Sorry for the delay, last few days have been a little chaotic. I hope you enjoy the new chapter and I should hopefully have the next one up over the weekend. Thank you once again for all your kind words and support, they really do mean a lot. :)

Disclaimer: I do not own ouat or its characters.

Chapter 6 : Choices

'I'm right here.' she says, only hoping that her voice doesn't sound as defeated as she feels. Her grip begins to loosen, Emma's weight becoming a burden against her tiring body. She can't hold out for much longer, channeling magic of this magnitude, it takes a toll. Her body weakening, her magic fading fast. Betraying her. She grits her teeth in concentration, a thin layer of sweat beading her forehead.

Feeling Emma's hand latch on to her own, she turns her attention to the to saviors broken frame, sorrow filling her at the sight of the blondes features contorted with pain. Her eyes pore over every inch of her, beneath tattered leather and torn flesh searching for something. Some sign that her efforts haven't been for nothing. That Emma will survive this.

Her strength dwindles by the second. Her magic reduced to nothing more than a series of painful sparks, erupting from her fingertips. 'No.' she cries out in despair her body trembling. She doesn't give in, she refuses to. She tries again. Nothing.

'Stop.' she hears Emma's voice, weak but insistent all the same. Her hand hesitates, hovering between the two. 'You've done... enough.' she reaches out pulling the blonde closer, a bitter laugh breaking her silence. Savior mode fully intact, putting others before herself even in her current condition.

'You're exhausting.' her voice shaking, endearment clear in her words. She reaches forward, her hand gripping warily at the hem of Emma's shirt. 'I need to see...' she explains. Taking a moment to prepare herself before she begins to lift it. Black and blue the saviors chest rises and falls with each laboured breath. Far from being fine but a vast improvement on the carnage she had first seen.

Silence hangs between them, the former queen calculating their options. Use whatever magic she can summon to finish what she started, or get Emma to the hospital.

'Hurts.' she hears Emma voice, muffled against her neck, struggling to hold on to what little consciousness she has. The blondes words sending her into action. Reaching within, summoning everything she has. Her body and magic fighting for control. Her body losing as her vision blurs, the forrest slowly disappearing from view. She feels Emma's hand grasp at her shoulder, feels the warmth of the saviors light magic as it washes over them.

She feels the cold linoleum beneath them, hears the sound of multiple voices surrounding them, Emma's weight pulled from her arms, 'Regina' Whale calls her name.

It's in that moment she realises. Emma took that choice from her.