Chapter 4

"What did she mean when she said,three more days?" Mary Margaret asked the instant that Regina was gone.

"Nothing," Emma said, wiping the small drops of blood still stuck to her neck.

"No, it's not nothing. What is it, Emma?"

"It's nothing! Idle threats from the Dark One, and nothing more." Emma ran to the bathroom to grab a bandage for the small cuts Regina's dagger left on her skin…and to end the conversation they were having.

She looked at herself in the mirror, finally noticing how exhausted she was. She had dark circles under her eyes that were so big she looked like a corpse. The last four days were starting to take a toll on her, and she wondered for a moment if she would even make it another three days. When she returned to the living room Mary Margaret was helping David up, a constant stream of blood dripping down the side of his face.

"You should have that looked at," she said as she inspected the wound on the side of his head. "Take him to the ER. I'll stay here with Henry."

"Are you sure?"

"Absolutely. He needs help and I'm pretty sure Henry is traumatized for life."

"Okay. Call me if you need me."

"You too!" A few minutes later Mary Margaret and David were gone and she was returning to the room she shared with her son.

"Ma?" she heard as she tried to enter the dark room silently. She wasn't surprised that Henry was still awake.

"Yeah, it's me. I told you I'd be right up," she said with a sad smile before she turned on the room light.

"Is Mom gone?"

"Yeah, she left. Mary Margaret took David to the Emergency Room. David hit his head pretty bad."

"Is he okay?"

"Yeah, he'll be fine. Probably needs to get a few stitches though. I'm sure he'll be fine. He has a hard head." Emma laughed, trying to lighten the situation.

"Mom did it, didn't she?"

"Yeah…yeah she did…" Emma said with a deep sadness in her voice. She didn't want to lie to her son anymore.

"She's never going to get better is she? She's going to be the Dark One forever…"

"Not if I can help it. I promise, I won't stop trying until I'm dead," she said, hugging her have no idea how close that moment is, she thought as she let her son cry in her arms.

"Can I sleep with you tonight?" Henry asked after a few minutes, unwilling to let his mother go. He was losing one of his mothers with each passing day, he couldn't bear to lose another.

"Of course," she said, giving him a supportive smile. "Let's go to bed, I'm exhausted. And I need all the beauty sleep I can get these days." Ten minutes later Henry was sound asleep, snoring lightly against Emma's chest. Silent tears rushed down Emma's face as she stared up at the ceiling.

She was running out of time.

Day Five

If Emma slept three hours, that was the most she slept before her alarm woke her the next morning. She was exhausted and now her entire body hurt, including the worst tension headache she has ever experienced in her life. She hit snooze a few times, never actually falling back asleep, until she decided to wake her son for the day.

"Damn Ma, you have some really bony ribs. I had to reposition a few times in the middle of the night because your ribs kept digging into me," Henry said with a yawn.

She was too tired to scold him for cursing. "Sorry Kid. I guess I've been skipping some meals the last few days with everything going on. I'll be sure to eat two grilled cheeses for lunch today." She laughed nervously. She knew it wasn't her ribs that were poking Henry in her sleep. It was the vines that had now grown around her waist.

"Can I stay home from school today?"

"Not a chance, Kid. Your mom will DEFINITELY kill me if I let you miss school." Henry cringed, the events of the previous night flooding back to him. "Too soon?"

"A little."

"Sorry. Get dressed and I'll let you have two bowls of sugary cereal for breakfast to make up for it."

"DONE!" Henry exclaimed, jumping out of bed and rushing around the room, running downstairs to the bathroom to get ready for school.

Once she was sure he was gone and wouldn't be back for a few minutes she gently lifted her shirt, revealing the dark vines that now wrapped around her lower half and up to her waist. She didn't even need to poke the plant to know it would hurt. "Regina…" she whispered, silent tears dripping down her face. She quickly got dressed before her son came charging back in, careful not to disrupt the painful vines encasing her lower torso. Henry was already diving head first into his first bowl of Fruit Loops by the time she made it downstairs.

"How's David?" she asked, accepting a much needed cup of coffee from her mother.

"He's fine. Doctor Whale said he doesn't have a concussion. He's sleeping right now."

"Good. Tell him to take the day off. I'll hold down the fort," she said, drinking half her cup in one sip.

"How are you feeling…after…" Mary Margaret started to say, glancing over at her grandson, who was too busy reading a comic book and shoveling spoonfuls of cereal into his mouth to listen to their conversation.

"I'm fine," Emma lied.

"You look tired."

"Gee, thanks, Mom."

"I didn't mean it like that. I'm worried about you, that's all."

"I'm fine," Emma lied again, drinking the rest of her coffee. "I'm going to get a headstart on the day since Dad is going to be out. Can you take Henry to school with you?"

"Sure, not a problem. I'll keep an eye on him as well, make sure he's alright after last night."

"Thanks, Mom," she said, kissing her mother on the cheek. "I'll see you tonight," she added before rushing out the door. She loved her family, she really did. But she desperately needed some alone time to process everything, which is why she was relieved when she got to the Sheriff's Department and welcomed the silence.

Before she could even take her jacket off she started making a fresh pot of coffee, knowing she would likely need to drink several cups to make it through the day. She was exhausted, completely and utterly exhausted. But it was more than just sleep deprivation.

It was the exhaustion that comes with total system shutdown.

She collapsed into her chair with her second cup of coffee for the day and opened the book on the top of her stack, squinting when the words appeared fuzzy on the page. Her entire body was screaming for rest, and yet she couldn't. Not when she only had three more days to save Regina. Three more days and they would both be gone forever. She jotted down a few notes but found, after struggling to read for several hours, the book was useless and offered no help in breaking the curse. Her head was pounding, her stomach was growling and the heartburn from consuming nothing but coffee all day was debilitating.

"I can't do this anymore…" she said, as tears of frustration rolled down her face. "I need to rest, even if just for a few minutes. I just need a few minutes then I'll dive back in." She dragged her feet to the old dusty couch in the corner, falling into its lumpy cushions and was instantly asleep before she could remember to set an alarm. She was dreaming of Regina's arms around her, the feeling of her breasts pressed against her back, and her warm breath against her neck when she fell onto the hard concrete ground.

"What the hell!" she groaned. It took her brain a few seconds to realize she wasn't in the Sheriff's Department anymore. It took her another second to realize she was laying on the sidewalk in the marina, the salty sea air whipping across her skin.

"Sleeping on the job, Sheriff? It's good to see the taxpayer's dollars are going to good use," Regina said, squatting down next to Emma. "You look tired, Miss Swan. Are you feeling well? Maybe you should just give up now, and save yourself the mountain of pain that is yet to come."

"Like I said before…" Emma said, pausing to stand "...I'm not giving up on you."

"I had a feeling you were going to say that," Regina said, rolling her eyes. "Follow me."

"Where are we going?"

"It's a surprise, Miss Swan." An evil smile spread across the Queen's face.

"Why do I get the feeling I'm not going to enjoy this surprise?"

"I can't imagine why." They walked in silence as Emma followed Regina down to the docks. Emma couldn't help but notice how Regina's long hair flowed down her back, curling naturally. She had only ever known Regina to have short hair, and although it had grown since they met, it was nothing compared to the long hair of the Queen. She had seen pictures of the Evil Queen in Henry's storybook, with her intricate and scalp pulling tight hairdos, but they all pale in comparison to Regina's long flowing hair as it blew in the wind.

She snapped out of her trance when she realized they were boarding the Jolly Roger. "Regina? What are we doing here?"

"Going to your surprise." Regina smirked. She saw hersurprisethe moment she stepped foot onto the ship. Killian sat against the mast on the main deck, his arms tied behind his back. His head was slumped forward and drops of blood dripped from his nose and onto his lap. He was definitely unconscious. "Oh shoot. Your surprise is still sleeping. Let's wake him up," Regina said, creating a large fireball in her right hand.

"Why don't you let me wake him. We wouldn't want to burn my surprise," Emma said sarcastically, taking a tentative step forward.

"What's the fun in that?" Regina asked.

A moment later Killian groaned, waking up on his own accord. "Swan? What's going on?" he asked, lifting his head to look at Emma and the Queen, revealing her broken and battered face. "What am I doing here?"

"Oh don't you remember, dear? You were at the Rabbit Hole last night, drinking and flirting with all the women you could see?"

"What? No," he said, shifting, finally realizing he was bound to the mast.

"Oh, I'm sorry, you wouldn't remember, would you. I removed your memories after I taught you a lesson, so you couldn't lie to Emma. It's a good thing I still have the dreamcatcher."

"Wait now, how do we know you didn't just fake those memories to get me into trouble with Emma?"

"Now why would I do that?" Regina asked, feigning insult. Without another word she handed the dreamcatcher to Emma, who started watching the memory unfold like a movie. She watched as Killian started flirting with another woman, the memory ending with the two walking out together, obviously off to do unspeakable things together.

"Swan, you have to believe me, none of that is true."

"But it is, Killian. Regina isn't lying," Emma said with a sadness in her voice when her lie-detector didn't ping with a lie.

"I'm sorry to be the one to have to tell you about his infidelity. But someone had to," Regina said. Emma didn't miss the sympathy in her voice.

"Thank you…" Emma said, her voice low. She paused for a second before continuing. "I think he's learned his lesson now. Untie him and let him free."

"Why? So he can cheat on you and sleep his way through Storybrooke? Not on my watch."

"Regina, it's not your place to offer justice. Cheating is not illegal. Let him go and I'll take care of him personally."

"That's no fun," Regina said with an evil chuckle and suddenly everything went fuzzy again. This time they reappeared in the middle of Main Street, standing right in front of the tree that had once been Robin Hood.

"Woah, you need to warn a person before you do that," she said, struggling to regain her composure from the sudden travel.

"I'm sorry dear." Regina smiled, shaking the bottle in her hand, an evil smirk on her face when they heard the faint sound of screaming coming from inside.

"Regina…what is that?" Emma asked, afraid of the answer.

"Oh this? This is just the Jolly Roger, trapped in a small bottle," Regina said, holding up the ship-in-a-bottle for Emma to see. She squinted so hard her eyes hurt and eventually was able to focus through the glass just enough to see a tiny Killian, still tethered to the mast.

"Alright, you've had your fun. Now turn him back," Emma scolded, which caused Regina to glare at her.

"I don't know what you see in him. He's greasy, unclean, and disgusting. He drinks like a fish and has a tendency to fondle anything with breasts. He's a horrible man, and you deserve better."

"Yes, all those things are true. But he doesn't deserve to be turned into a tiny pirate for any of that. Turn him back and I'll make sure he leaves town."

"Not good enough," Regina said, walking over to the Robin-tree and gently placing the glass bottle into the branches.

"Okay, you've had your fun. Now it's time to turn them both back."

"I have a better plan for them." Regina laughed, producing a large fireball in her right hand.

"Regina, please, don't do this. Once you kill them, there's no turning back."

"I've killed countless people in my time, Miss Swan. Killing two more pathetic men isn't going to change anything."

"It'll change you."

"I'm already changed, Miss Swan. And there's nothing you can do to stop me."

With an evil laugh, Regina launched the fireball onto the base of the tree, igniting the bark instantly.

"REGINA! WHAT HAVE YOU DONE?" Emma screamed, frantically trying to use her magic to put out the fire, only to find she had almost no magic left inside her. She watched as the flames rose up the trunk of the tree, moving closer and closer to the glass bottle that contained Killian. It was too late to save Robin, but it wasn't too late to save Killian. "Regina, please! Stop this!"

"I love the sound of you begging." Regina smirked. Emma didn't miss the twinkle in Regina's eyes.

"Fine, I'm begging you to please stop" The fire continued to rise, until the branch holding the bottle containing Killian caught. Emma looked away, unable to watch as the man she had been intimate with died a horrible death.

"Oh no, you mustn't look away. This is the best part," Regina said. A second later Emma could feel Regina's arms around her again, holding her in place from behind. "Watch as the men who wronged us burn to death," Regina whispered. Despite the heat radiating off of the fire in front of them, Regina's warm breath on her neck sent shivers down her spine. Emma tried to look away, only to have Regina hold her head in place, forcing her to continue to watch as the tiny ship inside the bottle was consumed in flames.

Emma couldn't say a word as she stood in front of the burning tree while Regina held her against her own body. She tried to focus on the feeling of having Regina so close, the feeling of the Queen's heart beating against her shoulder and the warm breath on her skin, and for a moment she forgot all about the death occurring in front of her. She felt Regina's free hand move slowly down her body, gently caressing the dark vines that covered her abdomen and legs, and for a few moments there was no pain. She closed her eyes for a second, not to block the fire in front of them, but as a way to capture the memory of this moment with Regina, desperate to remember this feeling forever.

The sound of glass exploding startled her from her back to reality. "That can't be good," Regina whispered. Emma shuddered at the sound of her raspy deep voice, which caused a small flutter of butterflies to erupt in her stomach. A moment later the entire tree was engulfed in flames, solidifying their deaths.

"Hey, what's going on?" Henry asked, startling them both from their shared moment.

"Henry, get back," Mary Margaret's voice added, as the two approached the woman.

"MOM! Put out the fire!" Henry shouted.

"I suppose you're right, Henry. They are just about finished anyway, might as well end the show a little early." She pulled away from Emma, releasing her face as she snapped her fingers. The sound of one final surge of flames drowned out Emma's slight whimper at the loss of Regina's body.

A second later, the tree and bottle were reduced to nothing more than a pile of ash.

Regina sauntered up to the ash and swirled her hand, creating a small tornado of cinders, directing every last fleck into a plain glass jar that she conjured into her hand. "Here, you should keep their ashes. I know you'll take good care of them, even if they don't deserve such pleasantries," Regina said, shoving the jar into Emma's hands. "Oh, and you might want this too…for sentimental value." Regina snapped her fingers to produce a silver hook. Killian's hook.

"Ma? Is that?" Henry asked. He didn't need to finish the sentence to understand what was happening.

"Killian is dead?" Mary Margaret asked, struggling to keep up with the situation.

"Yes, and so is Robin. He was the mysterious tree that sprouted a few days ago!" Regina declared, proud of her handiwork.

"Regina, what have you done?" Mary Margret asked.

"I rid the world of two wretched men. I did everyone a favor, if you asked me."

"That wasn't your decision to make," Emma said through gritted teeth.

"Don't worry, Savior, I doubt they suffered much. I'm sure Robin had lost all of his senses when I turned him into a tree. And Hook's body was so tiny inside that bottle, I'm sure he burned up rather quickly," Regina said, with no emotion in her voice.

"Regina, that's cruel, even for you," Mary Margaret said.

"Well I wouldn't be a very good Dark One if I wasn't cruel." Regina smirked.

"Mommy…please…stop this. Come with us and let us help you…" Henry begged.

Regina froze at the sound of Henry's voice. He stopped calling her mommy when he turned eight and was too big to use such a childish name, shortening it to Mom ever since.

"Mommy…please…" Henry said, his large eyes filled with tears. He rushed over and wrapped his arms around her waist, holding her so tight.

"I'm sorry to scare you, my Prince," she said, stroking his hair.

"Then let us help you," he cried, his tears staining the Queen's silk dress.

"I don't think there's anything you can do, my Prince. The Darkness is already inside of me."

"Kiss him," Emma said softly.

"Kiss me? Why?" Henry asked, pulling away from his mother's body.

"True Love's Kiss can break any curse, even the Dark One's Curse."

"Then why not Robin Hood? Before he…ummm…." Mary Margaret asked, her brain clearly struggling to comprehend.

"We tried that already. Robin failed. He wasn't her true love."

"And you think I am?" Henry asked, his voice sounded so hopeful.

"It worked for me when I broke the first curse by kissing you," Emma said.

Henry practically threw himself into Regina's arms, placing kiss after kiss on her cheeks, desperate to break the curse that plagued his mother. After planting ten kisses across her entire face, including a few dead smack on the lips, he pulled away, abruptly bursting into tears when he realized he had failed.

"Mommy…mommy I'm so sorry."

"Don't be sorry, my Prince. It's not your fault."

"Regina…" Emma whispered, taking the opportunity to plead with Regina once more now that her walls were down for a moment. "Please, let us help you."

"I'm sorry, my Prince," Regina whispered, kissing his forehead softly before turning back to Emma. "There's nothing you can do, Miss Swan! I don't need saving!" she said, straightening her back and standing tall like the Queen she was. "The offer still stands, Miss Swan."

"Not a chance!" Emma said with conviction.

"So be it. I'll see you soon then. Sleep well."

The next thing they knew, Regina was gone.

"Emma! Are you alright?" Mary Margaret asked, appearing at her side, trying to wrap her arms around her daughter.

"I'm fine," she said, shrugging Mary Margaret off before she discovered the vines that covered her body.

"Do you want to talk about what just happened?" she asked.

"No. No, I need to research. I need to find a way to break the curse. Can you watch Henry?" She didn't wait for her mother's response before taking off into a jog, completely ignoring the searing pain that shot through her legs every time her foot hit the pavement.

Regina's walls were starting to break down. Maybe there was still hope to save her after all.

Day Six

Regina slept most of the day. Hearing Henry call herMommyand begging her to let them help her had taken a bit of a toll on the Dark One's heart. "What are you still doing in bed?" Rumplestiltskin asked, appearing on the other side of the room as the evening sun began to set.

"Sleeping," she said, rolling over to face away from the apparition.

"Oh look at the big bad Dark One, laying in bed, feeling sorry for herself. I'm shaking, I'm so scared," Rumplestiltskin said, in a bored sarcastic tone.

"Will you leave me alone? I'm depressed," Regina said, tossing a pillow at the man only she could see.

"Oh boo-hoo. Your son is sad because you're different now. He'll come around, especially once he realizes just how powerful you truly are," Rumplestiltskin said.

"You didn't see his face. He's devastated," Regina said, shedding a silent tear.

"Of course I did, Regina. I'm you, remember."

"Oh…right…"

"He'll get over his fear eventually. Especially once that do-gooder is out of the picture."

"Yeah?" Regina asked, looking over her shoulder at the hallucination behind her.

"All the more reason to put an end to her, once and for all," Rumplestiltskin said, a strong harshness in his voice. "Once she's gone you'll have Henry all to yourself."

"Maybe he's better off without me," Regina said woefully.

"That's it. Enough of this pity party, Regina. Pick yourself up, dust yourself off and get out there and kill the bloody Savior!" Rumplestiltskin yelled, startling her slightly. "You're the most powerful being on the planet, Regina Mills. It's about time you started acting like it!"

"Fine! But I'm taking a bath first. Now go away so I can soak in the tub," she said, waving her hand, causing the hallucination to disappear. With a snap of her fingers the tub began to fill, turning off on its own a few minutes later when the bath was ready.

The hot water felt amazing as she allowed the warmth to seep into her muscles. She dozed off once more, waking only when the water had turned cold. Rumplestiltskin was lingering downstairs in her empty house, impatiently waiting for their next move.

"So, Your Majesty, what shall we do tonight?" Rumplestilkskin asked.

"Perhaps we should pay Miss Swan a visit," she said, without a second thought.

With a wave of her hand she disappeared, appearing in the center of the Sheriff's small office. Emma was hunched over her desk, sound asleep, her mind currently being plagued with a not so pleasant dream based on the way her body twitched and her face contorted in pain.

Regina stood in the center of the room and watched her sleep for a few minutes until a soft whisper of "Regina…please…" escaped Emma's lips.

"Don't worry, Emma…" Regina whispered, pushing a small lock of hair away from Emma's pale face. "...I'm right here…" Up close Regina could see the worry lines on Emma's face and the large and deep dark circles under each eye. Emma's normally pale skin looked even paler, giving her a sickly pallor, and her usual long and shiny hair looked flat and lifeless. Something pulled in her heart as she looked down at the sleeping Savior knowing that all of the woman's anguish was caused by her. "My my, sleeping on the job again, Sheriff? If this keeps up, I may have to re-evaluate your employment," Regina said, startling Emma awake.

"Regina…" she whispered.

"In the flesh." Only once Emma was awake and no longer laying on her desk was Regina about to see what she had been working on before she fell asleep. Old volumes were strewn across her desk, all with one common theme: The Dark One. It was clear that Emma had spent days researching the Dark One line, looking for her cure. "Well well well, what are we up on this fine evening?"

"Regina, you know what I'm doing," Emma answered. There was a softness to her voice that Regina could tell was more than just exhaustion. "Whether you like it or not, I'm searching for a cure to save you from the Darkness."

"And I've told you not to bother. I don't need saving, Miss Swan. I'm perfectly happy and content the way I am, thank you."

"I don't believe that, and neither do you. Deep down inside you don't mean it."

"Oh, but I do, Miss Swan."

"Then why did you cry yesterday when you were talking to Henry?"

"Because, no matter how powerful I am, I will always love my son, and I will always hurt when he hurts."

"That's true…" Emma said, standing from her chair and crossing the room to stand before the Queen. "...but I also think there's more to your tears."

"I assure you, it's simply Henry."

"And I think, deep down, you don't want this life. You want to be good. You just don't think you're worthy of people's love, so you hide behind the Darkness that was thrust upon you."

"I chose this life, Emma."

"No, you didn't. The Darkness chose you, not the other way around." Emma took another small step towards Regina.

"And why do you think the Darkness chose me, Emma? Why, out of all the people standing there that night, wasIthe one the Darkness chose?"

"Because you were the only one there who truly believed they don't deserve love. The only one who felt unworthy of love."

"That's not true…" Regina said with a slight quiver in her voice. Her walls were starting to crumble as Emma took another step forward.

"Regina…I've done more research in the last six days than I've ever done in my entire life. I know more about the Darkness than any living being, not even Gold. I know how it works, how it chooses its victims," she said, closing the gap between them. "I know why it chose you…"

"You don't know anything, Miss Swan!" Regina yelled, only to have the air knocked out of her lungs as Emma wrapped her arms around her torso, holding her in her arms. Emma held on to her tighter than anyone has ever held her before. "Let go of me, Miss Swan!" she yelled, trying to wiggle out of Emma's grasp.

"Is that what you really want, Regina? Do you want me to let you go?" Emma whispered. Regina took a deep breath and felt her ribs resist against Emma's strong embrace. She could smell the faint scent of Emma's coconut shampoo as the blonde held her tight.

"Let go of me, Miss Swan…" she said, her voice starting to crack with emotion.

"I don't believe you, Regina…"

"Let me go…"

"Regina…my super power might not always be reliable…but with you, I always know when you're lying…"

"Emma…" she whispered, as she felt Emma hold her tighter.

"I'm not giving up on you, Regina. As long as I'm alive, I will never give up on you…" Even in a low whisper, Regina could hear the sadness in her voice.

Regina's walls completely cracked when she felt Emma's tears drip onto her bare shoulder. Her hands grasped the back of Emma's shirt as she held the woman close, the vines that have now grown to cover Emma's chest dug into her own, causing a deep sob to escape her throat. Emma winced silently, even though Regina knew she was in tremendous and constant pain…because of her.

They sobbed in each other's arms for a few moments, the sounds of their cries filling the small room. "Let me go, Emma…there's nothing you can do to save me…let me go and take care of our son…" Regina cried.

"I'll never let you go, Regina. No matter what you do, I'll never stop fighting for you…" Emma paused to allow her words to sink in. "We can raise him together when I find a way to pull the Darkness out of you."

"No…Emma…" she said, dropping her hands from around the blonde, pushing the woman away from her slightly. "...we can't."

A second later her right hand was buried deep in Emma's chest and her fingers were wrapped around her heart. With a slight tug, she removed Emma's heart from her chest and held it tightly in her hand.

"Regina…" Emma said in shock, as her hand went to her own chest, where her heart had just been pulled out. "Regina, what are you doing?"

"Trying to show you that there's nothing left of me to save." Regina squeezed Emma's heart slightly, causing Emma groaned in pain.

"Regina, don't do this…"

"Give up, Miss Swan. There's nothing you can do to save me." Emma groaned again as Regina squeezed her heart a little more.

"I told you…I will never give up on you, Regina. Not as long as my heart is beating."

"I can change that," Regina said, squeezing once more, this time causing Emma to scream out in agony. "Give up, Miss Swan. There's nothing you can do."

"There's…always something…I can do…" Emma said through gritted teeth. "I will not…give up…on you…Regina…" She doubled over in pain as Regina continued to grip her heart.

"You will die, Miss Swan. By this time tomorrow you will perish by my hands. This is your last chance. I can end it all right now. I can end all the pain if you just give up the fight. Allow me to give you that kindness."

"No!" Emma shouted, falling to her knees as the pain in her chest became too great.

"You are stubborn, just like your mother," Regina said, squatting in front of Emma, lifting up her chin with her free hand. "Why won't you give up? Why must you keep fighting this losing battle? I'm offering you a swift and painless death, and yet you still insist on fighting. Why is that?"

"Because I believe that you're worth fighting for," Emma whispered. A spark shot through Regina's dark heart for only a second, as she released the vice grip around Emma's heart.

"You're wrong, Miss Swan…" she said as she shoved the delicate organ back inside Emma's chest. "I was never worth saving."

A/N:Woah, that was a doozy. Regina's walls are breaking down. Can Emma get through to her before it's too late?

What do you guys thing so far?