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She'd received a panicked few messages from Henry when she opened her phone again.
Henry: hey ma
Henry: could you come home?
Henry: like, now??
Henry: moms shut herself up in your bedroom, sounds like she's crying
Henry: she won't let me in or anything, and I know you have a key to the lock
Emma responded quickly, immediately worried for her girlfriend, and for her worried son.
Emma: yeah, kid, I'm on my way.
Emma: just keep an ear out for her, okay?
Emma: if it sounds like it's getting worse before I get back, call me.
Emma: I love you, I'll be home as fast as I can.
Henry: thnks, ma - ly2
Emma Swan was not a particularly panicky woman. She could keep calm under pressure, she'd faced beasts three times her size, but those messages from her 16-year-old son? Her heart was racing, she was sweating bullets. She was worried.
So she got home. Quickly.
And yes, she had broken a couple traffic laws on the way back to the mansion. So what? What was she going to do, pull herself over and give herself a speeding ticket? Pathetic.
She pulled up to 108 Mifflin Street, and did not stop to admire the front garden as she normally did.
In fact, as soon as the door was open, she was up the stairs - well, she had been conditioned to taking her shoes and jacker off at the door, but besides that, she was up the stairs immediately. She found her son, clutching his phone, sat on the floor by their closed bedroom door. She gave him a reassuring smile, and then offered him a hand up.
"Hey, kid - any triggers, or has she been pent up all day?" she asked quietly, pressing a kiss to her son's forehead as she spoke to him. She didn't want to neglect him and his feelings in this scenario. She sometimes worried for her kid, too - having her and Regina as parents. She wasn't trying to put them both down in general, but Emma could be reckless, and pretty panic-inducing herself, and Regina was sometimes so emotionally volatile that breathing too hard could set her off. She worried about how that was impacting them, their biggest priority.
And then she could hear Regina's muffled sobs through the door, and her heart just broke.
"She's been... well, agitated. You don't think it's because of your birthday tomorrow, do you?" the kid had a point. She was well-versed in her birth=story by now - big curse, magic tree etc. etc. But why would that make Regina upset? She'd said it herself, regret isn't really her thing.
"Maybe. Hey, if you're up to it, you could go grab us all some dinner from Granny's? My wallet is in my jacket pocket, on the coat hooks. Use my card, and you can buy whatever else you think we might need for a movie night, okay? I have a feeling tonight we're just going to need a good movie, and some quiet on set." she murmured, before kissing Henry's forehead again, and then gently patting his head.
"Alright, Ma, just... take care of her, okay? She needs you." Henry reminded her quietly, before disappearing down the stairs.
Emma sighed, and then tried the door handle to hers and Regina's bedroom. When she found it locked, she used the key attached to her necklace to unlock the door, and slowly push it open. The sound of Regina's crying stopped when the door was opened, likely because she didn't want Emma to see her vulnerable.
The room was dark - pitch black, despite the evening light casting a warm orange glow on the rest of the town. She supposed Regina had used her magic to make it darker in the room, which was okay.
As her eyes adjusted to the darkness, she saw her girlfriend. She was curled up on the bed, and Emma could see her shoulders shaking ever so slightly, from the force of her sobs. Slowly, she approached, and sat down on the bed beside her. She stayed there for a few minutes, listening as the brunette's breathing slowly calmed down in her presence. She said nothing, instead extending a hand and gently rubbing the other woman's back - she could feel that Regina was wearing one of her shirts, which she thought was adorable, but also kind of heartbreaking.
Eventually, she laid down beside Regina, one arm wrapped around her waist, and her other hand gently carding through her hair. Even though she had no clue what had set her girlfriend off today, she knew there was no way to really get it out of the brunette - she'd just have to wait until she was ready to share.
"Hey, my love," she murmured softly after a while, still just holding the other woman carefully. "Henry said you were having a bit of a day today." Emma didn't expect a response. Didn't even really expect the other woman to acknowledge that she was there. But then she did, and her heart broke more than she thought possible.
"I killed him." she whispered, her voice hoarse and thick with unshed tears. "Tomorrow is the day that I killed him." Regina didn't offer anything else. She was too exhausted to cry any more.
Now Emma had to put her practical thinking skills to the test. October 22nd is her birthday, meaning that today, October 21st... well, she knew that the curse was cast tomorrow. Did she remember how her girlfriend had managed to cast the curse? No. But she'd manage. Maybe... she didn't want to ask outright, in case she started another crying fit.
The Dark Curse - she never did ask about the ingredients. What did it take to cast the curse that had brought them all here in the first place? - and that was when it clicked. The heart of the thing you love most. Regina's father, Henry Sr. - her girlfriend had never told her about it specifically, but the door to Regina's vault was literally his coffin, so she supposed it shouldn't have been surprised.
"Your father." she pressed a soft kiss to her temple as they lay there, curled up in each others embrace.
"Yes. My father." Regina nodded, her voice cracking again. "And I killed him. My own father-" She was crying again, the soft sobs that really only came after severe exhaustion Emma supl was a testament to how much she loved the other woman - that she could tell wht her crying how it was, even when she couldn't really see her.
"Darling, darling, shhh." she soothed her quietly, sitting up slightly and pulling her girlfriend up with her so she was cradled in her lap.
"I know, I know. Why don't you tell me about him, hm? He sounds like a good man."
"He was the best. He was afraid to stand up to my mother properly, so he worked ways around her rules for me." Regina sniffled, resting her head on Emma's shoulder. "He introduced me to horses when I was 5-I had a little pony, and he taught me to ride, against my mothers wishes. He loved me, more than anyone else, even when I was the Evil Queen. He never judged me, never..." she paused, choking up again. "I killed him for the curse."
Emma's own eyes were misty as she heard her girlfriend talk about her father so tenderly - it was obvious that she had really loved him. And it broke her heart that Regina had managed to work herself up enough as the Evil Queen that the curse seemed like the only way she could get away from everything, even at the cost of her own fathers life.
"His sacrifice brought you here, Regina. Whilst, yes, murder is inherently wrong, and you did essentially traumatise yourself by killing him, he is why you're here. He is why you have Henry - hell, you even named him in honour of your father. He is the reason you met me. He shouldn't have had to die, but he did. Good has come from his sacrifice." Emma spoke softly, and made sure she kept her tone steady, so Regina could see her as her rock through all of this.
For a while, they sat in silence - Regina absorbing Emma's words, and Emma holding Regina as she thought. It would be peaceful if the atmosphere wasn't so heavy. After a while, though, Regina nodded.
"Yes. It has." she sounded teary still, and Emma could imagine her face - eyes red and puffy, yet still beautiful.
"We'll go to him tomorrow - or later, if you'd prefer. Get some pretty flowers, and hold a little memorial service, for you and whoever else you want there." she offered, still gently running a hand through the other woman’s hair.
"Emma, tomorrows your birthday, you shouldn't have to-" Regina was cut off by her girlfriend very quickly, who shook her head and pressed a finger to her mouth.
"Just because tomorrow is my birthday, doesn't mean that it all has to be about me. In fact, I'd rather pay tribute tomorrow than any other day, the day of my birth be damned." she huffed - it was a widely known fact that Emma was not exactly a fan of her birthday, and whilst yes, this was a ploy to get out of people talking about her for a minute, it was also the truth. She wanted to pay her respects to the man who had raised her girlfriend, to the man who loved unconditionally.
“Really? You’d… you’d be okay with that?” she looked up at her girlfriend, eyes wide and vulnerable.
“Of course I would, my love. A day that had so much impact on all of us can’t be coined just ‘as my birthday’. It was the day the curse was cast, the day Storybrooke was created. A lot happened on October 22nd.” she laughed softly, before Henry’s voice rang out across the house.
“Moms! I got food! Are you coming?”
“Henry.” both of the women mumbled at the same time, the smile obvious in their voices - and then they laughed at themselves.
She covered her girlfriends ears as she called out to him - not wanting to hurt her at all.
“We’re coming kid, just give us a minute!”
She then reached down a little, and took a gentle hold of her girlfriends chin, making her look up at her.
“I’m sorry for your loss, my love. But you’ll get through this. I know you will, because you’re strong. And I know for a fact that, despite everything, your father still loves you. And he always will.” she smiled, not trying to kiss her this time around. This was a pep talk.
Regina smiled, and then gently pushed herself up and off of the bed. She was dehydrated, so she stumbled a little, but Emma was there to support her. When she stepped into the light again, her eyes fluttered as they adjusted, and she realised what she was wearing - a very un-Regina attire of one of her girlfriends shirts, and a pair of sweatpants.
“You look beautiful, my love. No matter what. Come on, we can’t keep our kid waiting.” Emma pressed a light kiss to her temple again, and as they walked down the stairs, both of them wondered how they had ever gotten so lucky.