Chapter 5.
Emma's breathing was heavy and shaking as she stared at Regina, blinking rapidly, trying to ignore the thumping in her head.
"What, what did you do?" she asked between breaths.
Regina swallowed hard, "I put your heart back," she replied quietly.
Emma frowned, "My heart," she echoed, placing a hand over her chest absent minded, "I don't…Why…" she couldn't find her words, she felt weird. Different. Unsettled.
"You crashed into Storybrooke," Regina started slowly; not only had she given Emma her heart back but she'd returned her memories, though it could be a slow process, "I took your heart," she admitted, "So you would…stay here with me."
Emma shook her head, "Why?" she asked. She remembered now, she did crash her car and Regina had turned up; she'd saved her and… "That night, you bought me back here. You made me believe I'd been here forever. You used…magic," the word sounded weird, felt weird coming from her mouth.
Regina nodded, wiping a tear from her cheek, "Yes, I did."
"Why?" Emma whispered, up on her knee's on the bed now, staring at the older woman with eyebrows knitted together, trying to understand.
The brunette hesitated, "I just wanted a friend," she said in a low voice, trying not to choke on her words.
"A friend? We…we were intimate," Emma replied, not able to ignore the heat creeping up onto her cheeks.
Regina was grinding her teeth, "Emma, I really, really care about you. That wasn't fake, I swear. I…I…" she stuttered and faltered, "Please, stay," she ended in a whisper, somewhat helplessly.
Emma measured the other woman with her eyes; Regina was failing to stop the flow of tears coursing down her cheeks, as quickly as she would angrily flick them away more would appear, "I can't pretend I don't have these," she paused, "feelings for you, Regina. I just can't figure this…" she put her hand to her chest again, frowning.
Regina bit her lip down, surveying the younger woman before she crawled onto the bed, sitting on her knee's in front of the blonde. Hesitatingly, she raised a cautious hand to Emma's cheek and scraped her fingers lightly against it, her heart almost stopping when Emma's lips curled upwards into a small smile. A moment later, she crawled into the older woman's arms and put her head into her chest and she felt Regina's arms encircle her.
"I'm sorry," Regina choked out, "I just wanted to be loved again."
Emma just buried her head further into Regina's chest, "I know. Before I came here," she bit the inside of her cheek before continuing, "That's all I wanted too. I was just running away," she shrugged, "From place to place. I could never just…settle. Until you."
Regina let her arms fall away from the blonde, "Only because I took your heart," she said softly.
Emma pulled her head out of Regina's chest to look at her, placing her hands on either side of the brunette's face, "I have my heart now," she whispered.
Regina nodded slowly, "You do," she agreed.
"And I," Emma stopped for a moment, "I'd like to stay…for now, at least. I'm tired, my head hurts, I feel weird…"
"I'm sorry," Regina breathed, "It's a big impact on the mind…bringing back all those memories… It will ease soon, I promise."
Emma shrugged, "It's not just that, it's my…feelings. I can't figure it out, I can't feel, I'm so confused, I just want things to make sense again," she finished loudly, in frustration, throwing her hands into the air before gripping her head and screwing her eyes closed.
Regina's eyes were full of guilt as she took Emma's hands in her own, "I'm sorry," she'd never said the word so much, let alone meant it, "You need to sleep. Please, sleep," she gestured towards the pillow, "Things will be clearer tomorrow, really, they will."
Emma nodded and lay back on the bed, turning her face into the pillow and pulling the covers up to reach her chest. As she closed her eyes, she felt Regina move closer and felt a hand in her hair for a brief moment before she felt the covers tighten around her and the weight leave the bed. She opened her eyes and made a noise in her throat, stretching out her hand. Regina felt the brush of fingers against her own and turned around.
"Stay with me, please," Emma asked.
Regina nodded and squeezed Emma's hand as she sat down on the bed beside her watching the blonde woman close her eyes. Regina took a shaky breath in; for all she knew, this could be her last night with the woman, and though she considered magic again for the quickest minute, she knew she could never use it this way again. All she could do now was wait to see exactly how Emma's feelings would settle by the morning. She tried not to think about the fact that by this time tomorrow, she could be alone again, and this time forever.