staying with Regina." Emma stares back, astonished by her mother's thoughtlessness. "Do you want me to just leave her here, defenceless like this?"

"No, of course not, but I'm just suggesting that we focus our efforts on something more important." Snow tentatively motions for the door, but Emma only glares back.

There's a flicker of emotion on Regina's face that passes as quickly as it appears.

"No, don't worry." Emma squeezes the hand still healing from magic burns. "Of course I'm staying, you are important."