A/N: Wow, I was not expecting such a strong response to the last chapter. Thank you all for your comments and thoughts.
I did not mean to suggest in any way that Regina wanted or enjoyed the rape - in a way, it was even worse than what Whale did to her. And as for Charming's motives, he always kind of wanted her. He figured this was a chance to get that desire out of his system without word ever getting back to Snow.
Also, in case you haven't figured this out already, the names used for Charming/David and Snow/MM depend on the point of view of each section - if we're looking over Emma's shoulder, the curse names are used, Regina's, the fairytale names.
"Emma!" Mary Margaret looked delighted as she swung open the door. Her smile instantly faded as her daughter shouldered past her roughly.
"Where is he?" Emma demanded, not even sparing a glance for her mother as she stalked into the loft.
Mary Margaret pushed the door closed and hurried after the blonde. "Is something wrong?" she asked in alarm. She understood, as much as it hurt, that Emma probably had no desire to talk to her, but she couldn't just ignore the anger and pain on the sheriff's face.
"Damn right, something's wrong," Emma growled, turning to face the brunette again. Mary Margaret took a step back, shocked by the rage in her daughter's eyes. "Where. Is. He?"
"What happened?" Mary Margaret tried again. "Is it Henry?" No response. "Is it Regina?"
"Shut up!"
Emma was loud enough to bring David hurrying down the stairs. "What's going on?" he asked, looking back and forth between his bewildered wife and his fuming daughter.
Everything fell silent for a moment. Emma couldn't seem to find the words now that he was right in front of her. Just the thought that this man, her father, had touched Regina made her feel sick. The innocent expression on his face was even worse. "You bastard," she said, her voice impossibly soft.
There was a momentary flicker of recognition in David's eyes and Emma flung out a hand, sending the man flying into the kitchen island. "Emma!" Mary Margaret cried, rushing towards her husband. "Stop this!"
"Stop?" Emma asked, not sparing a glance for the other woman as she advanced on David. "Like you stopped when Regina begged you to?"
"I told you, I never..." Mary Margaret started, but Emma silenced her with a brief glare.
"Not you. Him." Emma reached David and hauled him up with a hand fisted in the front of his shirt. "You're a monster," she hissed. "Pretending to be nice to her, knowing she'd never realize it was you. Too bad you left evidence all over her."
"Charming?" Mary Margaret asked from a few feet behind Emma. "What is she talking about?"
"Tell her, Charming," Emma spat out.
David looked past Emma, locking eyes with his wife. "I don't..." he started.
"But you did." Emma let go of his shirt and took him by the throat instead, getting a firm hold on him before turning to look at Mary Margaret. "He raped Regina," she said, her voice even and measured.
"Did she tell you that?" Mary Margaret asked, her eyes wild and pleading for this not to be true. "She's lying, Emma. She's just trying to steal you away from us."
"Regina didn't tell me anything more than that a man attacked her without giving any indication of who he was." Emma turned back to David. "DNA doesn't lie."
"There must be some mistake."
"Is there?" Emma asked David. "Go ahead, tell us how it's all a big misunderstanding."
David brought his eyes to Emma's, finding her much less frightening to face down than his true love. "I don't know what to say."
"You know, Whale did despicable things to her," Emma told him. "But at least he was man enough to own up to it."
Mary Margaret let out a sob, David's lack of a denial finally sinking in. "How could you do this? I would have understood if you hurt her like everyone else did, even if you killed her..."
"Don't you understand?" David asked Emma. "It's so hard to say no to her."
Emma reeled back and punched him, needing the physical ache of her fist against his face more than she needed magic. "She didn't ask for this! She was bound and gagged and within an inch of her life and you raped her."
"I was gentle," David protested, which just brought another sob from Mary Margaret.
Emma had him down on the floor in a second, fists pounding him again and again. "I don't care if you brought her fucking flowers." She was screaming without hearing how loud she was, crying without feeling the tears on her face. "I don't care how many times she tried to kill you or that she cursed you. You," her fist connected hard with his jaw, "raped," his nose spurted blood, "Regina." She reached down and grabbed onto his heart.
Going into her own yard and even driving across town wasn't bad. It was when Regina parked and reached for the unlock button that she froze.
She hadn't been out in Storybrooke without either Emma or Henry by her side since the attack. And while it would only take a minute to get to Emma's side, the idea of stepping out of the car and being vulnerable was terrifying. The idea of facing one of her attackers was even worse.
But Emma losing control for good was the most terrifying thing she could imagine, so Regina took a quick breath and left the car. She had to admit that the way she sprinted into the building would have embarrassed her in the recent past, but that didn't matter. Nothing mattered but getting to Emma.
The door to the apartment sprang open when she approached, and Regina was surprised to feel magic coursing through her once again, infusing each cell. She pushed the surprise down, running inside to see Emma bent over a bloodied Charming with his heart glowing in her hand. She didn't spare a glance for Snow, who was sobbing a few feet away. Regina kept her eyes fixed on Emma's fingers and the telltale way they began to curl around the heart.
"Stop!" Regina's arms shot out in front of her, thick ropes of purple smoke appearing and binding Emma's arms to her sides. The heart fell to the floor and Charming groaned.
There was near silence for a moment, Regina's cry echoing through the loft. "Regina," Emma breathed, stunned by both the brunette's presence and how easily she'd taken control.
"Let her go," Snow insisted, and Regina couldn't help laughing at that.
"She just tore your darling prince's heart out," Regina said. "If I release her, he's dead."
Snow moved towards Regina, much more confident facing her old foe than her own family. "I mean stop turning her dark. Stop corrupting my daughter."
Regina didn't bother with Snow anymore, instead approaching Emma. "That's what I'm here for," she said softly, reaching out to touch Emma's cheek. The blonde struggled against the magic. "I can't let you do this, Emma. You promised me."
"That was before I knew that my father raped you." Emma practically spat each word. "He has to pay."
"And if you kill him?" Regina brought both hands to Emma's face now, tears rising in her dark eyes. "You're the one who will pay that price."
"It's worth it."
Regina shook her head vigorously. "Emma, it's not. Trust me, I know. I tore my father's heart out. He stood by for years and watched me suffer without even trying to help, so maybe he deserved it. But I'm the one who has a void in me that I can never fill. It will destroy you." She stroked Emma's cheek with her thumb, not caring that her tears were now breaking loose. "Henry needs you, Emma. I need you." Regina kissed her softly before reaching down and picking up the heart. "I love you."
Snow, despite herself, let out a cry at the sight of her husband's heart in her enemy's hand.
But Regina just reached past Emma and pressed Charming's heart back into his chest. "He will pay, I promise you that. They both will. They know each other's crimes now. It will tear them apart."
Charming glanced in Snow's direction, but she didn't meet his gaze.
"What's more, they will live the rest of their lives knowing that they finally got their daughter back only to lose her again."
That got Snow's attention. "Emma," she pleaded. "What he's done is unforgivable, but if you could just give me another chance…"
"No," Regina snapped. "I'm giving Emma another chance, and that means leaving Storybrooke and never coming back."
"But…" Emma whispered.
Regina buried her nose into Emma's blonde waves to speak directly into her ear. "It's not running away from my enemies," she promised. "This is about getting away from magic before it takes control of you."
Emma didn't respond. Regina pulled back, taking a hard look around the loft. She spotted Emma's treasured baby blanket folded on the end of the bed and summoned it into her arms. She took one last glance at her nemesis before placing a hand on the small of Emma's back and guiding her out towards the car.
They rode in silence to the town line. Emma felt the magical bonds release. "You," she said softly as they pulled into view of the town line and Ruby's car. "You're strong again."
"I would do anything to protect you." Regina echoed Emma's words from earlier, from after Whale's murder. The brunette reached over to take her hand as they pulled to a stop and saw Ruby and Henry emerge from the red car.