This was the first time Emma had "poofed" since Regina had been bound to her. It was not a pleasant experience for Regina. She thought it was bad being dragged behind the squad car: This was ten times more unpleasant. Instead of poofing with Emma, Regina was catapulted through the town. It was like being shot out of a cannon. With no control, Regina flew through buildings and trees, across pavement, wind blowing, air gone from lungs, until finally she stopped. Weak kneed, out of breath, wind blown, Regina clung to her chest as she tried to regain her balance. As she gasped for breath, she took in her surroundings. She was on the front walk of the mansion. She located Emma, who was standing still. Regina staggered up to her, still out of breath. The woman was motionless, staring blankly at the front door. "Emma!" she managed to breathe out.

Emma was oblivious to Regina's state. "This is where we met."

Regina had her hands on her knees, half doubled over. She shirked upright. "What?"

"Do you remember the first thing you said to me?" She was met with silence, but didn't really even notice. She quirked a smile. "Right after you figured out who I was. You said, 'How'd you like a glass of the best apple cider you've ever tasted?.' It was, too. Pretty sure you hated me right from that first 'Hi'."

Before Regina could even shake her head in confusion, Emma had poofed again. Once more Regina was flying through town at an impossible rate, her lack of breath not even allowing her to scream. She was more prepared to catch her balance this time, and could gain her bearings easier once she stopped. When she looked up, they were now in the library. She caught her breath as she watched Emma look over the balcony. Regina looked on curiously.

"I remember, now. It makes sense, knowing the truth. Knowing that I have magic. Jefferson's hat only worked when I touched you. You needed my magic." A slide show passed through both their minds...of the wraith and opening the portal in the library floor. Emma turned, not knowing where Regina was. "What happened after I fell through the portal? After I pushed you out of the way?"

Regina was so confused, she couldn't even think of a response. Her mouth opened and her head turned back and forth, but she could think of nothing to say. What was Emma wanting to hear? Before she could muster up an answer, Emma poofed again.

Every time Emma poofed, Regina was more prepared to handle it. Recovery was much easier. Now they were in the mines. Regina remembered that place very well. She thought she was going to die here, once.

Emma walked slowly, looking all around, then finally down to the spot where the trigger once glowed. She stopped and thought. Regina was still silent. The sound of the woman's heavy breathing was the only indication she was still there. "You wanted me to leave you here. You said you wanted to die as Regina." Emma laughed out a chuckle. "I had no idea what I was doing in regards to magic. But I couldn't leave you. I didn't. Lo and behold, together we stopped it."

Regina had barely run the memory through her mind when she was catapulted again. They ended up at her apple tree. Emma was running her hand down the spot she had chainsawed. The tree was still healing.

"I wasn't scared," Emma mused, smiling up at the tree. She laughed lightly. "In hindsight, I probably should have been." She let her hand drop off the tree in thought. "There was something. Even then. I hated what you were doing to me and Henry, but...I knew that you hated it too. There was more to you than you were willing to show. I think you liked that I stood up to you, even though you acted like you hated me."

Regina thought about those words. They were true. What was Emma doing? "Emma-" she was cut off by white smoke. And she shot out of the cannon once more. This time they were at the town line. Regina looked up at the stone face of Emma Swan, waiting for what she was going to say next.

Emma paced the town line, the white paint drawn long ago nearly washed away by weather. "A lot has happened here." When her thoughts took her to a certain memory, she stopped and cocked her head. "I remember the look you gave me. I remember it because I had to stop myself from shedding tears of joy over it."

Regina took a step toward her. "What are you talking about?"

Emma looked up at nothing in particular. "You poofed out of the bug because you thought it was coming for you. We found out later that that wasn't the case, but still, your intentions were the same." She didn't see Regina furrow her eyebrows. "When I slammed on the brakes, it sailed over your head. You thought you were saving me by sacrificing yourself to it. But then suddenly...you were saved right back." Emma shifted her weight. "What were you thinking in that moment?"

"What moment?" Regina said immediately. She was confused and getting frustrated.

"When I got out of the bug. You gave me a look. What were you thinking?"

Regina remembered what she was thinking. But she paused, not knowing what Emma wanted to hear. She shook her head and raised her arms up in pleading. She scoffed lightly. Apparently not patient enough to get an answer, Regina saw Emma poof away again.

Regina was met with an angry car horn as a blurr whizzed by her when she finally came to another halt. She drew in a breath as it rushed by her, and she watched it fishtail, trying to right itself. She looked over to see Emma standing in the middle of main street. This no doubt was what had caused the car to swerve. What the hell was this woman doing in the middle of the road?! "Emma! What in the hell are you doing?!"

Emma looked up into the sky, her breathing picking up slightly. She took in a few more breaths, staggering a bit across the double yellow lines. "It was here."

Regina stood about ten yards away, looking in either direction for cars coming towards them. They already had a few onlookers. "What was?!"

"Where everyone finally figured it out," she huffed. Her emotions were reaching a fever pitch quickly, and her heart rate had started increasing as did her breathing.

Regina's confusion was starting to turn to frustration, and she stepped toward Emma angrily. "Figured out what? Emma, what are you doing?!"

"The truth," she said between silent chuckles. "They all know, all of them. There were subtle hints here and there, if you were looking. But here...when I took the darkness from you...there was no denying it."

"No denying what?" Regina asked, looking over to several cars headed their direction. She looked back at Emma in concern to see the blonde smiling and laughing silently as she shook her head. Her answer wasn't coming quickly enough. "Emma, get out of the road." When the woman didn't respond, Regina stepped closer and spoke more urgently. "For God's sake, Miss Swan, do you have a death wish?" Emma turned toward where Regina's voice was coming from but said nothing. "Emma!"

Finally Emma raised her hands again and vanished. Regina wasn't prepared this time, and felt the rush of the catapult as strongly as she had the first time. By the time she came to a stop she completely lost her balance and nearly fell over. "ALRIGHT!" she exclaimed as she righted herself. "That's enough!" She regained her bearings and found they were in her vault. Emma was standing in the next room. Regina started her way. "As much as I have been enjoying this trip down memory lane, can you stop with the poofing, please?! It's quite unpleasant!" Regina came to an abrupt halt next to Emma. The woman was standing by her body, hand on her shoulder. Seeing her own body was still quite off-putting, and Regina swallowed hard in discomfort. Noting the hand on her body's shoulder, Regina calmed her mood and looked up at Emma. "Emma. What is this about? What are you doing?"

Emma didn't take her eyes off Regina's face. "I'm trying to figure out when it happened."

"When what happened?"

Emma looked over to where Regina stood. "When you fell in love with me."

The statement took Regina off guard. She stumbled back slightly, as if she had been pushed. Her mouth fell open. Silence for a moment until Regina stuttered. "What?-I-I-" She was happy to be cut off when Emma turned and started walking a slow circle around Regina's body.

"See, I know when it happened for me," Emma slid her hands into her back pockets as she sauntered around the slab, her eyes never leaving the sleeping face of Regina Mills.

Regina started to tingle. If her jaw could have unhinged and fell on the floor, this is when it would have happened. Her nonexistent blood froze and she grew painfully still. She could do nothing but listen.

Emma continued to walk slowly. "It was in New York. When I drank the memory potion. I remembered everything...who I was...that I had a family...the curse...Storybrooke...magic...you...I remembered what you had done for me at the town line. Not only did I remember everything about the truth of my life, including the two years in Storybrooke, I had all these new memories. Your memories. It was then that I knew. I finally understood you. Your love for Henry. Your willingness to do anything to keep him safe. The joy of caring for him as he grew up. His first word. His first tooth. His first step." Emma's eyes started to well up with tears. "You were willing to share that with me. It was the only way you could offer to make up for everything you had done, and you gave it all to me so freely." She sniffed. "I don't think you intended to give as much of yourself to me as you did, though, did you? See, you gave me all those memories, but also your feelings. I felt your love for him. The joy in your heart at seeing him grow. But I also felt your fear. Fear of not being good enough for him, fear of losing him. And also the disdain you felt for yourself. How hurt you had been by your mother, by my mother, by Leopold...by life. You wanted love so desperately, but didn't think you deserved it." Emma finally stopped once she returned to the side of the table where Regina's head lay. "At that moment...I wanted nothing more than to take you in my arms and tell you. Tell you that you were worthy of love, and you had more of it than you knew." Emma paused and wiped her nose with her sleeve. "You know why I said I didn't believe you? When we thought Archie was dead...I pretended not to believe you. Because...I had no reason to. Other than what I felt...I had no reason, when all points led to you, to believe you hadn't done it. I knew in my heart you were innocent. But the others...if I had kept defending you with no good reason...they would have questioned me. And-I couldn't. I wasn't ready to face how I felt, not yet."

Regina had been listening intently, and her breath had left her. Tears had streaked down her face, and her head was light. When Emma paused and reached up to fidget with a lock of Regina's hair, she took a step forward. "Why didn't you say something?" She whispered.

Emma scoffed and threw her head back, her hand falling back to her side. "Say what? 'I know my mother ruined your life, and you hate me and my family enough to curse us, but, hey, wanna go on a date?'" She laughed and shook her head. "Even if I knew what to say...you were with Robin. At least, on your way to be. I saw you. You seemed...happy. I wasn't going to get in the way of that, especially when I didn't think there was a snowball's chance in hell that you might feel the same way." Emma was looking directly at Regina's sleeping face now. She talked to Regina as if she was in her body, even though she knew she wasn't. It at least gave her something to focus on. She sighed.

Regina was silent for a moment, before walking around her body. She stopped near her own head, across the table from where Emma stood. She could now look directly at the savior's face as she spoke. "But...Hook?"

Emma was resting her hands on the table next to Regina's head. "Hook was a welcomed distraction from my infatuation with you. You were with Robin. I needed something else to focus on. I couldn't have you. So I needed to try something else."

Regina looked down at herself and thought for a moment.

Emma sighed at the silence, realizing she had just laid it all out there. "Look, Regina, I'm sorry I just threw all that at you but I-"

"Granny's."

The voice startled Emma to stop talking. "What?"

Regina squeezed her eyes shut and bit her bottom lip. "Outside of Granny's. That's when I knew."

Realizing what Regina was talking about, Emma perked to attention. "When?" she asked with wonderment.

Regina swallowed nervously. "Right after you brought Marian back."

Emma's eyes flew wide. "What?! But...you hated me for that! I ruined your relationship with Robin!"

Regina chuckled and shook her head. "No, you didn't. I wanted you to believe that. But the truth was...I was using Robin too, just as you were using Hook. I hadn't admitted as such to myself, but it was true none the less. I was the Evil Queen, falling for the princess daughter of my mortal enemy. It was...futile, and I knew it. So I clung to the first thing that looked my way. When Marian showed up, I felt...relieved. Relieved that I didn't have to pretend any more. But being rid of that security blanket left me vulnerable. I wasn't angry with you over Marian. I was angry because once again I had to face a loveless life alone. Even though I didn't love Robin, I could pretend I did. Now I was alone again, all the while watching you seemingly happy with the pirate. So I did what I do best. Push people away. I projected my anger onto you, pushing away the very thing that I wanted the most." Both women had soft tears falling softly down their cheeks. Regina leaned on the table. "I'm sorry, Emma! For everything!"

Emma sniffed and smiled, peering down at Regina's still sleeping face. "Me too," she sighed out.

Regina watched as Emma reached down and stroked Regina's hair softly. Her eyes dilated as the butterflies threatened to burst from her gut. She watched Emma's adoring gaze on her own face as the blonde gently ran her thumb across Regina's forehead.

Emma wiped the tears from her face before leaning over Regina's body. "I guess there's only one thing left to do." And with that she carefully held the sides of Regina's head with each hand. She leaned down and gently pressed her lips to the Queen's.

Regina watched in what felt like slow motion as Emma leaned down toward her lips. A kaleidoscope of colors worked it's way into her vision as her head felt dizzy. Emma's lips finally met hers as her vision was blinded by colors until everything faded to white.

Not over yet guys! One or two more chapters!