Dr. Whale punched the lab table in frustration. He had gone over Regina's latest tests again and again. Even with the low dosage of the Skiver Fever that he had put in her pills she should be sick by now, yet all she had complained about was being thirsty. He knew he was on the verge of real knowledge about how to awake parts of the brain that were dormant, but he needed Regina in order to be able to study her brain under the affects of the fever again.

She should be hospitalized and well on her way through the stages of it, but no she was walking around like there was nothing wrong. There was nothing in her blood work to suggest she had developed an immunity. The only thing he could think of was that this was her magic's doing.

But even her magic could be neutralized. He knew that now thanks to that Greg Mendel who had successfully used an electrical current to prevent Regina from using her magic.

What he needed was to get Regina to a place where he could put the full strain of the fever into her and study her. He already knew where he could do it – the upper wing of the hospital. It wasn't being used and since they rarely had that many people in the hospital it wasn't used. Getting her there without arousing suspicions would be the issue.

But he wasn't willing to let that stop him. He would find a way to finish his life's work.

…

Regina woke feeling a little groggy due to the sleeping pills, but otherwise rested. She showered, which helped with the waking up process and went downstairs after knocking on Henry's door and making sure he was awake. She fixed breakfast and Henry finally arrived to eat it. "Did you pack your things? Emma is picking you up after school."

"Yes. Are you sure you are going to be ok here by yourself for the weekend?"

They had talked the night before that it would be good for Emma and Henry to spend the weekend together.

"I will be fine," she assured him. "Honestly, I do feel a lot better and I know you were probably scared when we were at the hospital because I had that panic attack, but I promise you, I will be fine."

"I was thinking since you had that panic attack that maybe you should stop um looking into what you happened."

She took a seat beside him. "I thought the same thing, but I don't know that I can. Something happened to me back in the past and whatever it was exactly changed things for me. It's important to me to find out why and to make sure that whatever it is, is over. I don't need any more surprises," she said, although she had to admit one of those surprises – Emma – wasn't a bad thing.

"Do you hate your mom for what she did to you?"

She considered the question before answering. "No," she said finally. "It's weird. I feel like I should have justification for hating her, but I don't. I feel anger toward her over it, but even that isn't strong. What she did probably saved my life. I always had a complex relationship with my mother and over the course of the last couple of years I think I've been able to learn more about her and maybe why she did things she did. I am not saying she was right for doing them, but I understand her motivations more."

"I am glad you don't hate her even if what she did was bad."

"Me too," she said. "It's taken me a lifetime to see that hate gets you no where. It's a lesson I am glad I learned, and one I am even happier to say you know at such a young age."

Regina drove him to school and then she went to work somehow not surprised when she saw the sheriff's car parked there. Emma got out as soon as Regina stepped out of her car.

"Good morning," Emma said.

"Good morning. What are you doing here?"

Emma shrugged, "I didn't figure I would get to see you until Sunday when I dropped Henry off again so I thought I would drop by. Is that ok?"

"Yes," Regina said suddenly feeling self-conscious. Her true love was standing right there and it almost took her breath away to think about it. "Do you want to come into the office for a bit, or do you need to hurry off to work?"

"I have some time I can spare."

They walked in and Regina told her secretary that she wasn't to be disturbed as she needed to speak with the sheriff. Emma closed the office door behind them and before Regina could offer her a seat, Emma was kissing her.

Regina kissed her back craving the feel of Emma's soft lips.

Emma broke off the kiss first, "Sorry, but I've been thinking about that since last night."

"Um, it's ok," Regina said putting a little distance between them by going behind her desk and sitting. Emma took the seat in front of it.

"It's a little weird though, right? Me, you, the whole true love thing."

"Yes, it is," Regina said. "I was thinking about the memory I had, and how in it Rumpel said that it was possible that I wouldn't meet my second true love and the thing is, I wouldn't have met you if the curse hadn't have been cast. It's possible I would have met you but I would have been much older when it happened."

"You are still thinking about all of those memories aren't you?"

"It's hard not to," she admitted. "To come to the realization that I might have had a completely different life if they hadn't have cursed me, or I could have simply died. It makes you examine the life you have, the life you've led. When I was sick and hallucinating it was my mother that I kept seeing. It seemed to real, like she was really there in the hospital with me. My mind must have grabbed onto to her because she was the one I saw when I was sick before. Things could have been different between her and I if she had her heart, of that I am sure."

Emma got up and went around to that side of the desk and leaned up against it, looking down at Regina who remained seated.

"I don't want to sound like I am on repeat here, but what happens to you concerns me now too. If you want to keep looking into this, I will support you, but I need to do that by being at your side. Last night when we had dinner as a family, it was great, even Henry thought so. I asked him if he would like to have more times like that and he said yes. I want that too, and I think you do too. I know, I know you think if you and I start acting on this true love thing that I am going to end up dead but you don't know that. I could walk out of here today and die in a car wreck. You can't sit there and tell me you don't feel this pull toward me."

"Of course I feel it. I feel it whenever you are around me, but that doesn't mean I have to give into it."
Emma made a growling noise. "You are the most aggravating person I know."

"The feeling is mutual."

"Come on Regina, you can't walk away from this. Believe me I tried at the beginning, but I couldn't because my every other thought was about you. Jesus, I fucking kissed Hook after that night at the stables to prove it was nothing and I almost wanted to puke. When Whale had the nerve to ask you out I almost walked in there and punched him. I should have punched him before when you were sick. Did you know he had you strapped to a hospital bed? You should want me to hit him for you just for that."

"But I don't want you to hit him."

"Why not? He was being a complete dick to me and Tink."

"I don't know why I don't want you to hit him. It's like I can't feel anger anymore. I feel it but it's not nearly what it was before I woke up in the hospital. It's like this far away thing that I can just barely brush with my finger tips when it used to be something that felt like a second skin to me. When we kissed I don't think it just broke the curse. I think it also started to make the other magic my mom used on me wear off. The memory spell, obviously put in place to keep me from remembering the curse. There was another spell, one that magnifies emotions – well since I've been awake negative emotions like anger have been completely unlike what they used to be. I used to get angry and would jump on that emotion and it would fuel me. Now I don't want anything to do with it."

"Stand up," Emma said.

Regina gave her a look of confusion, but stood. Emma pulled her into her arms, this time for a hug. Regina couldn't keep herself from relaxing into that embrace. She felt extreme comfort from the gesture.

"Let me in," Emma said softly. "I know you want to so stop fighting it. Not everything has to be a battle; not everything has to end badly."

"I can't," Regina said but it lacked conviction.

Emma kissed her and Regina felt her resolve begin to slip so she pulled away. The two women stood there staring at each other.

"I should get to work," Emma said finally.

"Yes, you should," Regina said and she put a hand on her stomach in an attempt to control the emotions coursing through her. These weren't the negative emotions she had become used to most of her life. This was like having butterflies on steroids. "When you bring Henry back on Sunday, maybe we could talk then. It would give me a couple of days to figure some things out in my head."

"Ok," Emma smiled. "I will maintain my distance until then, but don't think it will be easy."

"I have a feeling it won't be easy for either of us."

This made Emma smile even more. "One more kiss for the road then?"

Regina rolled her eyes, but she gave Emma a small kiss before she left.

…

It was lunch time and Regina was still working hard at playing catch up when the door to her office opened. Her secretary was out to lunch but as she looked up to see who was entering she felt her heart racing as Mr. Gold approached. He sat down nonchalantly in one of the chairs in front of her desk.

"You look no worse for wear after your little ordeal," he said.

"Um yes I've almost fully recovered."

"You know Sheriff Swan and your friend Tink came to see me recently. The sheriff was asking me if I knew of any magical cures to Skiver Fever. I told her that I didn't know of any at least until you cured the children with your light magic. Have you remembered yet how you did it?"

"I was in the midst of hallucinations at the time. I barely remember any of my time at the hospital."

"That's a shame. Having that kind of knowledge could be useful."

She was beginning to feel completely uneasy with him being there and wished that Emma was there to be buffer between them.

"The sheriff asked me something else that she said she saw in one of Cora's books. It's called an Altered Destiny curse. Have you indeed found it in one of her books?"

"Um, no. There was a couple of references to it but no actual instructions on how to cast it or what it does. Why do you ask?"

"As I told the sheriff, it's very powerful magic and it would be best if it wasn't messed with. If you had found a copy of it I was going to suggest that you destroy it."

"Is that what you would do if you had a copy?"

"Yes."

"I suppose you would, after all you probably don't need the copy seeing as you know how to cast it."

Gold smiled at her and it made her skin crawl. "So you found your true love," he said. "And which one of the fair citizens of Storybrooke is it? Clearly it's not your former boy toy Robin."

"Who it is, is none of your concern," she said. She wasn't going to let him near Emma.

"It's actually not," he said. "What happened is in the past and the fact the curse is broken now has no affect or meaning on my life."

"Then why did you do it in the first place?"

"Because your mother asked me to."

"No," she said. "We've known each other too long for me to believe that. You don't do things because someone asks you to with the exception of maybe Belle. There was a purpose for you doing it."

"And you served that purpose masterfully, dearie."

She paused. "This was about your curse," she said. "The curse you needed me to cast to bring us here. You knew even then when I a child that I would be the one to do it. Why didn't you get my mother to do it? She was much better at magic than I ever thought of being."

"At the time, I hadn't finished designing the curse. It wasn't ready yet and I knew when it was ready your mother wouldn't be there to cast it. It had to be you. Well, it could have been Zelena as she too was better at magic than you, but she clearly had other flaws. You were the perfect pawn."

"You destroyed my life just to find your son."

"Don't act surprised or even outraged. You made your own choices."

"Did I? Because I remember what you said. My destiny was to be with Daniel. We were going to be married and we would have been free and we would have been happy and you and my mother stole that from me."

"We saved your life. And I didn't even charge you for it. Now if you'll excuse me," he said standing.

"That's it. You are just going to causally admit what you did and just leave?"

"Yes, Madame Mayor, I am. You see, you and I have known each other for a long time, so you know exactly what I am capable of. You try and get revenge on me or target Belle, I will make sure you see another of your true loves die in front of you. Do we have an understanding?"

Regina looked down at her desk. She knew this wasn't a battle she could win. "We have an understanding."

"I am glad to hear it dearie. Cross me and you will watch them die and whoever it is, you better tell them that the same holds true for them if they make a move on me. The thing about love is that it some times makes people do stupid things, like for instance trying to avenge you."

"That won't happen."

"Good."

He left and Regina felt relief that was he was gone, but she was filled with anxiety. Why would Emma go to see him and bring up the curse? She all but put herself in Gold's crosshairs. Regina couldn't let that happen. Belle or not, Gold would kill Emma if he thought she posed some sort of threat.

She couldn't watch another of her true loves die, especially not in front of her. She knew Gold well enough to know that if he followed through on his threat he wouldn't kill her, as it would be more painful to make her live knowing she had lost her true love.

An image of Emma lying dead on the floor in front of her entered her mind.

She felt another panic attack coming on and she got out of her chair and began to pace. Her anxiety was running rampant and knew she needed to get control of her emotions. She wanted to call Emma, to have her rush over and hold her in her arms. She knew if she felt the comfort of Emma's body against hers she would be able to calm down, but she couldn't call Emma. If she did it would let Gold know who her true love is.

She wouldn't let history repeat itself.

She reached for her phone and found Victor's name in it and hit send.

"Regina," he answered.

"I'm having another panic attack," she managed to say.

"Where are you?"

"Office."

"This is what I want you to do, if you aren't already sitting down, sit."

She got back into her chair. "Ok."

"Good, allow yourself to feel that you are sitting be aware of it. This is called grounding Regina, it helps the mind feel like it is in a solid place. Now breathe. Keep taking deep breaths."

"I can't," she said, her breaths having come in short bursts since the attack started.

"Yes you can," he said.

She started to take deeper breaths and Dr. Whale remained silent listening to her breathing. "Now," he said. "Think of something positive, something that gives you strength. It can be a place, a memory, a person, just think of that."

Her mind immediately went to Emma. She thought of Emma kissing her that morning and how good it felt. She thought about Emma hugging her, Emma being there for her. She had her eyes closed and she concentrated on those thoughts.

Regina wasn't sure how much time had passed before Victor spoke again. "Feeling more in control?"

"Yes. Thank you," she said. She could still feel the lingering affects of it, but overall she no longer felt like the panic attack would engulf her.

"Can you come into the hospital now so I can check you out?"

"No, I am fine," she said.

"Regina, we shouldn't be taking any chances."

"I know, but right now I don't think a hospital is the right place for me to be given my level of anxiety."

"I could come by your office later," he offered.

She thought about it a moment. "Ok, but can it be after hours. I don't want my secretary having to worry about anything if she sees you are here for my personal business."

"Won't you have to get home to Henry after work?"

"He's with Emma this weekend."

"Then I will be there say 5:30?"

"Yes, that will be fine. Thank you."

"You are welcome. I will see you later."

She hang up the phone and no sooner did she do that but Emma was calling.

"Are you alright?" Emma asked as soon as she answered.

Regina actually smiled. "I am fine."

"Oh."

"Were you expecting otherwise?"

"No. I don't know. I got one of those feelings like I did when you had that panic attack, a feeling like something was wrong. I was in the middle of breaking up a domestic or I would have called as soon as I felt it. Are you sure you are ok?"

"Yes, I had a small bit of anxiety but it's passed. I am fine."

"What were you getting anxious about and why am I feeling it? I meant to ask you that before?"

"I am not really sure why you are feeling it but it must have something to do with magic – mine or yours, or the both of ours."

"Or because we are true loves?"

Regina could practically see Emma's smile through the phone. "No I am afraid not. You are forgetting your parents are each other's true loves and it's never, to my knowledge, allowed them to feel the other like this, which means it's most likely magical."

"Oh."

"Don't sound so disappointed,"

"I'm not," she said defensively. "You never said what was making you anxious."

"Gold. He stopped by."

"Did he do something to you because if he did…"

"No," Regina said quickly. She knew she had to keep Emma calm when it came to all things Gold. She should have just lied but she couldn't think of anything convincing to say. "He didn't do anything. He was here on city business. It was a short conversation. It was just the first time I had seen him since I remembered so I got a little anxious."

"Do you want me to come over?"

"No. Get on with your day sheriff."

"Are you sure?"

"I am positive. I am fine. It was nothing really. I will see you on Sunday."

"Ok," Emma said although Regina could tell Emma wanted to come and check on her. They said their goodbyes and Regina sat back in her chair wondering what she was going to do. She needed to keep Emma from Gold and the best way to do that would be for Gold just not to know who her true love was. But if she rejected Emma because of Gold, Emma was likely to do something stupid like threaten Gold.

All she knew was that she was willing to do anything to keep Emma safe.

…

Regina was so focused on her work that when 5:30 p.m. came around she was surprised when Dr. Whale knocked on her office door and came in. She had vaguely remembered her secretary saying goodbye before she left.

"How are you feeling?" he asked.

"Good. Much better from earlier."

"Did something happen to set off the panic attack?"

"Nothing major. It's silly looking back at it now."

"I am here, so at least let me play the role of doctor," he said. "Come sit here on the couch and I will take your blood pressure and do a quick once-over."

She sat on the couch and he asked her if she had any water and she pointed to the small fridge. He went over and pulled out a bottle and handed it to her along with two pills.

"What are these?"

"Those are practically nothing – an extremely mild sedative. They won't impair you ability to drive and they won't make you fall asleep. You could almost give those to a baby they are that weak. But you would make me feel better if you took them. Just no sleeping pills tonight on top of them. These will just keep you calm."

She looked at them before opening the bottle and taking both.

He got out his blood pressure gauge and put it on her arm. She felt the cuff tightening but by now she had so many of these taken she was used to it. Once done, he said it was within normal limits. He checked her heart beat with a stethoscope and had her breath in and out several times deeply. He was shining a light in her eyes when she started to feel sleepy.

"Are you sure those were mild sedatives?" she asked.

"Why?"

"I don't know, I am just starting to feel … like I could take a nap."

"Here, lay down for a moment."

She didn't really want to but suddenly felt like even if she didn't her body was going to head in that direction anyway. She was lying down trying to keep her eyes open. "What's that?" she asked, her voice slurring as she saw him with a syringe.

"Just a little something I cooked up especially for you Regina," he said before sticking the needle in her arm and emptying its contents. She was asleep before he had finished the sentence.

Victor looked down at her sleeping form and smiled. The former queen was going to help him complete his life work and when it killed her, he would also have his revenge.