A/N: Only two chapters left! Thanks to everyone who's following this story, for giving it a chance.

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Emma watched Regina poof away and stared at the empty porch for a moment longer than was necessary. She'd tried to call out to her, to tell her that she wasn't angry at her. She wanted to tell her that she was working some things out…

Shutting the door, she leaned her back against it. She was dreading the trip upstairs, because when she got there, she was going to tell Hook it was over.

She'd had the whole day to think everything over. The trip to Archie had been necessary, as she was a complete mess after leaving the manor.

"She loves me!" Emma cried as soon as she'd shut the door behind her. Archie looked up with wide eyes, having been absorbed in a patient's file before she'd burst in uninvited. "What?" he asked.

"Regina. She loves me." Emma sat down on the couch and stared blankly at the wall. "She…I…I don't know how it happened, but she loves me and…I think…" she trailed off and took a deep breath.

"I think I love her too, Archie."

Archie smiled warmly and it looked as though he was completely unsurprised by the admission. "Then tell her, Emma," he said softly. Emma's eyes went wide and she shook her head violently. "No, you don't get it, Archie!" She cried. "She can't love me. Every time something good happens to her, I ruin it. And now she may die! And I'm with Hook. I owe him so much, I'm his happy ending, he's told me so!"

Archie sighed. "You owe him nothing, Emma. And just because he says you're his happy ending doesn't make it set in stone. You said he sees that Regina loves you. And he sees that you feel for her too. He already knows, Emma. And maybe nothing has gone Regina's way as of late because you are her way, have you thought about that? She may not have to die, Emma. And you may yet have time to tell her how you feel. You just have to be brave enough to take a leap of faith."

Even though Emma had still been swimming in self doubt, she'd left Archie's feeling lighter and braver and, after a call from Snow confirming that Jekyll's serum was ready, she met Hook at his ship, asking him to come to the manor and join their next fight. What she really wanted to do, though, was tell him her new revelation.

And the second they stepped into the manor, Emma was surprised to see the entire living room full of her family and allies, and for a moment she felt pride swell inside her. They all loved Regina, enough to come together despite differences to protect her and each other. She was bombarded with questions the second they noticed her, and she quickly relayed the story of the day, and everyone seemed even more relieved that the serum was finished and Regina wouldn't have to die.

Henry begged to go upstairs to get Regina, but Emma told him she would come down when she was ready and they would all share the happy news.

After her brief exchange with Henry, Killian pulled her to the side. "You seem different, love," he noted quietly. Emma smiled up at him, though a guilty feeling was welling up inside her. "I feel different," she admitted. "We really need to talk," she whispered, leaning in closer. "Later, okay?" Hook's look of concern grew, and he kept staring at her even when Regina finally emerged from her room.

The battle had been long and taxing, and when they realized they'd failed, Emma had tried to reach out to Regina.

"Be careful, Emma," she had said, reminding Emma of their earlier encounter. Emma had stepped back, sensing the anger and loathing emanating from the beautiful woman in front of her. She wanted nothing more than to comfort her, but she couldn't pinpoint who the anger was directed at, so she'd stepped back and joined Snow in forming a cleanup/burial crew for the fallen. After that was taken care of, she'd grabbed Killian's hand and together they'd gone back to Emma's house.

And the second she'd closed the front door behind her and Killian and removed her coat, he'd turned and captured her lips in a kiss. She allowed it for a moment, though it now felt completely wrong, and pulled back. "We need to talk, Killian," she reminded him. He smiled and grabbed her hand. "Let's talk in the bedroom." he said slyly. Emma rolled her eyes but allowed him to pull her up to the bedroom, where he immediately began to remove his shirt. Emma felt a moment of weakness, a moment where she wanted to get swept away by him and forget her troubles, forget the decision she'd made, and he'd unbuttoned her jeans and pulled them halfway down before she snapped out of it. Grabbing his hands, she pushed them gently away. "Killian," she said firmly. "I-"

And then the doorbell had rung, and rather than pull her jeans back up, she'd just removed them and hurried downstairs in a panic, thinking something else had happened.

She realized now, after Regina had poofed away from her doorstep, that what she'd picked up on after the battle had been self-hatred. Regina really felt bad for letting her jealousy get the better of her, and Emma wanted so badly to talk to her, to go after her…but there was one thing she still needed to do.

Walking slowly back up the stairs, she finally found Killian buttoning his shirt back up. "So I'm not here so you can finally tell me you choose me, am I?" he asked in a low voice.

Emma hung her head. "I-"

"Really," he interrupted, "I should have known. I apologize for my advances, Swan. I saw the look on Regina's face when she saw me just then. That was the look of someone whose heart has been broken all over again."

Emma felt tears well up in her eyes and she pulled her jeans back on. "Killian, I'm so sorry. I thought I wanted this. Wanted you."

Killian met her eyes, and she was beyond relieved to see that his face held no malice. "I've seen it for years now, Swan. I kept hoping that maybe I could win your affections. I thought for certain I had. But I'm coming to the conclusion that I've never been your happy ending. Regina is. I was just a page in your story. And I think…I think I'm all right with that."

Emma couldn't help but feel shocked by that admission. "Really?" she asked him. Killian just laughed at her dumbfounded expression and ran his hand through his hair. "Yeah…um, actually, it's become rather tiring chasing after a woman that will never truly love me."

He shrugged his coat back on and gave Emma a small smile. "Besides…when I was in the Underworld, I heard tale of a magical object that could bring people back from the River of Lost Souls. The knowledge has been eating at me for awhile. Milah is in there, Emma, and even if I can't bring her back from the dead, I can at least sail to where this object is rumored to be hidden, return to the Underworld somehow, and maybe bring her unfinished business to a close so she can finally be at peace."

Emma felt tears spill out of her eyes and she gave a watery smile to him. "That sounds very noble, Killian. But if this has been on your mind the whole time, why have you kept trying to be with me?"

Killian's eyes were sad again. "Because I thought that maybe, when all of this nonsense was over, we could sail together. Have an adventure, help her find peace, maybe sail off into the sunset. Because I do love you, Swan."

He stepped forward and enveloped her in his arms. "But all I've ever wanted was your happiness. And if it's not with me, I wish you the best in finding it with Regina. Plus…" Killian had the decency to look guilty as he stepped away from her. "I've done things to her…I owe her to gracefully bow out of the contest for you heart. It's not like I was winning, anyway."

"One day I'll find out what went down between you two," Emma declared, giving him a suspicious look. Killian scratched his neck and looked away. "Then it's a good thing I'll be gone before that happens."

"You're leaving right now?" Emma exclaimed. Hook nodded. "You and Regina together can do anything you set your mind to. I'm useless against the fight with the Queen anyway. You'll defeat her, I know you will. But now I have a mission of my own, and I don't want to put it off any longer if I'm not waiting for you."

Emma nodded in understanding. "I hope you find what you're looking for, Killian," she said softly. "And thank you. For everything."

"No, thank you. You taught me that there's more to life than revenge and selfishness. Maybe we'll see each other again."

Together they walked downstairs to the door, and right before Killian left, Emma hugged him and whispered, "Bon voyage, Captain Hook."

"Good luck, Swan. You're going to need it. Regina is a handful."

Emma grinned through her still-flowing tears. "I know she is."

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Emma felt as though an entire planet had been lifted from her shoulders as she drove to Regina's manor.

I'm in love with Regina, and she's in love with me.

And now there was no reason not to tell her. Emma had never been more certain of her feelings than she was in that moment.

She parked in Regina's driveway and practically ran up the steps to the door. Using her copy of the key that Regina had made for her a few months ago, she let herself in.

It was late. She could hear the faint sound of a videogame and she walked into the living room to see Henry passed out on the couch, his game controller still in his hands. Smiling warmly at her sleeping son, she took the controller out of his hands and threw a blanket over him before kissing his forehead and making her way upstairs.

When she got to the middle of the stairs, she heard a sharp cry come from Regina's bedroom. It was loud, and it was alarming.

Fearing the worst, Emma practically charged up the stairs (only tripping once) and threw open the door to Regina's bedroom. What she found on the other side of the door shocked her still. Rooted to the spot, she gaped at the scene in front of her.

"Regina?!"

Regina pulled away from…from…the exact replica of Emma lying nude on her bed!…and met Emma's eyes with a panicked look. "Emma," she gasped, throwing up her hands and clothing herself via magic before Emma got more than a glance at her nude form.

Finding her feet, Emma quickly entered the bedroom and closed the door behind her, locking it. When she turned back to the women on the bed, she hissed, "What the hell is going on here?!"

Regina's eyes were filled with tears and she was wringing her hands. "Emma, I'm so sorry…it's not what you think, at least not completely…"

The Queen dropped her glamour then, a wide smile on her face. "What an interesting turn of events," she purred. She was still naked, and Emma couldn't help but stare at the bare body in front of her, even while panic was rising up into her throat.

"So," Emma began, anger flaring up, "you blame me for falling into her trap, and then you go and do it? And how the hell is she here? Don't you have protection spells up? My parents are here, Regina! She wants them dead!" She was feeling hysterical now, her voice rising in decibels until Regina waved her hands and Emma recognized a soundproofing spell enveloping the room. "Emma," Regina began, standing up off the bed, "she isn't here to hurt them. She wants to help us find a way to reunite the two of us. She's tired of the fighting, too."

Emma shot a glare at the Queen. "I don't believe that for one moment. She seemed horrified when I told her we were going to find a way to rejoin you."

"Oh, I was," the Queen admitted. "and I was up until Regina visited me in the vault earlier this evening. She's right, though. Without each other, we're incomplete. I just want to be happy."

"We don't want what happened to Jekyll and Hyde to happen to us, Emma. Neither of us want to die," Regina explained further. "Yes, she's the part of me that thinks and acts impulsively and without conscience, but there's good in her…just like there's still evil in me. I'm so sorry for what I did to you earlier, Emma."

Emma held up her hand. "Don't," she said. "I know you are. And I know there's good in her…I've spoken with her too, remember? But how the hell are you so calm? She could be plotting something else, she could be here to kill my parents, to steal Henry…"

"Why would I do that when I can just reunite with myself and stop being isolated and hated?" the Queen piped up. "And I really don't like being discussed as though I'm not in the room, Emma. It's hurtful."

Emma had nothing to say to that, so she turned the subject back to what she'd found when she'd walked in. "Why did she look like me, Regina? What the hell was going on in here? Were you having sex with yourself…looking like me?"

Regina turned beet red and said, "I screwed up, Emma. I pushed you away. I saw you with Hook, and I knew…I knew I'd never get to tell you…"

"Tell me what?"

"That she loves you, you idiot," the Queen piped up when Regina couldn't get the words out. "She loves you, we love you."

"And I knew," Regina went on, the hard part having been covered by the Queen, "I knew that I would never be able to be with you. So…she…she offered a temporary distraction from my pain."

"And she still didn't take it, Emma," the Queen scoffed. "Your body, right here, naked, and she still turned me away in the end."

Emma's eyes met Regina's as she processed this, a slow realization dawning as she looked between the two women. "Why?" she asked.

"Because I wanted the real thing or nothing at all, Emma," Regina breathed. "having your body, but not having you…I want you. All of you. It's not just lust, Emma. It's much more than that and I couldn't do…that to you."

Before she knew what she was doing, Emma stepped over to Regina and pulled her into her arms. "It's okay," she whispered as she felt Regina break down against her. "It's okay."

Regina continued to sob against Emma and the blonde held her closer, stroking her hair. "We're going to find a way to fix this," she promised, glancing over at the Queen, who had covered herself up on the bed and was watching the exchange with a strange look on her face. Regina pulled back and wiped her eyes. "I don't deserve this, Emma. You should be disgusted."

"I'm not going to lie, Regina," Emma said, "that was really…weird. But I understand. I came here to tell you…I left Hook. He's sailing away probably as we speak."

Both Reginas looked dumbfounded at the revelation. "What?" they gasped in unison. Emma laughed and looked up at the ceiling. Looking at both Reginas now, she realized what had to happen. There was one way that she knew of to try and fix everything, and she couldn't believe it took her so long to think of it. "This is probably the weirdest situation I've ever been in," she admitted. "I'm still terrified that this is a trap, but here goes." She reached for Regina's hand and led her over to the bed. For once, there was no panic. Her hands weren't shaking, and a very welcome sense of calm came over her as she stared into the matching chocolate eyes. "There's something I want to try, if you'll let me," she whispered.