Thank you for reading and hopefully enjoying the story. Only a couple chapters left until it is finished. Hard to believe. Anyway, thank you for the reviews, follows and favorites because it is honestly what keeps me writing. Also, thanks to a guest reviewer who wanted some evil queen/Henry interaction. I hadn't planned on doing that at all, but I tried to fit it into the story, and I hope you enjoy it. Otherwise, enjoy. :)

Chapter 19

An empty shell, a dry desert, abandoned and forsaken; this is how she feels. A part of her gone, broken beyond repair, and her heart settles, a pile of ashes in her chest, beneath bone and flesh that still pumps with blood regardless of how dead she feels.

She can't pull her eyes away. Her fingers clench, tighten and loosen around the wand, while David and Emma shift Robin's lifeless body on the ground. What does it matter, she thinks. If they are right, he will never be like this, does it matter, she isn't sure. David closes Robin's eyes, brushes his hand over the man's face, allowing lids to blanket over the emptiness present in Robin's blue depths.

Finally, she can look away, releases a sigh, a cold breath blowing past her lips, everything feels cold, and then she notices Henry, or rather, the lack of Henry. He was standing next to her, she is sure of it, but she has no idea how long it has been since she stood there, watching her soulmate, and now Henry is not next to her, well, that is debatable since he does stand next to her past self, next to the evil queen.

"Henry!" Her feet move quickly, rushing the few steps, closing the distance between herself and her son. "What are you doing?!" The concern in her voice only slightly lightened when she is close enough to set her hand on his shoulder.

"It's okay, Mom." Henry reassures. "Grandpa says she is basically frozen. She can't use her magic right now. She can't hurt us." His green eyes search her face, try to calm her in some way, and it almost works.

Regina's eyes linger across the form of the evil queen, standing as regal as ever, hands turned as if she had been preparing a spell just as Emma and Rumple trapped her, bound her. As her gaze travels the woman, scrutinizing her form and her face, it seems like she is aware, conscious of what is happening.

"What spell did you use?" She questions her former mentor, never taking her eyes away from the queen.

"It is a variation of what Pan used on all of you, when he - when I…" Rumple stutters, unable to put words to his death, his father's death, murder, suicide, whatever it was.

"But," Regina takes another step closer to the woman before her, "we were aware. We could see and hear everything."

"Yes, as can she." Rumple states calmly, bordering on emotionless.

Regina swallows the bile rising in her throat. The contempt and hatred she had held beneath the surface threatening to bubble over. Her nostrils flare, and her breath does not seem so cool now, rather it heats her skin, smoldering and scorching a path on her flesh.

"Mom," Henry's hand finds her shoulder this time, "Mom." Her son pulls her from the darkness, draws her back from the consuming rage, and she tears her eyes from the queen, manages a small smile for him, means it to be reassuring, but can tell it must look strained and unconvincing.

She turns away from the three of them, her younger version still visible in the corner of her eye, but now Robin holds the majority of her gaze once more. David and Emma have placed him so he almost looks asleep, almost, surrounded by the undergrowth of the forest, something he would probably like.

"I know you're the...evil queen," Henry's voice meets her ears, but she does not turn to him, gives him a semblance of privacy since he is obviously not talking to her, but who she used to be, "but to me, you're my mom, or are going to be." He sighs, and Regina drops her eyes, brow furrowing with unease.

"Sure, when I found out you used to be, well, you, I was angry, and only thought of you as evil, but I know there is more. You'll be my Mom someday, and I believe that at least a sliver of the woman you will become is present in you now." Henry pauses, and Regina can see his eyes search the ground for Robin before turning to the queen again.

"You only hurt yourself today, but luckily, my Mom is a hero, and she can fix it. I know she can. I'm sorry for what happened to you, for what made you this way, for the people," Henry pauses briefly and Regina notices in the corner of her vision that he moves his gaze from the queen to Rumple and back again, "who had a part in creating the evil, bringing you to the darkness. I just want you to know, even though you'll forget, none of this will really matter I suppose, but still, I want you to know I believe in you, that I love the hero you become," and now Regina can feel his gaze burning into her, so she obliges, turns her face to him, tears pooling, threatening to drop, "I love my Mom."

Now the smile she sends him is not so strained, more convincing, and she is starting to feel things again other than despair and rage. The love for her son is filling her heart, building it back up from the dust, and she is so grateful to her boy, so proud. The tears do not leave her eyes, desperately clinging to the lower lashes as Regina finds herself swiftly closing the distance between Henry and herself again, wrapping him in a comforting embrace. Whether it is for her comfort of his is questionable, perhaps for both.

Looking up, looking at the woman she used to be, it is impossible to tell if Henry's words have had any affect, and honestly, she can't bring herself to care. She is no longer this woman, will never be her again, and after sending one more glance to the queen, she turns away, determined to not waste a single word on her younger self. Rather, Regina tentatively steps closer to Robin, lowers herself to her knees beside him while David and Emma step back, giving her some privacy. Her hand finds it way to his, meeting on his chest, her fingers gripping and massaging the flesh of his hands, and the chill of his skin, the pale blue tint sickens her.

"Robin," she whispers, surprised she does not choke on his name, "I will make sure this does not happen to you. I promise you, we will have our time. I will get you back to Roland. We will have our happy ending. I love you." The tears finally move past her lower lashes, dropping on her cheeks, her sinuses stinging from trying to hold back the sobs threatening to be released. She lifts his hand to her mouth, turning the palm up, scrutinizing the black ink that had become a symbol of what they were, what they were meant to be always. She lets her lips caress the tattoo lightly, a semblance of a kiss, a promise, before setting his arm down beside his body, the ink still visible as she stands and steps back.

"What about her?" David asks, pulling her from her goodbye.

"We can't leave her frozen in magic, just like we couldn't leave the camp under the protection cloak. I will not risk this going all wrong because of her." Regina responds, the disgust in her voice palpable.

"Of course, deary. I have already procured and concentrated some of that detestable root and administered it to your younger self." Rumple says, as if it is obvious that he has already found a solution to the problem. "As soon as we are ready to step through the portal I can remove the paralyzation spell, and she will be without magic for at least a few hours, unable to prevent us from leaving, or cause anymore damage."

"Fine," she responds tersely, "then we shouldn't waste any more time." She lifts the wand in her hand, struggles to summon forth the power, not used to using a tool of this sort to focus her magic. She focuses on her emotions, just like Rumple had taught her, but now she has far more emotions to explore, more energy and strength to unleash. Her mind searches her memories, brings her to the moment she was pulled through Zelena's portal, focusing on the instant she left the barn and was tugged from her proper time into the past, into the forest.

At some point she must have closed her eyes, because now she can see light filtering through her closed lids, so she lifts them slowly, squinting again at the brightness emanating from the glowing portal a mere foot in front of her.

"Well done, deary." Rumple states, stepping beside her. "Now lets hope you did it right."

Regina meets his eyes with a roll of her own, "Go ahead." She says, gesturing toward the portal with a slight bow.

"I will go just before you, releasing the queen before I enter. You will have to leave last for the portal to remain open." He says matter of factly before turning his gaze to the other three of their group.

"Shall we?" David takes the hint, stepping forward, holding Emma's hand while she grasps at Henry's.

"Mom?" Henry looks at her, worry etching his young face, and a pang of guilt hits her hard.

"It's ok Henry. I'll be right behind you." She responds, and for the first time since she witnessed Robin's death, she thinks she sounds convincing, thinks her words don't sound empty and forced.

The three of them leap all at once, removed from this time and place, the portal devouring all evidence of their presence. Now only Rumple and herself remain, the pull of the portal in front of them almost overpowering. They exchange a troubling look before turning from the portal, facing the evil queen and Robin's lifeless body. Rumple's expression is earnest as her former mentor raises his hand, closes his eyes briefly, and the evil queen shifts, her body goes limp and she drops to her knees, before lifting her head and sending them an irritated glare.

"Goodbye Deary." Rumple says before stepping back through the portal, and Regina is not sure if it was meant for her, or her younger self, maybe both.

Regina only has a moment, only witnesses a brief instant of the the queen glancing at the man lying dead a few feet in front of her, but in that moment she can see the realization dawn on the queen's face. The younger woman has seen the tattoo, shock and confusion marring the expression on her face. And then, Regina steps back, lets the portal envelope her, consume her entirely, the last vision in her mind is of a single tear falling down the cheek of the evil queen, of the woman she used to be.

It is oddly familiar, yet drastically peculiar standing in this spot, the same spot she just watched Robin die, yet here that has never happened, not yet. With any luck, the woman she was a few days ago would arrive through the portal momentarily, and hopefully, will be sent back without too much argument. She is not very eager to butt heads with yet another version of herself. At some point while they've been standing here, Henry's hand found hers, and now the warmth from his palm grounds her, centers her, giving her strength, and more importantly, hope.

David is the first to notice it, the white glittering orb forming in the space in front of them, rapidly widening into a mature portal. Regina steps back, tugging Henry along with her, placing him firmly behind her, Emma coming up beside her. She looks to her right, and the blonde's eyes meet hers, concern evident in the woman's green orbs, before she nods, silently saying 'I've got your back', and Regina has never been more grateful to have this woman present. She knows if anything happens, Henry will be protected.

Time seems to stand still as the portal glows and spins before them, the light almost blinding, before finally a woman's form is flung to the ground, and the portal disappears as quickly as it had appeared, the only evidence of it's existence, the woman on the ground.

"Quick! Lift her." Regina blurts out, an idea forming in her mind. "I'll create the return portal immediately, and with any luck we can avoid any argument from," what is she supposed to call her, "me."

"That would be ideal." Rumple voices what everyone already seems to be thinking.

She sends her former mentor a pointed glare before lifting the wand again, invoking the magic to summon another portal, one that will return the woman in David's arms, her past self, to the exact point in time just after Zelena's portal had pulled her from the barn. It comes easier this time, doesn't require as much energy, and whether it is because she has already done it once, or because the magic from Zelena's portal still lingers in the air, she will never know.

The return portal stretches wide in front of her, and all of them take a few steps back, the dirt and plants beneath their feet being torn, ripped from the ground toward the gaping endless hole.

"What the…" Her own voice sounds from David's arms.

"Now!" She shouts to the man, indicating for him to send her former self through the portal immediately, and so he does. It is a bizarre feeling, watching yourself, but not yourself, confusion and anger evident on her features, being sucked into the abyss. There is a bright flash, different than their previous trips, something definitely has changed, and now, as Regina glances toward David, he no longer stands there, she is alone, all of them gone.

She knows this is good, this is what should happen. Hopefully it means that they were successful in returning her back to the proper time, and now no one ever needed to come rescue her, and if she had not wielded the wand at that precise moment, she too would have disappeared, tugged back into existence where she should reside. Instead, she stands here alone, knowing that it should comfort her, that the loss of the others should fill her with hope, but right now she only feels fatigued and desolate.

However, she knows there is no time to waste. It was not long after she originally arrived through Zelena's portal that Robin's men were upon her, so she lifts her arm once more, the wand shaking in her grip, her nerves causing her grasp to tighten even more on the object, before a flick of her wrist brings forth one more portal, the last portal.

"Alright," she whispers, "think of home." She steps into the portal, her mind fills with images; a baby cooing and smiling up at her, hugs and laughter from her growing boy, Henry, then Robin's arms embracing her, his lips finding hers, and before she can help it, an image of the Charming's surrounding a table at Granny's, all laughing and smiling while she holds baby Neal. She feels warmth, feels comfort, feels home, and then…

Darkness

I have no beta - all mistakes are mine. Please take a moment to review and thank you for reading. :)