Regina tensed painfully as hands slipped onto her shoulders. "Regina…" She shook her head at the voice.

"I know you're hurting but I think you should go home." Ruby said softly. Her eyes drifted over to Emma lying very still in the hospital bed in front of them. "You need to sleep."

"No. I can't leave her here." Regina argued back but the bite in her voice had gone the moment Emma stopped moving in her arms that night. Ruby sighed and gently rubbed her shoulders encouragingly.

They'd had this debate often and it wasn't the first time Regina had said those words. She was hoping it'd get easier to convince her to go home. Take care of herself. Go be there for her kids. It only seemed to get harder though.

Emma wasn't dead. At least that's what Whale and his machines were telling them. She was in a coma or something similar to it. And that would've been better than Emma dying except there was no way to wake her that they could find.

"Regina, please." Ruby begged. "I need you to go home. Get some rest. Eat. What about Henry and Tamsin? I can't watch them all day…they need you."

"I can't leave her." Regina repeated.

"I'll stay here with her. I promise, she'll be here when you get back. I'm just worried about you, Regina. You can't fall apart…not completely." The older woman shook her head still staring at Emma as if she'd miss the blonde waking up – something she hadn't done and wasn't expected to anytime soon.

"I can't…"

Ruby came around the chair and knelt down in front of her, resting her hands on Regina's knees. "Hey, I know this is beyond difficult for you, Regina. I'm here for you. You don't have to be strong for yourself, not all the time. I'm here but you should still find some strength for Henry. He knows what happened and Tamsin is just…she's just a baby. She doesn't know anything…nothing other than her mothers being absent."

Regina blinked, tears falling down her cheeks and she finally looked at Ruby. "It's my fault. I was so cruel to her. The things I said..."

"Don't think like that." Ruby reached up and wiped the tears from her face. "You and I can sit here and think about all the things we did wrong that led to this but that won't wake Emma up."

"Why would you blame yourself?" Regina frowned.

"This is the most you've spoken to me since that night." She grinned. "I helped Arthur. I can't help but feel like I should take some blame."

"You didn't do what I did." Regina countered, solemnly.

"Look, we're not going to talk about that right now." She pulled her from the chair and Regina reluctantly followed her instructions. "You're going to go home for a while."

"But-"

"No, you're going home. Go talk to Henry. Hold your baby."

"Tamsin is no baby."

"She is and she needs you too. Remind you of Emma, yeah?"

"More and more every day."

"Well, no matter how much it may hurt, you do need to see that light in Emma that was passed into your daughter. Now go."

Regina nodded and moved over to the side of Emma's hospital bed. She leaned down and kissed Emma's forehead. "I'll be back soon, my love."

Henry walked in the room with his grandparents and Ruby behind him. They all had bright smiles on their faces and ready to see the new addition to the family.

Emma was dozing in her hospital bed completely drained from her 12 hours of labor. There was still a lingering smile on Emma's lips though. She turned her head to them sluggishly.

"Hey, kid." Her voice was hoarse, not to anyone's surprise though. She'd been cursing out Regina in this room through the entire birth.

Henry's smile widened and he darted over to hug her. Regina looked up from the sleeping bundle in her arms. "Gently Henry." He nodded and hugged her lightly before moving over to the other side where Regina sat next to the bed holding the newborn.

David and Snow gave soft hugs to Emma as well, David kissing her on the forehead – a now unbreakable habit – and smiled. Ruby hugged her and kissed her cheek distractedly, already eager to see the baby not separated by a window. "How you doing Emma?"

"Tired." She chuckled. "Little sucker drained me but it was worth it."

"So are you revealing the sex of the baby now?" Ruby asked. "We already had to scramble for unisex gifts for your baby shower. Even the nurses dressed the baby in yellow."

"A girl." Regina replied before Emma could get a chance to mess with Ruby a little more. She was tired but that mischievous look appeared on her face for a moment. She smiled down at the sleeping child in her arms. "Tamsin."

Emma smiled as the rest of the room beamed. Henry was reaching for the baby and Regina showed him how to hold her even though had done it with Neal plenty of times. She emphasized supporting her head over and over and Henry rolled his eyes but lovingly looked down at his baby sister.

"What middle name did you two decide on?" Snow asked.

"Regina…" Emma looked over to her wife who brushed a strand of hair from her forehead.

"Thomasina Mackenzie Swan-Mills."

"Beautiful." Snow gushed moving over next to Henry and brushing her finger over her little nose. Her chin. Little fingers.

Regina grinned down at Emma and received one in return. She leaned down and kissed her wife wishing to actually make her get some sleep but they just had a baby…she just had a baby. She pulled away and Emma cleared her throat nodding over to Ruby standing next to her father as they talked.

"Ruby?" Regina called and the younger woman looked over to them with a smile. "We have something to ask you."

She walked closer to the bed, laying a hand on Emma's shoulder. "Yeah, of course. Anything."

"We want you to be the god-mother, Rubes." Emma said. "You game for another bad kid to chase after?" Regina smacked her arm lightly with a playful glare.

Ruby looked over to Henry holding Tamsin and shrugged. "Depends…how much does this gig pay?"

"Ruby." Regina scolded.

"Just kidding. Henry's not a bad kid. He's perfect." She said with a nod. "I'd be honored."

"Hey!" Henry exclaimed and they looked over to him with a furrowed brows of concern. But he was smiling and so was Snow. "She's waking up. She has your eyes, Ma."

"Hello gorgeous." Ruby said trying to get a picture of the baby, glancing at the strangers around her. She seemed to know who they were though, not even thinking to cry for not seeing her mothers looking down at her.

"Hey there princess." David offered his index finger and the baby managed to take it with tiny fingers. "She's definitely got the Charming chin."

"No." Snow rolled her eyes as Henry handed the baby over carefully and moved to take pictures himself. "She's obviously got Regina's chin and jawline but that's definitely Emma's nose."

"Jawline? How can you even tell? She was born like an two hours ago. And that's clearly Regina's nose." Ruby argued. "And lips. Then Emma's got just about everything else. Even the hair."

Regina and Emma chuckled at the arguing that seemed to only soothed their mellow newborn. They looked at each other with soft smiles. Regina sat down on the edge of the bed next to her, brushing her thumb over Emma's cheek. "You did wonderful, honey."

"Yeah…good because I'm not doing that again. This magical pregnancy thing is not my cup of tea." Emma laughed. Regina rolled her eyes. "I think it's your turn, Your Majesty. Time to get your tallies on the board. I already have two."

"I don't need any more than you're willing to give. What we have now is perfect."

"Mom?" Henry called as the front door closed behind him. It clicked shut smoothly after he had messed with it for almost an hour a while ago.

He left his coat and boots in the foyer, taking in the quiet of the house. It wasn't the best thing to come home to after a visit to see his comatose mother while his other mother tried and somewhat failed to keep it together. Of course, he understood though.

"Mom?"

He went up the stairs, avoiding Tamsin's toys once he reached the top. Though he was never one for willingly cleaning up, something compelled him to pick up the stuffed animals. Tamsin would've had a heart attack about them being moved but she was with their grandparents, so hopefully she wouldn't remember.

At the thought of his little sister, Henry hoped his mother was up for some serious conversation. He knew she wasn't.

The door to his parents' bedroom was opened a crack with a low light shining dully through the opening. He shifted the toys to his other arm and knocked softly on the door. There was no answer and he tried again and waited.

There was a sniffle on the other side of the door before an invitation inside was given to him. Henry pushed inside, finding Regina laying on her side in the bed holding Emma's pillow to her chest. She was staring at the side his other mother usually occupied and he had a feeling before the 'coma', she'd been doing this often.

"Mom?" Henry tried.

Regina turned over and sat up not letting go of the pillow. Her eyes were red rimmed and her nose and cheeks were red. Henry dropped his eyes at the sight and she quickly sniffed, wiping away the remaining tears on her face.

"Yes, Henry?" She asked. "Are you hungry? Have I missed dinner again?"

"No." He shook his head and sat down on the edge of the bed beside her, letting Tamsin's toys fall onto the neatly made sheets. Regina picked up the stuffed elephant Emma bought Tamsin when she was sick one day. "I just came from seeing Ma. I know you don't want me to go alone but-"

"No, it's fine. She's your mother." Regina said, brushing down the fur on the toy.

"Tamsin's at grandma and grandpa's, remember?"

"Yes, I remember." She nodded.

"You have to pick her up later."

"I will."

A long pause in conversation followed and they just sat there in silence. Regina focused on the little elephant, memories of that sick day floated forward from the back of her mind. For a moment, everything didn't feel so painful. She remembered, vividly, coming home to find Emma on the couch with their daughter practically swaddled in a blanket, laying against her chest as she read her a book.

Henry remembered the day too. It was nice memory but he also recalled Tamsin sneezing on him. A small grimaced appeared on his face but then a snicker escaped him, causing Regina to look away from the elephant.

"What is it?" She asked.

"Tamsin sneezed on me that day." He chuckled. "It was so gross."

Regina's lips quirked gently at the corner from that but a full smile wasn't physically possible for her anymore. That fact quelled Henry's short burst of amusement.

"We need talk…about Tamsin, Mom." He said after a while. Regina met his eyes tiredly. "She hasn't been sleeping well."

"What?" Regina frowned. She had been here every night but she never had Tamsin come into the room about any problems. She never caught her up playing or watching tv at night.

"Nightmares. She sneaks in my room to sleep."

"She never came to me…" Realization hit her hard and fast. Tamsin was suffering because of this. She barely had any parents anymore. Henry had been taking care of them both. "She's upset with me. I promised to bring Emma home that night. I didn't keep it."

"Mom…" Henry said quietly. His brow was furrowed slightly and he seemed reluctant to say what was on his mind. "I think you should take her memories. From that night. Make it so that she was never there."

"Henry-"

"No, I'm serious. She's having nightmares about Ma. She…she told me that she didn't want her to come home anymore. Tamsin is scared of her." He blinked away the tears in his eyes, refusing to make this any harder for his mother to hear. He'd had time to process this. Time to figure out a solution.

But she was hearing this for the first time and he remembered that she was convinced everything that had happened the past half a year was all her fault. So, he wouldn't shed any tears right now. Not when his mother looked even more shattered than she had been before.

Her eyes glossed over with a fresh set of tears ready to break free. Her brow crumpled in pain and she quickly brought her hand up to her mouth when a small sob left her lips. Henry leaned forward and pulled her into a hug. Surprisingly, she fell into it as if she had no strength to even consider resisting.

Her arm came around his back, the elephant still clutched tightly in her fingers. Her other hand rested on the back of his neck like she was trying to comfort him.

"It's going to be okay, Mom."

"No…" Regina protested. "I did this and I left you and Tamsin to deal with this alone. I'm…"

"Don't say it, Mom." Henry demanded. "You're not the Evil Queen."

"Yes, I am. We all knew that."

Henry pulled away from her leaving his hands on her arms. "No, you're not! If you were really the Evil Queen then Tamsin wouldn't even exist. The Evil Queen can't love anyone. Especially, not the way you love us. You and Ma have true love and that love created Tamsin. She's made of magic…your magic."

"Henry-"

"You know I'm right. You feel guilty about this? Fine, I can't stop you. But you can fix it. Take Tamsin's memories. She doesn't need to remember Ma that way if she…" He averted his eyes away from hers. "If she dies. She would hate it if that was Tamsin's last memory of her. Mom…?"

"But…I shouldn't…"

"Mom, Tamsin is scared. Sudden noises freak her out and she doesn't want to see Ma. You have to change the memory."

Regina looked away from him with uncertainty. She felt as if there was no other way than to take that painful memory from her little girl but every choice she's made so far has resulted in her wife in a coma. She didn't want to make another mistake.

Emma opened her eyes slowly, but she closed them instantly as the light caused her to flinch and practically hiss in pain.

She grunted slightly and tried to achieve a more comfortable position, but it quickly occurred to her that she had no idea where the hell she was and in that moment, she felt that opening her eyes would only cause her more pain. With a furrowed brow, she swallowed hard in a vain attempt to moisten her mouth.

Her head fell back against something rough and she desperately tried to remember the last thing that had happened. Everything felt fuzzy somehow. It wasn't that she had lost her memory, it was just that everything felt so jumbled that she couldn't quite make sense of it all.

Pain surged through her chest and her hand shot up to clutch it, though her frown only deepened when she felt a slow beat against her palm. There was a heartbeat and for some reason that didn't feel right.

"I'm supposed to be dead." She whispered to herself.

"Not quite."

Emma's eyes flew open and she stared at the source of the sound. For a few moments, her vision was completely blurry and she couldn't make anything out. However, the blurriness quickly passed and she immediately recognized that she was in a forest clearing and she instantly knew that it wasn't Storybrooke's forest. It was most definitely the Enchanted Forest but she didn't remember any kind of portal that could have sent her here.

Suddenly images flashed before her eyes and she winced and brought her hands up to cover her face. The look on Tamsin's face was utterly heartbreaking and all she could imagine was that her daughter must be terrified of her right now. Guilt rose up in her stomach and she felt like throwing up at the thought that Regina would have to find a way to explain to the little blonde what had happened to her other mother and Henry would probably understand what had happened, but that didn't mean that it would be any easier for him. Then of course, there was her wife, who would blame herself for everything.

Rumple tilted his head at her, who sat leaning against a tree covering her eyes and he giggled. "What exactly did you expect death to be like?" He asked, guessing that she was planning to cover her eyes until she thought that the spirit had disappeared.

Emma blew out a breath of frustration and removed her hands so that she could once again look at the imp standing before her. The first thing that she noticed was that her skin seemed to have recovered some of its color and if she had to guess, her eyes had returned to their normal color.

"I imagined that it wouldn't involve you." She grumbled, not even bothering to push herself to her feet.

"Your body is still alive so I am still alive." Rumple glowered, though it seemed to lack his usual cockiness. Emma had a feeling that the Dark One had now officially lost and was just messing with her since she had ruined the plans of a being that was thousands of years old.

The blonde tilted her head and looked down at the apparition's fingers, they seemed to be fading and she couldn't help but laugh at him.

"It doesn't look like either of us will be alive for much longer." She replied as she brought up her hand and looked at her facing fingertips. She knew that she should probably be more afraid than she actually was, but it didn't escape her notice that the embodiment of the darkness seemed to be fading much faster than she was.

Rumple snarled at her and his face began to shimmer until it revealed a completely different visage. Emma frowned at the unfamiliar and yet so familiar face.

"Nimue?" She asked slowly. She wasn't exactly sure how she knew who the woman was, but she just knew that she was the first Dark One. The memory of Excalibur breaking was as clear in her mind as if it had happened to her, she remembered the pure rush of power that the woman had felt and what it had felt like to be bound to that infernal dagger. Most all, she remembered spending countless lifetimes trying to be free of the prison, of trying to find a host who would be powerful enough to finally give her what she wanted.

"When I felt your power, Savior, I was so sure that I would finally be free." Nimue growled. "With one act of True Love you have undone everything that I have worked so hard to achieve."

Emma raised an eyebrow at the infuriated woman and wondered for a moment whether she should be afraid of the anger being projected upon her right now, but she couldn't find it in herself to be intimidated. She was painfully aware of the fact that she was already dead, so there was nothing that the first Dark One could do to her. She certainly wouldn't be able to hurt her family which was the whole reason that she had sacrificed herself in the first place.

It was for this reason that she just started laughing and Nimue clenched both of her fists at her side, which only seemed to make it more obvious that she was fading fast. It also occurred to Emma that if she was merely clenching her fists, she was no longer capable of any kind of magic that could do her any harm. Which could only mean that they were both well and truly dead.

"If I really ruined everything for you, wouldn't you be trying to find a way to torture me? But then again, you can't because I'm already dead. The only reason that I'm here is because of the life support, which will eventually fail. You're not going anywhere."

Nimue narrowed her eyes at the cocky blonde. The Savior was being awfully casual about the fact that she was so close to certain death, but then again, she had felt the resignation the woman had felt in the moment that she had decided that death was the only way to protect her family. As long as Regina, Henry and Tamsin were safe, this woman couldn't give a shit about what happened to herself.

The Dark One raised her fading hand and took in a deep breath. Without the ability to manipulate the Savior, she no longer had any way of keeping the light at bay. Since her being had taken residence in Emma's mind, she had known that it would be a struggle to keep control, but she never would have thought that being the product of True Love would make this woman capable of performing such an act of True Love while being within the grips of the darkness. None of it should have been possible.

"You do realize that this is the end for you?" Nimue asked, hoping that she could at least incite some kind of panic within the blonde woman since she was completely incapable of causing her any kind of physical harm anymore. "If I die, then you die."

Emma's eyes flickered down to the Dark One's fading flesh and she allowed herself to think for a moment that she may have been wrong. If her family somehow brought her back just before she completely faded but after Nimue was just a bad memory, then perhaps she would be able to go back to her happy ending.

Of course, there was also a chance that they could bring her back too early and she would return to the same problem that she was in before. It would just be better if she died in that case since she wasn't sure that she would be able to resist hurting Tamsin and Regina again when she was inevitably faced with the same situation again.

"And if you die then the world will be a better place." Emma replied, deciding that there was no reason to hold out hope that Regina would be able to time her revival perfectly.

Plus, there was the fact that she didn't really know how long she had been here, it could be years or seconds before Nimue would be gone.

This strange purgatory wasn't too bad since the Dark One was just as trapped and powerless as she was. She had to admit that it was quite gratifying to think that she was just pissing the woman off by not being afraid of her anymore but with the gratitude also came sadness. She missed her wife and their children.