The Gateway

by IrishBella

They are walking down the passageway, Henry between them. He is clinging to both of their hands so tightly Emma and Regina wonder if he will rip them right off. "There is no need to be frightened, Henry." Regina whispers as she places her free hand on his cheek. "Your mom is right, Kid," Emma says as they stop walking, "we'll be alright, we can do anything."

7. Sweven

I have been sitting on this chapter (as well as the next chapter) for a few days now and I'm not exactly sure how I feel about the final result. It was a lot harder to write these flashbacks from only Regina's perspective than I had originally anticipated. Please let me know what you guys are thinking, if you're liking the way that this story is progressing or if you are hating it. Seriously, your reviews definitely help me in what is going to go next. :)
Hugs and Stuff
-IrishBella

sweven:
(n.) a vision seen in sleep; a dream

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You did this!" Emma says as she grabs Regina from Henry's bedside and drags her to the closest supply closet.
"What the hell are you doing?!" Regina says fighting back. They are throwing each other into shelves and knocking supplies to the floor but neither notices. Their son is lying in a hospital bed and here they are fighting over why. "Stop this!" Regina yells as Emma pins her to the lockers.
"Is sick because of you! That apple turnover you gave me, he ate it!" Emma yells in her face.
"What?" Regina asks as her face falls. "That was meant for you." The only thing keeping her upright was Emma pinning her to the lockers with her body. She had done this. She thinks she's going to be sick. That was meant for Emma, she wanted to leave, Regina thinks as she looks at Emma, I couldn't let her go.
Emma pulls her from her thoughts when she asks, "It's true isn't it" with barely contained loathing, but Regina catches something else in that tone-fear.
"Wh-What are you talking about?" Regina says even though she knows exactly what Emma is asking her. She racks her brain for a way out of this but all she comes back to is Henry. Her baby boy was laying in a hospital bed because she couldn't figure out what she wanted in life. She wanted Emma gone but couldn't bear to let her go. She wanted Henry but couldn't bear to share him with Emma. Henry. Henry. Henry. This is about Henry, not her feelings. She needs to focus on Henry.
"IT'S TRUE ISN'T IT?!" Emma yells again.
Regina feels her head fall back against the lockers in defeat and nods her head, "yes," she whispers. If she didn't already hate me, she will now. I was the Evil Queen. I am the Evil Queen.
"I was leaving town, why couldn't you just leave things alone?"
"Because-" Regina wants to say she didn't want her to leave, she doesn't want that anymore, but they never discuss their feelings. It's not what they do. They weren't going to form attachments. It was always about releasing tensions. Emma was the first to challenge Regina in decades; that was why she was drawn to her, it was nothing more. But suddenly Regina couldn't let her go. She has never been good at sharing her possessions, and Emma Swan was definitely hers-even if she didn't want to admit it. So, Regina went with the easy answer, a copout. "Because with you alive Henry will never be mine." It hurts to even say this. She wants to tell Emma the truth but her mouth can't form the words. So, she sighs and waits for disgust to take over Emma's expression. No one could ever love the Evil Queen, Regina thinks to herself. Emma couldn't even love Regina, the uptight Mayor, why would she love a murderous tyrant like the Evil Queen? Regina internally scoffs at the thought of love. She and Emma didn't love. Period. Except for Henry. He pulls people together, whether he knows it or not.
Emma does not notice the internal fight going on within Regina, "he will never be anyone's unless you fix this. You wake him up!"
"I can't!" Regina yells back. She cannot face the fact that she is just as helpless in this.
"Don't you have magic?" Emma asks. She actually seems scared to hear the answer.
Regina shakes her head as tears fall down her face, "That was the last of it." She had given up Daniel's ring for this. How dare Emma Swan ruin this; I put everything into finishing this off and here she is not realizing what I have done. I have lost everything and she doesn't even realize. Of course not, Regina internally scoffs, because the Evil Queen has no feelings, she's just evil. Evil cannot love. Evil is a part of the story to make the heroes look good. Evil simply is, there's no gray in the world of fairy tales-especially, in this world. The world where there is nothing but shades of gray. But no, the Evil Queen is just bad, she cannot love-no matter how hard she tries. So, Regina tries to hide her feelings but lashing out. "It was supposed to put you to sleep!" Regina screams as she pushes Emma away from her to give her some space. It was getting harder to focus with the close proximity. Regina needs to clear her head to save her son.
"What's it going to do to him?" Emma asks as she steps away. Suddenly, it must be too revolting to be so close to the Evil Queen, Regina thinks as her heart sinks. We don't have time for her to lose her mind. Emma takes another step back. My son is lying in a hospital bed because he ate a turnover meant for her. She can't care about me. I'm sick and twisted. I tried to kill her! But all I want is for her to push me back up against those lockers. No! Henry comes first, he needs to wake up and I'm the only one that can fix this. That's why she needs me; I have to fix this. Then she'll go back to being mad at me.
"I don't know," Regina whispers as she leans back against the lockers again. "Magic-here-is unpredictable." She shakes her head and looks at the wall trying to think of something, anything, that will help her save her son.
"So. So, he could-"
"Yes." Regina interrupts before Emma could finish her sentence.
Emma looks away from Regina as she processes. "So what do we do?" Emma asks.
Regina looks at her, she is asking me? She trusts me? That's her trusting look. After what just happened as she's still looking to me to fix this? Regina wonders what this means for them futuristically, No. Henry comes first. Always Henry. Emma must just think I am her best bet because I know about magic. I am the one who did this, so I should be the one to fix it. That's obviously all this is. She only trusts me out of necessity. That's it. "We need help." She walks away from the lockers; no longer able to look at Emma's face and know she doesn't deserve that look. She can't look at me like I can solve everything. "There's one other person in this town who knows about this. Knows about magic."
"Mr. Gold." Emma says as she puts the pieces together.
"Actually he goes by Rumplestiltskin," Regina says as she finally turns back to look at Emma.
Emma freezes. Oh boy, here we go. She's going to loose it. I'm going to watch her hyperventilate and pass out. We don't have time for this. She's having a conversation with the Evil Queen that spent a lifetime hunting her mother, but Rumplestiltskin freaks her out? Really? He turned star into gold. I'm surprised she didn't put it together sooner; I thought it was pretty clever-all of the inside jokes built within the curse? Pure genius. I wonder if Henry figured it out. Of course he did, he's my son. Oh God, what if we can't save him. No. We will save him. Emma is the Savior, she can't fail. I won't let her. Emma turns to Regina with a look of absolute terror.

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Regina tosses and turns in her sleep; enough to wake up her slumbering wife. Emma looks around as she gets her bearings. No one's crying, she realizes, then why the hell am I awake? Then she hears it, a soft whimper coming from her wife. She immediately sits up and faces Regina who is laying on her back with her fists clamped down around the sheets. Emma tentatively reaches over and touches Regina's forehead. She never knows what kind of nightmare her wife is having. If it has to do with her days as the Evil Queen, then she usually allows the contact, if it is from her time before she became evil, she'd strike out against the contact, because in those dreams the only contact she received was violent. Emma sighs with relief when Regina moves in towards the contact. Thank God, she thinks, it's much easier to comfort her when I can hold her. She wraps Regina in her arms so Regina is lying directly over Emma's heart. Emma places one hand on Regina's back, tracing patterns up and down her spine, while her other hand goes to the back of Regina's head, holding her close. She kisses Regina's forehead and whispers reassurances to her "I love you." "You're safe." She starts running her fingers through Regina's hair as she props herself up against the headboard. She can never fall back asleep when Regina's having a nightmare, so she pulls her even closer and keeps whispering to her and kissing her face. When Emma feels Regina's grip tighten around her waist, she knows she's in for a long night. "I love you babe, I know there's something going on in that head of yours, but you're not her anymore. You're safe, you're loved; just come back to me."

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Regina hears Emma throws the potion up to Mr. Gold. She thinks I abandoned her. I would never leave her. I want to save Henry just as much as I do. This is not going to end well. But why does Gold need this potion? What is he going to do with it? "Gold? GOLD?" Regina hears Emma climbing the elevator shaft and pull herself up to the ground floor of the library. "Regina!" she exclaims, well at least she sees me bound and gagged to a chair; about time, Regina thinks as Emma rushes to her and frees her mouth of the duct tape.
Regina yells as soon as she's free, "he tricked you!" As Emma unbinds her hands she says, "how could you give him that?!" That was supposed to save Henry, Regina thinks. How could I be so stupid to let my guard down; I was so concerned for Emma's safety that I didn't hear him come in and by the time I noticed he had knocked me out. That Bastard, she thinks, if he takes that and Henry doesn't make it I will end that stupid little imp myself. He may be Rumplestiltskin in our world, but here he is just another mortal-easy to kill.
Emma pulls her from her murderous thoughts by asking, "Where is he?"
"Gone," Regina whispers as she hangs her head in shame, how could I have been so stupid, she wonders again. "Gold," she sneers his name, "he manipulated all of this." Her temper is flaring and she's falling down a deep rabbit hole. I need to be thinking clearly. Henry doesn't have time for this, Regina thinks.
"Come on. He can't be that far."
And then it happens.
Their phones ring and their hearts sink. "It's the hospital," Emma whispers.
They're running. Regina doesn't know how, or when that happened, but they're running; running through the streets and then through the hospital. Emma walks into the room but Regina is frozen outside the window. Her baby boy-gone. It can't be, she thinks as she holds herself up against the glass. They watch the nurse turn off the machines. Emma walks over to Henry's side and she lets the tears fall. What she doesn't notice is how Regina's tears are falling at the exact same time. Her son was dead.
Regina steps into the room after regaining a semblance of composure. Emma is still standing frozen at the end of Henry's bed. Regina is behind her and Dr. Whale and Mother Superior are standing by the door.
"No." Regina cries as she turns to Dr. Whale who is so shocked by the display or weakness from the mayor that he doesn't respond immediately. Eventually he gently rests his hands on her back in a way that is supposed to be comforting. Regina doesn't care that it's awkward. She doesn't even realize whom she's leaning into right now. All she can think is, Henry. My perfect boy is gone because of me. How could I be so stupid? I've ruined everything. "No, no, no," she keeps repeating the chant.
Emma walks closer to Henry as she lets her tears fall silently. She brushes his hair of his face and leans down to whisper, "I love you Henry," before she kisses his forehead.
There's a blinding white light that leaves their bodies. Regina turns around and watches as the light passes through her. The curse, she thinks, it's broken.
Emma pulls back. Henry's eyes fly open as he gasps for a breath. Regina and Emma smile, he's alive, they think simultaneously.
"I love you too," Henry says looking at Emma. "You saved me," Henry adds with a smile.
Regina is not even affected by these words because her son is alive, Henry is okay, she thinks with a relieved sigh. Emma saved him, she adds with a secret smile. "You did it," she says. Emma and Henry both turn to look at her and Emma gives a small smile which quickly turns into a frown and she has to look away, she can't even look at me, Regina thinks with a frown. Emma turns back to look and Henry and smiles again.
Suddenly, the world begins to shake, Emma quickly turns back to Regina as she falls forward. Emma reaches out and grabs her, "are you alright?" she asks when Regina is upright next to her near the bed.
"Yes," Regina whispers as she looks to Henry and gives a small smile. Will he still hate me? Will he hate me more? She wonders looking over his face, he's alive, and her smile grows with relief.
"What's happening?" Emma asks.
"The curse is ending," Regina says, "We're all being sent back to the Enchanted Forest."
"The what?" Emma asks.
It's Henry that answers her, "The Enchanted Forest. That's where you're all from. Am I'm coming with?" he asks suddenly worried that he'll be left behind.
"Of course," Regina answers surely, "we'd never leave you behind."
Emma unconsciously smiles but stops that. She can't even look at me, Regina repeats to herself with a frown.
Now the ground is shaking again and they both reach out to protect Henry from the falling light fixtures.
The three of them held onto each other tightly. Don't think about it, she's doing this for Henry. It's always about Henry. She really doesn't care if you're safe or not. Emma holds onto Regina tighter. Maybe she does care, Regina thinks, no. It's always for Henry. I'm just his best chance. She's the Savior, it's her job to protect everyone, even if it is the Evil Queen.
God, I want to touch her. I want to hug her and breathe in her scent. God, she always smells so nice. Like, fresh air after it rains, Regina thinks as she breathes her in. She smiles as Emma takes a deep breath too. She always told me I smelled like vanilla and cinnamon, she smiles wider as she hears-and feels-Emma breathe in again. I missed this. She holds on tighter to Emma and their son as purple smoke fills the room.
When the purple smoke clears they're in a clearing. Emma stands up from her spot on the ground, her arms never letting go of Regina or Henry. Regina holds just as tight as she looks around and sees her castle in the distance.
"Whoa," Henry says as he looks around, taking everything in, "this is where you're from Mom?" he asks looks up at Regina.
She smiles down at him, he called me Mom. She could cry again, but she simply smiles and says, "Yes dear. This is the Enchanted Forest."
"Cool."
"Are you alright?" Regina asks him.
"Mhmm," but he's no longer actually listening. He's looking down at himself realizing he's still in his hospital gown.
"Henry? What's the matter?" Regina asks.
"I need clothes."
"I can help. If you'll let me," she adds hastily. He looks at her with disapproval, "Magic is all about intent dear," she says as she steps back from Henry and Emma. Emma is reluctant to let go but doesn't stop her. Regina flips her hands and suddenly is engulfed in purple smoke. When it clears she's wearing her tamest Evil Queen dress. She watches Emma gulp, as she looks her up and down. Regina is smirking by the time Emma's eyes make it to her face. She raises her eyebrow and Emma flushes, never very subtle dear. If this is how she reacts to a dress like this I can only imagine what'll happen when she sees some of my more intricate ensembles.
Henry stares at Regina for a minute before looking at Emma. She shrugs her shoulders and looks back to Regina. Henry turns back to his mom and says, "Okay Mom." She smiles even though she watched the exchange between her son and Emma. He didn't trust her with magic. He shouldn't, she thinks sadly. She waves her hand and Henry is engulfed in smoke. Then, he is wearing loose black pants with a white shirt and silver sash. "an outfit fit for a prince," she says with a wink.
"Whoa," he says as he looks down at his wardrobe change, "that was so cool Mom! But what's with the sash?"
"Silver and Black were my kingdom's colors."
"Cool. Can I have a sword?"
"I don't know," Regina starts, "perhaps after you have lessons."
"I can have sword lessons?!" Henry asks excitedly. He's practically bouncing up and down.
"Well, you are a prince dear, and princes know how to wield a sword. Even your grandfather knew how to wield a sword-and he grew up a shepherd."
Emma laughs, "David was a shepherd?"
Regina smiles back but Henry shakes his head, "you should have read the book. I told you I was right."
"I know Henry," she says and then she looks to Regina and smirks, "and what would a princess like me wear in a place like this?"
Regina smirks back and twirls her finger.
"Emma!" Snow yells as she and Charming enter the clearing to see her with Regina and Henry. Regina twirls her finger and wraps Emma in purple smoke, completely ignoring Snow and Charming.
"No!" Charming yells as he runs towards them with his sword out. Snow follows suit but comes to a stop when she sees Emma in a pink frilly dress.
"Are you kidding me?!" Emma yells as she looks down at the dress she's in. I'm sure she'll enjoy that corset, Regina thinks with a smirk, five minutes without proper usage of her lungs and she'll be begging me to change her back. Emma looks back up and see Regina laughing until suddenly David is there holding a sword at her throat. "David!" Emma yells. She tries to step forward. She trips on her dress and falls into Regina.
Regina merely helps her to a standing position before looking back to David, "Charming," she sneers. He pushes the sword further into her neck but she doesn't flinch.
"David." Emma repeats, "What the hell are you doing?"
"She's using magic to kill you," he says like it's the most obvious thing in the world.
"No she wasn't," Emma, says with a shake of her head, "she was just changing my outfit."
It seems that the fog between his ears has cleared and he turns to see Emma in a princess dress. "Her magic is dangerous," he says, unable to imagine the Evil Queen using magic for anything but evil.
Regina rolls her eyes but before she can say anything Snow steps up and says, "Charming, let her go."
"Let her go?" he repeats in disbelief.
"Yes. She won't hurt us. Not in front of Henry." Snow rests her hands on her growing bump.
David gives Regina a glare but steps away from her. She merely rolls her eyes and says, "Keep your guard dog on a shorter leash, Snow."
Snow doesn't even grace that with a response as she turns to look at Emma, "Emma," she whispers.
Emma gives a shy smile and turns back to Regina, "do you mind?" she asks motioning to herself in a dress. She sees Regina share a laugh with Henry and she rolls her eyes, "please?"
Regina swirls her hand again and Emma is left in an outfit similar to Henry's yet different because it is made up of an extremely tight pair of leather black pants and a flowing red shirt with a silver sash. "Thank you," she says with a smile noticing the same silver sash that Henry has. I can stake my claim and piss off Snow and Charming, Regina thinks with a grin. She watches Emma turn back to Mary Margaret and David. Before she can say anything, a mob comes running through the trees.
"Kill the Evil Queen!" they scream as they charge towards them.
Regina watches Emma reach to her side for her gun, only to find a sword there instead. She pulls it out anyway and says, "Stop!" as she steps in front of Regina. Henry silently moves closer to them and sneaks under Regina's arm.
The mob stops when they see Snow, Charming, and the Savior.
"No one is killing anybody," Emma says.
"She cursed us all!" Someone yells.
"Yes, because indoor plumbing, electricity, and healthcare are absolutely dreadful," Regina snarks quietly so only Emma and Henry can hear. Emma tries to hide her smile.
"She will be taken care of," Charming says as he takes control of the situation.
Regina rolls her eyes while Emma says, "What?! We are not killing her."
"Emma, you don't know her like we do, she's a danger," Charming says as if he is talking to a child.
Snow remains quiet and watches Emma and Regina. She must be remembering before the curse when she and Emma were merely roommates. Oh the things Emma must have told her, I wonder if she'll lose her lunch, Regina wonders with a smirk, those are certainly not things your mother wants to know.
"I don't care. We're not sending her off to slaughter. No matter what she's done," Emma says with finality.
"She's a murderer!" Someone from the mob yells. "She's going to kill us all!"
Regina rolls her eyes and bends down to look Henry in the eye. "Henry," she waits until he looks up at her, "no matter what anyone says, I love you-more than anything, alright?"
"What are you doing, Mom?" he asks as he grabs onto her arm.
"I'm leaving. I'm not going to sit here while everyone else decides my fate. I love you dear."
"No! Don't leave me!" he exclaims as he wraps his arms around her waist, "you're still my mom, you'll always be my mom. Please don't leave me."
Emma turned around when Regina had first started talking and she couldn't believe just how young Henry looked wrapped in his mother's embrace. The mob was still fighting over Regina's fate with her parents but Emma couldn't tear her eyes away from the scene unfolding in front of her.
"I would never abandon you dear. You are always welcome. My castle is straight that way, but if you feel like you need me use this," she waves her hand and produces a long chained necklace. She places it over his head and puts it under his shirt, "just hold on to this and think of me and we will be together."
Henry smiles and put his hand over the hidden necklace.
"I love you Henry," Regina says with a smile filled with tears.
"I love you too Mom," he says as he wraps her in another hug.
Regina stands back up to her full height and looks at Emma, "Miss Swan," she acknowledges.
Emma as she rolls her eyes, "Be safe Regina." I can't call her Emma anymore, not without those feelings coming back.
"I can handle myself, dear." She turns to walk past Emma but pauses to put her hand on Emma's shoulder, "Good luck with your parents," she adds with a wink.
Emma rolls her eyes but stops and her eyes go wide as she feels something underneath her shirt. She looks down and notices a necklace similar to Henry's beneath her shirt and smiles to herself. Maybe this show of possessiveness will upset her. However, when Regina looks up Emma has a small smile on her face. Someone showing that they care is all Emma has ever wanted, Regina thinks. This must really be upsetting her. The only person to never leave her just so happens to be the Evil Queen that spent years trying to kill her mother and cursed an entire land. Regina turns to stand in front of the mob.
"Silence!" she commands. The mob grows quiet and turns to her. She feels taller, standing in front of these peasants, who were trying to kill me minutes ago. "You do not get to decide my fate. I have never chosen anything for myself until the curse and you had rights there. You may not have remembered whom you were but you were able to live freely without a monarch dictating every single thing you do and you did not have to live in poverty with barely enough food to survive. I may not have done this in the right way, but I certainly did not ruin your lives. However, I see that you are still just as small-minded as you were before, so I will make this easy on you. I am going back to my castle and you will not follow me. If you decide to finish out this mob mentality I will show you exactly who the Evil Queen is," she sneers as she looks at everyone, and in a flash of purple she's gone.
"Mom?" Henry looks around the clearing.
"It's okay, Kid. She'll be alright," Emma says as she puts her arm around his shoulder.
"Will she?" he asks timidly.
"Yes," she says loud enough for everyone to hear. Then she leans down to make it look like she's kissing his cheek and whispers, "we can check on her later if you want."
"We?"
"Uhhhh. Ummm. I-I mean if you want me to come with you, that is." Emma stutters out.
"I think Mom would like that," Henry whispers with a smile.
"Alright then, Kid." She stands back up and looks at everyone. "Now what?" she asks looking to Mary Margaret and David, or Snow and Charming, or are they Mom and Dad now? I'm sure Emma will go straight for a drink, Regina thinks as she watches Emma's face contort.
Regina looks on from a reflection Emma and Henry and smiles. So, she never told them she wouldn't spy. Was she in the wrong? She just wants to protect her son, and seeing him with Emma hurt. I can't deny that, she reasons, but with them both worrying about me I think I will be seeing them both very soon, she thinks with a smirk. And there was something about watching Emma get all flustered over her feelings that sent Regina's heart soaring. No one has ever cared enough. Now, she has two people who care about her. With a smile firmly on her face she turns off the image with a flick of her wrist.

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Emma has been watching Regina's facial expressions to know what kind of dream she was having. Sometimes Regina would grab Emma tightly and burrow into her chest whimpering or even mumbling words or names. Right now was not one of those times though, right now Regina was smiling a smile Emma will never tire of. Emma has not stopped finger combing Regina's hair or tracing random patterns across her back and arms. She leans in and kisses Regina's forehead and whispers "I love you" and Regina's smile grows when she feels her wife's lips against her skin.

The next chapter will be a continuation of what's going on in this chapter, but I split it up because together it was over 10,000 words. I'll do my best to post the next chapter tonight. Let me know what you guys are thinking.

-IrishBella