A/N: I just wanted to warn everyone that it is reading this that this chapter was written in sort of stream of consciousness. It is from two point of views and then it blends back into the story. I decided that I would use two different fonts rather then make this chapter full of line breaks and such. If it is too confusing let me know and I'll try to fix it somehow. Either way, I hope you enjoy it. Thanks for reading.

Chapter 44

Emma was warm, too warm and she couldn't get away from the heat. She tried and tried, but the heat around her stayed constant. She was in a dark room with voices, but she couldn't make out what they were saying. She was thrashing and trying to find something on which to hold on to. There was nothing for her to grasp. She was scared and it was the worst fear that she'd ever felt.

She wasn't sure if she knew what was going on around her. The darkness was all encompassing. She raised her hands to see if any of the voices would come closer, but she still couldn't see anything. Her mind was reeling as she still felt nothing.

She stopped trying to fight the darkness that was surrounding her. She took a deep breath and looked inside her heart. There she felt the warmth of the love that she shared with Henry, the depth of love that she had for Regina and familial strength that she shared with her parents. There was suddenly a light within that she hadn't felt since she kissed Henry's forehead years ago when she broke the curse. The light, the warmth, whatever it was, she knew was pure love.

She let her body bathe in this feeling. She felt lighter. There was nothing weighing down her soul. She reached out again and she felt something this time. She didn't know exactly what it was, but she could grasp it. She could feel it and it gave her the grounding that she needed to call upon her magical power from within.

"Regina?" she called out.

Regina turned her head and looked at the pallet platform that Emma was laying on. She thought that she had heard her say something, but she wasn't sure. Emma still had yet to wake. She hoped that the sounds from Emma's mouth weren't a dream and that her beloved was waking.

She stared intently at her mouth, waiting for more words to pour forth. She held her breath. She looked up to the wooden plank ceiling of the chapel of the Abbey. She counted the boards and waited for Emma to say something else, anything else, just as long as she said something else. Regina needed her to be okay. She needed to see her beautiful green eyes and believe that everything was going to be okay.

She looked around the room. Everyone was just as distraught as she was. She didn't meet any of their eyes. She couldn't. She didn't want to see the emotion there. She let her mind go towards healing Emma more and allowed her magic to flow freely.

She didn't know if it would help, but she wasn't going to wait on Blue to come up with some magical cure. She was going to fight for her lover and her child. She knew that Will was looking at Coraline the same way that she was looking at Emma. They were in good hands. She just needed them both to get well.

She heard the silent whispers. She didn't know what they were talking about, but she didn't care. She didn't want to hear doubts.

"You will all stay positive," she commanded the room.

The Queen had come out of her and she saw Snow shrink back in fear. She knew that they were all wondering what Regina would do if… No, she didn't want to think about that. Emma would wake and get better. They would see that. They had to know that Emma wasn't going to give up without a fight. She was the Saviour after all and Regina still needed saving.

She still couldn't see anything, but she could feel. It was enough to spur her forward into what ever abyss she'd found herself. There would be light at the end of this Hellish tunnel. She just needed a hand in finding the right direction.

She didn't get an answer, but then again she was prepared to get one either. It was enough for her to know that there was something to hold on to. She wanted it to be Regina she was touching, so that is what her mind told her. She knew that she wouldn't know until her other senses told her the truth.

She opened her eyes, or she thought she did. She still didn't see anything but darkness. Then she sniffed. She figured if she couldn't see, she would try her other senses. She could smell something, but it wasn't distinct. There was a normalness and general quality to it. There was nothing that she could particularly pick out that would tell her anything more than she was in darkness.

The pressure on her hand changed. She felt something on the back of her hand. It felt like movement, but she wasn't quite sure.

"Regina?" she called out again.

Regina's heart was sinking. She didn't know how to help Emma any more than she already was. She was flowing her magic into her and it seemed to be working, but Emma still hadn't woken up.

She'd watched as Snow covered her in the blanket from Rumple's shop. She watched as Emma's body knitted itself. She examined where the cuts and bruises had been, noting at the fresh skin that never looked like it had been marred. She noticed that other scars had disappeared, too.

She looked up at Snow and her heart broke a little more. She knew that Snow was hurting just as bad as she was. She could see her pain mirrored in the younger woman's eyes. They both had daughters lying there, injured, with no understanding of when they would be completely healed and better.

"Snow?"

"Yes?"

"Touch her. Let her know that you are here. It'll help her," Regina told her, not knowing if it were true, but hoping it was.

"I can't lose her like this," Snow muttered pulling a chair closer to her daughter's bunk.

She stared at the crude platform and then back at Regina. She could see the love and the heartache in her dark eyes. Snow didn't know what to do. She wasn't knowledgeable in the ways of magic. She could only hope that whatever Regina and the fairies were doing would bring Emma hack to her. She had fluffed the blanket out on top of Emma's broken body as soon she as could, hoping the stories that Belle and Coraline had told her were true.

The pressure on her hand got more defined. It felt like fingers wrapped around her hand. She thought about the feeling and realized that it was someone holding her hand. The feeling on the back of her hand was someone's thumb rubbing across it.

Feelings shot thru her mind. Things started to make sense and even though she couldn't see a damn thing, she wasn't afraid anymore. She kept her mind on that hand holding hers. It was her light. It was her warmth and it was going to bring her back from whatever hellish nightmare that she was in now. She tried to remember how she got where she was, but nothing that she thought of made any sense. It was like there was only the here and now.

She held on to the belief that it was Regina holding her hand, giving her a guiding way back to life and reality, and not letting her go into the darkness that was trying to consume her. She was fighting and it was all because she knew, in the depth of her heart that her family was waiting for her at the other end of her hand.

"Regina?" she asked again and felt the hand on hers clench tighter.

"She'll be fine," Regina told her, meeting her gaze, but she wasn't sure if she was saying it for Snow's or her own benefit.

She hoped that the determination in her voice reached Emma's cars. She couldn't lose her, not like this. She had just found her and they were having a child. She wouldn't let Emma go without a fight. She refused to believe that she wouldn't get better.

She fought for that feeling. She held on to it. She needed it to fuel her to fight her way back.

There was something blinding her. A light she couldn't describe that was so powerful it took her breath away. She grabbed at her chest hoping to elevate the burning pain that began to grow.

Suddenly she was gasping. She felt more hands on her body. She could feel two distinctly pushing down on her shoulders. She didn't know they were on her shoulders. She was standing, wasn't she? But, suddenly she felt like she was lying down. She didn't know why.

"Regina?" she called out again.

She felt a warmth growing in Emma's hand. She held onto it and pushed more of her magic into her. She didn't know what else to do. She couldn't pray to any deity simply because she didn't believe in any of them. She only believed in herself, magic, and Emma's unwavering being. It had to be enough.

The hands lessened the pressure on her shoulders. That was when she distinctly felt more than one pair of hands on her. She wished that she could see what was going on beyond the darkness that had enveloped her, but she still couldn't. She could then tell that she was lying down, but she didn't know on what. She knew it wasn't her bed or Regina's. She didn't remember anything before going to the woods to find Coraline.

Her mind jerked as her body revolted at the new thoughts circling in her head. She remembered why they went to the woods. Had Rumple unleashed the Darkness upon them all? Was she the first victim? Had they travelled back to the Enchanted Forest thru a portal? She had so many questions and no answers. She wasn't sure that she could even get answers for her questions if she tried. She couldn't hear anything. She still couldn't see. All, she could do was smell and feel. And, knowing that there were five hands on her from at least three different individuals wasn't going to help her answer any of her questions. Her body jerked again and she tried to quieten her mind. She knew that it would do no good for to be this upset about it, right now.

"Regina," she said again, but this time there was no question behind the wording.

She looked up and saw Henry's hazel eyes reflecting the worry and pain of everyone else in the room. She beckoned him over. He came over to where she was with measured steps, like he was afraid that if he got too close he would see that Emma was dying. Regina could feel the fear rolling off of him in waves and she understood it. She grabbed his hand with her unoccupied one and pulled him closer.

"She'll get better, Henry," she told him.

"I can't help her," he whispered.

"What?" Regina asked him, wondering what his thinking was.

"I am the author and I can't stop any of this. I could have stopped it all. I could make everything better, but I broke that damn pen. I could have fixed everything, Mom. This is my fault," he told her.

"None of this is your fault, Henry. It is all Rumple's and his insane need for whatever struck his fancy at the time. Don't blame yourself for this. Now, think of happy times and good thoughts. Give those to her," Regina instructed him.

She could feel the hand holding hers squeeze her harder. It didn't let go. The thumb that had been rubbing the back of her hand stilled for a brief second and then started again. She focused on that hand and the feeling that it was giving her.

She began to wonder what happened to the light that had blinded her just moments before. She felt the strength of the hand holding hers begin to wane. She felt like she was losing her lifeline to whatever it was that Regina was trying to pull her out of and she didn't like it. She let go of everything and focused solely on that hand. She could feel the pressure on her hand grow again. She knew then what she had to do.

"Regina, don't let go," she said.

"I won't," Regina told her.

She realized that Emma couldn't hear her. She had tried in the minutes before to start a conversation that Emma never joined. She was starting to realize some of the extent of Emma's injuries, real, perceived and magical.

Snow gave her a slight smile. It gave them both hope. They knew that Emma knew that they were there for her. She wasn't alone in this fight and that she was fighting.

She saw worry slide across Emma's face, but she was determined to not let her feel alone or worried. She soothed her hand with her thumb and periodically squeezed her hand, reminding Emma that she was there. She wasn't going to let go of her hand for anything but death. But Emma's death wasn't an option that Regina was going to allow to happen. She would do anything and she knew that she meant anything to make sure that Emma survived this.

The hand holding hers tightened. Then she felt one of the hands from her shoulders join that hand. She knew then that Regina could actually hear her. She knew that it had to be Regina. She focused on that hoping that it would give her enough strength with her magic to make the darkness enveloping her vanish enough where she could just see Regina's face.

That is all she wanted. She just needed to know that Regina was okay. If Regina was okay and holding her hand, that meant that Coraline was alive. As long as Coraline and Regina were safe, Emma had nothing else to worry about. She felt her worry flow away. Her body shifted on whatever she was on and she felt incredibly light.

"Regina, is Coraline safe?" she asked, not being able to stop herself."

"Yes, my love. She is here with us. Open your beautiful eyes. See for yourself," Regina told her, hoping against hope that Emma would obey her words.

Her body felt weightless. The hands now holding hers squeezed tightly. She knew that it was an answer in the affirmative. She felt the smile come across her face. She was happy. She felt complete. If she was to die, she knew that it wouldn't have been in vain. She'd saved her daughter from whatever perils Rumple had unleashed upon them. She had been the Saviour, again. Needing no other confirmation, she felt her body shift.

Regina felt a surge of energy move through her and through Emma's body. It wasn't like anything that she had felt before and it scared her. She looked down at Emma's body in horror as she saw her start to move and contort in un-Emma-like movements.

She lifted her arms out to her sides, but Regina never let go. She raised her chin upwards and felt the back of her head move against something solid. She flex at her shoulders and her hips. Her body convulsed slightly with the movement and she felt her breath falter. She coughed and the hand tightened. She smiled sweetly to whoever could see her knowing that she was in darkness but they were in the light. She no longer needed to find the way.

"Don't you leave me!" Regina screamed at her.

She could feel Emma's energy leaving her body. There was a new darkness evading it and Regina screamed. She closed her eyes and started letting her own life force enter Emma. She didn't know if it work or not and she didn't care.

Snow watched as Regina's face contorted in pain. She watched her daughter's fall into a sickly, deathly, paler of peace. Her heart lurched. She grabbed the other outstretched arm and followed Regina's movements. She knew she didn't have magic, but she hoped that the magic of love would be enough.

To their surprise a red and white glow began at Emma's hands. It started moving towards her heart and then disappeared into her chest. Regina watched her lover's face relax into nothingness. She saw the resignation. She knew it. Emma was sacrificing herself to whatever darkness was consuming her to save her family.

"Don't you dare do this, you idiot. You're my idiot. You aren't allowed to give up. You are a fucking Charming. Act like. Live!"

Snow's head snapped up at Regina's words. She could see the tears flowing freely down the older Queen's face. Seeing Regina's anguish, she couldn't stop her own.

"Emma…" Snow started to say before her sobs stopped her.

There was no answer. Her body was quiet, but there was a riot in her ears. She held onto Emma's hand harder. She thought that if she let her go, she was really letting her go. She refused to let Emma go.

She knew the way home. She could feel it. She could taste the love that was surrounding her. She surrendered her body to it.

"Everyone touch her," Regina yelled at everyone in the room.

They slowly surrounded Emma. Everyone was around her except Will and Coraline. Blue kept waving her wand over her. Tink stood there unsure of how she could help. They each put a hand on Emma's body.

"Will your love into her," Regina commanded.

They looked around at each other, unsure of what to do. They weren't wise in the ways of magic, but one by one they each wished for Emma to get better. Blue watched as she moved to Emma's head area as the red and white lights coming from Snow and Regina's hands grew as a glow began to emanate from everyone else there.

With another convulsion and spasm, her torso lifted in a grand arc off the pallet she was on. Her chin tilted towards whatever ceiling was above her as her head rolled backwards. She stopped breathing and flopped back on the table or slab or whatever, letting the darkness take her where it willed. She would let it have her to protect her family.

Regina watched in horror as Emma's body convulsed and spasmed. She cried out for Emma begging her to fight. She held on to her body, stilling giving her everything that she could.

Screams could be heard echoing in the room as everyone realized that Emma had giving up. Regina wasn't going to do that. She refused. She climbed up onto the platform with Emma. She sat across her hips on her knees. She sat back and stared down at the rapidly paling woman.

"Damn it, Emma. Don't you give up on me. Don't you give up. Fight."

Regina leaned forward and kissed Emma's mouth. She hoped that it would be enough to give her a spark, a spark of life. She felt the coolness underneath her lips, but it didn't deter her. She closed her eyes and sat back.

She reached into her chest and pulled out her heart. She held it out in front of her and saw how red it was and knew that Emma helped her keep it that way. She pulled back the blanket and stuck her hand in Emma's chest. She pulled out Emma's heart. She had one in each hand. She brought her hands together and stared at Emma's ghostly white face.

"You aren't leaving me. Do you hear me, Sheriff? You still have a job to do," Regina told her.

As the hearts neared each other, they both began to glow red. A bright white light started pulsing between them. A ribbon of red magic circled them and mixed with the white light. Regina leaned back and closed her eyes against brightness.

"Mom?" Henry asked when the pulsing stopped.

Regina opened her eyes and looked at the hearts in her hands. She handed Henry her heart. He took it begrudgingly, and held it with the utmost gentle hands, cradling it near his chest. Regina smiled at the gesture.

She whipped the tears from his eyes and then her own. She looked down at Emma. She thrust her heart back in her chest. They all gave a collective gasp when Regina seated Emma's heart and there was a gentle pinkish, magical pulse from her body. Regina leaned over and kissed her lips again. Regina could feel a slight warmth in her lips.

"That's right, Emma. Fight. I am not raising our daughter alone. I need you."

Emma's body arched up off the table. Emma opened her eyes and stared at the wooden ceiling above her. She sucked in a breath. She coughed suddenly and it wracked her body.

Her eyes suddenly becoming clearer, turned downward to focus on Regina. When her eyes met those troubled mahogany orbs of Regina, Emma felt a small grin come to her lips. Regina didn't move. She couldn't. She was glued to the spot on top of Emma.

"Regina?" Emma groaned out in a hoarse whisper.

"I am here, my love," Regina told her.

Emma watched as her lover's eyes filled with tears. She smiled bigger when she saw Regina's emotional vein popping in her forehead. She could feel her strength coming back to her. Her heart was pounding in her chest, but it wasn't beating faster than normal. Regina still didn't move from her position on top of her.

"How do you feel?" Snow asked.

Emma turned to look at her mother. Her green eyes meeting her mother's hazel and holding. She looked down her own body and realized that her mother was holding her hand. She could then feel it. She didn't know why she hadn't felt it before, but as soon as she registered that she saw her mother, she felt her.

Because of this revelation, she looked down at her other arm. She saw Henry there staring back at her. She gave him a smile.

"Ma…"

"I am still here, Henry," she told him.

Regina chocked on a sob. She didn't know what she'd done to bring Emma back, but she knew that she would do it again if needed. She crossed her arms across her stomach and watched as Emma watched her. She backed up a little off her hips as Emma sat up.

She immediately took Regina in her arms. Snow and Henry let her go. She embraced Regina so tightly, but Regina didn't complain. They had each other still. True Love had again proven life saving for the Charming family. Regina buried her head in Emma's neck and shoulder as she wept tears of joy.

Tink subtly got everyone to leave the room. She could tell that Regina needed the space and time to be alone with Regina. They would deal with Will and Coraline next, but first they needed to come to grips with what had just happened between them.

"Regina, I'm here."

"You left me. You promised that you wouldn't leave and you left. I felt you go," Regina told her, looking into her eyes and trying to make sure that she was her Emma still.

"I know. I felt you the entire time I was gone. It was so lonely and dark where I was. But, you were my light, my love. I couldn't see anything. I couldn't hear anything. There was nothing there but my being and the darkness that was surrounding me."

"Do you think that it was Coraline's Darkness?" Regina asked, suddenly worried for both her lover and her still injured daughter.

"No, I think it was Rumple's."

"Rumple's?"

"They didn't tell you?"

"Tell me what?" Regina asked.

"We fought Rumpelstiltskin near the town line. I don't remember much of the actual battle between us. I just remember charging him and knocking him over the line. I don't know what happened after that. All I knew was that dark space where I couldn't sense anything but you."

"You went over the line with him?"

"Yes," Emma answered.

"Is he dead?" Regina asked, scared to hear the answer.

"I don't know. You'd have to ask Tink and Red. They didn't go over the line. They couldn't. I knew that they couldn't. Henry and I are the only ones that can cross without any issues. I knew that. That is why I went after him. I pushed him over. I took the risk," Emma explained.

"I know you did. It would be something that your idiotic Charming genes would make you do. I don't think that anyone expected you to be so injured by the attack. That is the one thing that I can't figure out, unless…"

"Unless what?"

"Unless the Dark One's powers tried to transfer themselves to you. They don't exist in this world. There is no magic beyond the town line. The powers of the Dark One have always been in our world, in the Enchanted Forest. The powers have a great knack for surviving."

"What do you mean?"

"I think that the Dark One's powers tried to find a new host as he crossed the line. You were the closet living thing to him as the powers would have been ripped from his body. He didn't die physically, Emma. Rumple died magically," Regina explained.

"Meaning that it tried to make me the new Dark One?"

"I don't know. It might have, but it didn't take. It needs a life force to attach to in order to take hold. You died, Emma. You left me."

"So the Dark One's power couldn't attach to me?"

"No, it didn't if that is what happened," Regina replied.

"And, if it isn't?"

"Then, Rumpelstiltskin is in your world without magic and the dormant powers of the Dark One. If that is what happened, then he will be searching for a source of magic. If he finds one, he will jump start his magic," Regina told her.

"And, if he does that, he will be a huge terror for this land," Emma replied.

"That's the problem. We don't know what happened to his powers. We don't know if he died after they pulled you back across the line," Regina stated.

"Why would he die?" Emma asked, confused as to why Regina would say that.

"He is over five hundred years old, Emma. His body has been magically kept at that age. He might have aged considerably without the magic to keep his aging process at bay. Hell, he might have crawled in a hole and died for all we know."

"I'll go look for him."

"The Hell you will."

"Why not, Regina? I can cross the town line. I can stop him. I have a gun remember. If he is still alive, I'll fake a warrant or something to get to him," Emma told her.

"And, then you'll do what? Kill him? Bring him back here so we can make him pay? Either option is not acceptable. You don't have it in your heart to kill him, so don't even try to tell me that you could do it. And, if you brought him back, he would regain his powers. He would just be really pissed off. You don't know him like we do, Emma. That man is ruthless and vile. He will stop at nothing to get what he wants. Hell, you died because he wanted something that he couldn't have. And, you know why that pisses him off more than anything?"

"No, why?" Emma asked in response.

"Because he can't control you. He never could. You've always stood up to him in a similar manner to way that you've always referred to me as Regina. You've never seen me as the Evil Queen, because you didn't grow up there or with me. We all have dealings with Rumple whether we wanted to or not. Those that wanted dealings with him generally paid the price. Those that didn't…well…let's just say that he had ways of convincing you to see things his way, and none of them were pleasant," Regina stated.

"I don't care about any of that, Regina. You know that. I want my family to be safe. As long as we don't know what Rumple's fate is, we can't be sure that we are safe. You've said it yourself that his wrath is legendary. I know that it worse than you ever could think that yours ever was and that alone scares the shit out of me. We need to make sure that he is dead."

"How do you plan on doing that? Hmm? You just died. You aren't fit to do anything. And, before you start trying to argue any sort of point with me on that matter, I want you to think about our daughter, Coraline. She was almost destroyed by that damn dragon that Rumple conjured. It was a magical dragon, Emma. The Imp conjured a dragon for us to fight. If that doesn't even begin to make you understand the depths of magic and depravity that he is willing to use to get what he wants, then I don't know what will," Regina told her.

"I think you were trying to give me another point. I know how idiotic the 'Imp' can be, Regina. I've seen it with my own eyes. I know the man, remember? But, what does any of that have to do with Coraline?" Emma asked her.

"She's hurt, too."

"How bad?"

"I don't know. She seemed to be conscious when we brought her here, but she has been in and out for the last few hours. She never got as quiet as you did though. She seems to be fighting to hold on, but…" Regina started to explain to her.

"But, what, Love?"

"I don't know if she is going to make it, Dear. She is really bad off. That dragon did a lot of damage to her. I thought that the burn marks on her back that the Black Queen made were bad. This is worse. I don't know what to do for her. I don't think that I can help her. I never learned how to properly heal someone. I can want it, but I don't know that is enough."

"I need to see her," Emma stated.

"You shouldn't be moving."

"I need to see her. I might be able to help. I've healed before," Emma said.

"Yes, when you weren't weak and half dead," Regina quipped.

"I can do this, Regina. Take me to her. Let me try."

"Blue already has," Regina countered.

Emma didn't know why that hit her like a ton of bricks but it did. It took the fight out of her. She wondered what sort of dragon Rumple cast that was bad enough to do damage that the fairies couldn't combat. It must have been bad. It had to be worse than Regina was telling her.

"She is going to die?" Emma asked, looking up into Regina's dark eyes.

"I don't know. She is holding on and her wounds are healing to the best that they can. Will hasn't left her side. Wouldn't even leave to go get the Resurrection Cloak, either. Instead she sent Snow and Belle to go get them. It was like she was afraid if she left the room that Coraline would indeed die. I know how she feels," Regina told her.

"Regina…"

"No, Emma, don't try to placate me now. You died. You gave up just long enough to leave me. You would leave me here alone to raise our daughter. I cannot and will not accept that, in this realm or any other realm. So, you better find a way to fix that, understood?" Regina asked with every ounce of venom that she could.

Emma could see the Queen in her coming out. She hadn't meant to give up, but she had. She thought that she was doing it for the right reasons. She would have to deal with that on her own. She would have to explore why she did it and then hope that she could explain it to Regina without destroying her in the process. Dying was easy. Emma knew that. Living was hard.

Emma lay back down on the makeshift pallet. She realized that she was on some sort of platform. It didn't really matter, but she couldn't stop taking in everything around her. She reveled in the smell of Regina, apples and spice. She breathed in the scent of old wood and the faintest hint of fairy magic and felt grateful that she could actually smell it at all.

She didn't know what to do in that moment. Her heart went out to Regina and her daughter Coraline, but she felt the sting of anger and betrayal over Rumple's mistakes trying to take over her mindset. She knew that love was the best course for her and she should follow it, but her need to avenge her family and make sure that they were safe was beginning to win the fight. She didn't know how long she would be able to abide by Regina's wants and not go after Rumple. She knew that living was hard and she so desperately wanted to live and raise their daughter together, but she wanted to make sure that Coraline wouldn't have to worry about Rumple.

"That is why we have Will, Dear," Regina stated like she could hear Emma's thoughts.

Emma turned and looked back into her lover's eyes. She knew that she was right. Will was not going to leave Coraline's side. She would protect her no matter the cost and since she couldn't die…Coraline was going to be protected for a long time. ;

"Speaking of Will…"

"What?" Regina asked.

"I know that this is probably not the place or time to ask this, but what is she going to do about…well, little Remy in there?" Emma asked pointing at Regina belly.

Regina got off of her. She hadn't forgotten about it, but she hadn't put much thought into it either. What would Wilhelmina do? Coraline and Remy were the same person, they were only from two different periods in time, let alone realms. They were the same daughter of Regina and Emma and Wilhelmina's True Love.

"I don't know."

"We need to tell her," Emma stated.

"We can't."

"Why not?"

"At least not yet, anyway," Regina replied.

"Again, why not?"

"We don't know if Coraline is going to make it," Regina whispered as the thought crossed her mind and her lips at the same time.

They shared a look. They hadn't thought about that. Somewhere in both of their thinking they believed that somehow they would be able to send Coraline back to the future. But, now she was hurt and she wasn't responding to the magical healings the way that Regina wanted. It was the first time that they actually both entertained the idea that Coraline might have come back to their past to die in order to protect their shared future. It wasn't something in realm of possibilities that they ever wanted to consider, but now, faced with the truth of her injuries, they had to.

"What are we going to tell Will?" Emma asked.

"I don't know."

"We'll have to tell her something. It isn't like you can keep that a secret forever, Regina. You are going to start showing some in a few weeks. And, you won't be able to hide your symptoms forever. She's going to find out. Will isn't stupid. She'll put two and two together and get it."

"I know that."

"Then we should tell her now to minimize the backlash," Emma stated.

"I'll tell her alone."

"Why?"

"Because I owe her that much, Emma. I know you think you understand our former relationship, but you don't. I know you don't, because I don't. I just don't know what to think right now."

"We need to see Coraline," Emma told her, trying to change to the subject.

"I know."

"She needs us."

"I know."

"Will needs us."

"I know."

"They all need us," Emma said.

"They always will, Emma."

"I know."

"We know what happens when they don't," Regina replied.

"I know. We have daughter that survived that. We can't let that happen."

"We won't."

"I know," Emma replied.