A/N: Oh my dear sweet swan queen, I can't believe this is actually finished. It's officially the longest thing I've ever written. As I am too tired really for a true author's note, I will say only that I am incredibly humbled by the people who have been following this story for so long, and I hope it lives up to your expectations.

It took nearly an hour and a return to rare, sarcastic form by Regina - "If you're so concerned about my condition, Sheriff Swan, I will be happy to provide you with first-hand knowledge of the process" - before Emma felt comfortable venturing outside of the cave to retrieve their supplies and intrepid animal companions. The Raven and Reindeer had wisely stayed out of sight until they heard Emma approaching; although they didn't know the specifics of the events that had taken place in the cave, the Raven had refused to budge from his perch unless his Queen or her companion came for him, and the Reindeer had no reason to argue. It was certainly better nose under the snow for grass than to face down an invincible dragon.

Spying Emma, the Raven cawed loudly.

"The mighty dragon is defeated! How is Her Majesty?"

Emma resisted the urge to roll her eyes. The Raven was a useful friend and companion, but he did have a tendency toward the dramatic.

"Regina's fine. I'm fine, for that matter. Everything that could possibly be fine, is fine." She heaved a couple of sacks over her shoulder and attached what she couldn't carry to the Reindeer. "It looks like we're going to be staying here tonight, if you guys wanna come in out of the snow." It still freaked her out a bit, if she was being perfectly honest. All this fairy-tale stuff. Most of the time she didn't think about it. Most of the time she was too busy not dying, or saving Regina from dying, to think about it. But every once in a while the awareness crept up on her, that the women she was saving at every turn was evil. That she had a mother and father. That her mother and father had killed people. That she knew a man who was really a cricket.

It made her head hurt.

It made her head hurt, and she knew she needed to sit down at some point and really think about it, but today was not going to be that day. Especially when she had a newly-very-emotional ex-Evil Queen to go take care of. And definitely when alcohol was in severe shortage.

Back at the cave, Regina had been busy setting up a makeshift campsite for them. A circle of gemstones ringed a crackling fire, and there was a wall of gold to blocking part of the front of the cave. It was quite possibly the most surreal thing Emma had seen since coming to this world, and that was saying something.

Like everything else, Emma chose to ignore it.

She slung the packs to the ground and began unloading. Their blanket, some food, some clay utensils the old woman had given them. grass for the Reindeer. It was a routine by now, one that Emma gladly fell into with only a few lingering sideways glances towards Regina. The other woman hadn't spoken since Emma had returned, and she seemed to have regained her usual imperiousness. That alone worried Emma. No one should be able to go through something as traumatic as physically putting their heart back in their body and look that put-together. Emma pretended not to notice when Regina smoothed out their pallets on the same side of the fire. She simply focused on poking and prodding the bags into makeshift pillows and didn't think about what it might mean. At all.

Was it like the other nights they had slept next to each other? When necessity had forced them into each other's personal space?

No. Emma shook her head to clear it even as she finished eating and curled against Regina's body for warmth, her heartbeat not new but somehow magnified in the wake of the day's events. She wasn't thinking about it, not even a little.

XxXx

"Emma."

No response.

"Emma."

"Huh? Wuzzat?

"Sheriff Swan!"

"I'm up! I'm up. Damn. What time is it?" For heaven's sake, it was still dark outside, although Emma didn't really know if that meant it was early or late.

"Time for you to wake up. Honestly, it's easier to get Henry up in the morning..." Regina trailed off and for a terrifying moment Emma wondered if she was going to start crying. However, the Mayor only took a short, sharp breath before composing herself and handing Emma a mug full of some hot liquid. Emma took a sip and moaned.

"Oh my god. Marry me."

"What?!"

"Shit. I didn't mean it like that. It's just-" Emma blushed.

Regina sipped from her own mug and wrinkled her nose slightly at the bitter taste.

"A figure of speech. I understand."

The blonde nodded, although privately she thought she might have meant it if they really were stuck in this world and Regina was her only chance of ever tasting coffee again. After so long it was practically orgasmic.

"How?" Complete sentences were for people who got caffeine regularly.

"Magic, dear."

"Hmm. Why?" Also, 'why the hell didn't you do this weeks ago,' but Emma had a feeling that she'd regret that statement very much.

The question seemed to confuse Regina and her cheeks flushed slightly.

"I wanted to."

XxXx

The sun was nearly down again by the time they reached the Snow Queen's palace. Trees had grown gradually shorter and finally faded away to snowy plains as they forged ahead. Every so often – Emma couldn't figure out Regina's schedule to save her life – the two women would switch places so that one could ride while the other walked.

Conversation, after the first interlude about the coffee, was minimal. Consequently Emma was starting to go a little insane. She was pretty sure she had never spent so much time in the company of another person without talking outside of a bed. Even then, there was something that approximated communication. Regina had apparently decided that the best way to deal with thirty years of repressed emotions was to not talk about it at all. Really, Emma mused, that sounded exactly like something the Mayor would do.

She nearly walked into a wall.

"You should really watch where you're going, dear."

"Or you could have warned me. A radical thought, I know."

Regina smirked. "Where would have been the fun in that? Now, this should be the outer perimeter of the Snow Queen's palace. With any luck we can avoid her guards and gain the element of surprise." She turned dismounted from the Reindeer's back gracefully and faced the two Animals. "This is where we part ways, my friends."

The Raven bowed, which was a strange sight in any world. "It has been an honor to fight at your side, My Queen."

Even the Reindeer nodded solemnly. "Now that I have repaid my dept, I will be able to rejoin my family. I believe that you will be able to find your son and do the same. Good luck to you both."

Regina turned to survey the palace, already dismissing the Animals from her single-minded focus on rescuing Henry. Emma couldn't be so severe; she didn't think she would ever be able to master these courtly relations, no matter what happened. Instead she pressed a kiss to the Raven's shiny head and hugged the Reindeer's rough, furry neck.

"Good luck, guys. Thanks for everything."

"Emma!" Regina was already several paces away from them, stealthily following the curve of the outer wall.

"Coming!" The Animals hadn't left yet, instead choosing watching the humans instead with wide, confident eyes. Emma couldn't think of anything more to say, though, so after a few moment of awkward silence she turned to join Regina.

Nearly a half-hour later, the Animals had completely disappeared into the snow and the two women happened upon a break in the wall. It wasn't much. Honestly. Emma had been expecting some sort of grand entrance, perhaps a giant gate with spikes and dozens of armed guards. She wasn't sure if she was disappointed or not.

Regina seemed to have no such problem, slipping through the gap and keeping her body low to the ground. It occurred to Emma that they really weren't camouflaged for winter ninja tactics in the leather and wool clothing that Regina had conjured up for them. White probably wasn't in Regina's set of magical dyes. Emma followed anyway.

"Wait." Regina grabbed at Emma's arm, pulling them up short about one hundred feet from the main palace grounds. "Something's wrong."

Emma nodded. She'd gotten that feeling, too, but hadn't wanted to say anything since she wasn't exactly practiced in storming castles. "It's too quiet."

"Exactly. If she didn't know we were here, there would be at least a few sentries around. And if she'd wanted to stop us..."

"She's expecting us." Emma started to look for an alternate entrance. "Maybe if we scale the inner wall over there...hey!"

Regina had risen to her full height and was striding confidently towards the heavy wooden doors that led to the main part of the palace. She looked every inch the queen.

"What the hell are you doing?"

"Haven't you ever played poker, Sheriff?"

"Of course I have, but not with my life!"

"What do you do when you don't have a hand to play?"

Emma rolled her eyes heavenward. Some day, some how, she was going to get Regina to say what she meant the first time. "I don't know. Have a drink?"

"You bluff."

She raised her arms and the doors sprang upon, sending shock waves through the pale blue walls. The doorway opened immediately on the throne room, a long, rectangular, low-ceilinged affair that reminded Emma of a combat bunker more than a royal palace. There was nothing that could pass for comfort within its walls, no furniture save for the giant throne of carved ice, covered in what looked like raw animal skins. The Snow Queen was seated on it and confident in her control.

Emma gasped. Henry sat on the bare, dry ice of the floor, flipping through his book as if his life depended on it. His clothes and hair were covered in frost and his skin tinged slightly blue. At least she could still see the mist of his breath when he exhaled.

Regina clearly saw him, too, and her steps faltered slightly.

Emma's first instinct was to run headlong at the figures, to place herself and her sword between her son and any possible danger, but Regina ghosted her hand over Emma's arm to remind her not to do anything stupid.

Not that Emma would have, of course, but the reminder that the other woman was there felt good.

Regina didn't spare her a glance, silently approaching the Snow Queen with that same powerful gait.

"Really, there are other ways to get my attention." She addressed the queen.

"I wanted to make sure you would come." The Snow Queen's voice was dry, soft and slightly thin, like a snake slipping through grass. Emma hated it immediately.

"Surely you could have simply sent a note? All of this chasing across the land, it's so...uncivilized."

The Snow Queen seemed amused, although Emma couldn't for the life of her figure out why. This was the first time she had seen Regina in full Evil Queen mode, and it was frankly kind of frightening. The complicated woman she had come to know, even the protective mother she had first met, had disappeared. Only a cruel shell was left.

"And the boy?"

"Merely a diversion." Regina waved her hand dismissively. "Nearly twenty years in the same place can get kind of – tiring, without some new blood."

Emma winced and cut her eyes in Henry's direction, wondering what Regina was playing at. He didn't seem to hear them, though – he was as absorbed in his storybook as ever. Damn. Something was very, very wrong; something more than the obvious, anyway.

"Indeed. I had wondered how you were enjoying the imp's curse." The Snow Queen rose, floating across the floor to more clearly confront Regina. Emma shifted further away from the two Queen's almost instinctively.

Wait.

Regina had crossed her hands behind her back casually, but she was frantically gesturing at Emma now that they were out of the Snow Queen's direct sight.

What?

Her fingers were fluttering, pointing almost at...oh. Henry.

Regina was distracting the Snow Queen in the hope that Emma could get to Henry. Carefully, Emma started edging towards the far wall, trying to make herself look as inconspicuous as possible. It was a long shot but maybe...if the Snow Queen didn't take her seriously, if Regina could keep her distracted, if Emma could get close enough. Too many ifs.

She slipped along the floor, torn between making a run for it and trying to move too slowly to be noticed.

Just a bit further and she could...

"NO!" Regina cried suddenly, and Emma gasped as the breath was forced out of her lungs. Her feet left the ground and she was writhing, twisting in midair.

It wasn't like anything she'd ever heard of, really. Her life didn't flash before her eyes. She didn't see a white light – or the fires of hell. Adrenaline surged through her as soon as her body realized that there was no oxygen. She struggled frantically, but there was nothing for her hands to claw at, and her boots found no purchase. No zen state, no sudden realization of her purpose in life. She felt fear. All-encompassing, driving, animal fear.

And then...nothing.

XxXx

"Emma!" Regina couldn't keep her pretense up as she watched the blonde's body crumple to the ground and she automatically moved toward her. Distractedly, she sent a fireball toward the Snow Queen, but it was merely waved away like an annoying insect.

Which was, Regina realized, probably a fair assessment of her position at this moment.

"Henry!" She didn't know whether she was trying to get his attention or warn him – both – neither, but a blast of magic sent her flying against the walls. The ice – living and breathing and, oh no, Emma – cracked and reformed around her wrists, pinning her.

"Now there will be no more distractions." The Snow Queen's voice did not betray her emotions, if indeed she had any. Her face was as smooth as the ice that surrounded them, and Regina was overwhelmed with the urge to mar it, to claw at it with her bare hands and watch it crack.

"Did you really think you could get away from it, Regina Mills? You, who know better than most the price of magic?"

"I paid it! Please...please, let him go."

"You killed your father, yes, but you paid only the imp. Isn't it always so, that when you make deals with him what he takes is far more than you are expecting? The power of magic must always be balanced, or this world and perhaps others will be destroyed. Or are you so foolish that you thought you could simply remove hundreds of people and vanish into thin air?"

"Then leave Emma and my son out of this." Regina growled. "And take me. If it is my price I will pay it."

"It has always been written that the curse would break if the savior died. When you cast it, you assured her death. There must be balance in all things."

"Why the illusion, then? Why not simply bring us here in the first place? Why send us through the witch and the bandits? Why, damn you?"

"A story may not skip to the end simply because we wish it so. I needed you both. She was not ready to be the savior yet; she had to be tested, to be forged. And you needed to regain what you had once put away. Now the circle is complete. Now we may end it."

Regina whimpered, her mind flashing to a time before the curse was enacted. A time when she would have given almost anything to make sure that Snow White's child would never be a threat to her. A time when she would have killed Emma herself.

She knew she would never be that woman again. Twenty-eight years had changed her. Henry had shown her again what it was to love another person. And Emma...

"What-what will you do?"

"You paid for the curse with blood; now that it is broken, your blood will help heal this world."

"You're going to kill me."

"Yes."

"And Henry?"

"I am not unmerciful. The boy is under an enchantment; he doesn't even know you're here. He will not see you die, and he will be sent unharmed to the other world."

Regina allowed herself a breath of relief. Even though she had lost him in spirit almost a year ago, Henry would live. Emma was d- Emma was gone. The curse was broken.

"I relent."

"Then prepare yourself."

Regina gazed upon her son's face for the last time. He was still turning the pages in his book, his lips moving silently over the words.

"Henry. My darling baby boy. I hope you can hear this somehow; I hope you'll remember." She smiled. "No matter what anyone tells you, I do love you."

Henry's movements paused, his eyelashes fluttering. A single tear slipped down his cheek. So cold was it in the palace of the Snow Queen that the tear froze the moment it left his skin, hardening like glass, light twisting and refracting in its depths before it shattered on the floor.

"Mom?"

"Henry!" Regina cried. "No, please. Don't let him see...make him forget."

"Forget what? Mom, what's going on?" He looked around, spying Emma motionless on the floor and dropped his book in his haste to rush to her side. Regina choked back a sob. "Please..."

But the Snow Queen did nothing, gazing at Regina appraisingly.

"I admit I did not believe you capable of it."

"W-what?"

"Your love for your son has broken my spell. The love of a mother for her child, purer even than that between lovers. Perhaps you have learned something in your isolation." She waved and the ice that held Regina to the wall receded, leaving her in a rather undignified position on the floor. Near the dias an archway appeared, the surface shimmering like a mirage.

"Perhaps you are deserving of a second chance, after all."

The words struck Regina like a physical blow.

"You're letting us go?"

"Where hate has destroyed, love may often heal. I will not lie to you; it will be hard. You will still suffer. But you may try."

The Snow Queen disappeared in a flurry, leaving Regina and Henry alone in the palace.

XxXx

"Mom, Mom! Emma won't wake up; you have to help her, please!" Henry was shaking Emma frantically, as if he could will her into animation if he tried hard enough.

"I can't, Henry. She's gone."

"NO! You have to do something!" Fat tears rolled down his face as Regina took his hand.

"There's nothing I can do. Sometimes stories don't have happy endings."

His small head suddenly shot up. Stories. Happy endings. That was it!

"You have to kiss her."

"What?"

Honestly, why were adults so dense sometimes?

"In the stories, true love's kiss always brings someone back to life. Why didn't I see it before? It makes perfect sense. Emma's your true love."

"Henry...She's – I'm not her true love. It's not possible."

"Why won't you even try?" Henry nearly stamped his foot in frustration. "Just, just try. Once. Please Mom, I promise – if it doesn't work..."

Regina sighed, pushing soft brown hair back from his face. A face that was so like his mother's. So like Emma's. For him, she would try the impossible.

Slowly, gently, as if even the prospect of this working frightened her, Regina kissed Emma's cooling lips. There was no pulse of magic, no breath of life. A sob caught in Regina's throat and her hand tightened around Henry's.

"Henry, I-" I'm so sorry, she wanted to say. I'm sorry I couldn't be enough.

Henry pressed his face into his mother's shoulder as she remained kneeling over Emma's lifeless body.

"It's okay, Mom. I know." He tried to hide his tears. It was important to be strong for his mom, he knew. What kind of fairy-tale hero's son would he be if he broke down in front of her now?

"Hey-" A cough. "Who died?"

Two pairs of red-rimmed brown eyes focused wildly on Emma. Emma, who was living and breathing and looking very, very worse for the wear. Emma, who had suddenly realized that maybe now was not the time to be joking.

"Shit. Who died?"

A strangled sound tore its way from Regina's throat and she bit down sharply on her hand in an attempt to keep her emotions at bay. It was...impossible. She never thought, never knew… the brunette swayed slightly as a wave of helpless relief washed over her.

But it was true. Emma was here, alive and real, with her arms full of squirmy ten-year-old and a confused but happy expression on her face. It occurred to Regina that she had never seen anything more beautiful.

"You died, Emma!" Henry cried. "You died, but Mom saved you. She brought you back!"

"Let Emma catch her breath, dear." Regina admonished. It was a fruitless gesture, though, as Henry didn't seem to have any intention of letting go of the blonde. Not that she could blame him.

"I died? But how-"

Henry, with a child's remarkable ability to adapt, managed to pull away long enough to give her a look that said he thought she was being particularly obtuse. "True love's kiss. It's the most powerful magic of all."

Green eyes sought brown, but the other woman wouldn't meet her gaze, ducking her head as her face flashed red.

"Regina…you…"

"I – I suppose. And you…?"

Emma gestured to her animate state with a wry smile. "Looks like it. What happened to the Snow Queen?"

"She gave me a second chance. And a way home." She pointed to the empty arch in front of them. Emma raised an eyebrow at her. There was clearly a lot that Regina was leaving out, and she had every intention of dragging the rest of the story out of her as soon as they were home and safe.

"Emma, you need to know – when we return, the curse will be broken. Everyone will know who they really are. They'll know what I did."

"We'll protect you, Mom!" Henry piped up. "Emma's the savior. She'll take care of it."

Emma laughed, pushing herself to a standing position and ruffling Henry's hair.

"That's right, kid. Saving your Mom's kinda my thing now." She drew Regina into her arms; the other woman was shaking and looked like she was still in shock. Dead. She had been dead; actually, really dead. And Regina had awoken her with a kiss, just like in a fucking fairy tale. Maybe shock wasn't such a bad thing to be in right now, Emma thought, but she quickly re-focused on the trembling woman, lowering her head just enough to whisper in her ear.

"Hey, it's gonna be okay. I'm fine."

"I thought – I thought you were gone."

"Nah, you know me. Harder to get rid of than a bad habit."

Regina chuckled lightly. "I don't know. What about all those different places you bounced around to?"

"I'm never going to live that down, am I? Damn, woman." She tightened her embrace around Regina and inhaled slightly, reveling in the scent and feel and overwhelming comfort of it. It wasn't something she'd been looking for, no. It had crept up on her, during long cold nights of sleeping next to each other and days of sniping that had turned into teasing, and then to something else. Something she hadn't had a name for until now.

"You weren't there."

"Hmm?"

"All those places I went, you weren't there. So I left."

Regina pressed a loving kiss to Emma's jaw and let out a ragged breath. These feelings, once suppressed but now shockingly acknowledged, were going to take some getting used to.

"Go get your book, Henry. We should leave soon."

Henry jogged over to the icy dais, picking up his story book and brushing off the few crystals of ice that still clung to its cover. The embossed gold lettering glinted up at him, refracted through the snow. 'Once Upon a Time.' There were no more blank pages to be discovered, no more stories he didn't already know. He had read the book cover to cover, had memorized every word, searching for a way home that he had never found. Glancing back at his mothers, wrapped up in each others arms, he wondered if the Snow Queen had lied to him. No. Not really. He had found something, although it wasn't what he had been looking for. The fairy tales in the book might have been real, once, but they were over now. Just stories. He was living his own fable now, with a wicked queen and a savior and true love and even dragons. Best of all, this time he got to be the hero a little bit, too. What more could an almost-eleven-year-old boy want?

Henry placed the book on the Snow Queen's throne, nudging it into a perfectly even square in the same way he arranged his comic books at home. It didn't have anything else to tell him.

He didn't need it anymore.

XxXx

"Just so we're clear, this doesn't mean I like you." Somehow, the words didn't have their usual bite, though that might have been due to the small half-smile tugging at the edges of Regina's mouth. Emma, never one for subtlety, grinned widely. They were about step into a completely different world where there would very likely be an angry mob calling for Regina's head, and Emma would come face-to-face with the parents who had abandoned her twenty-eight years ago in order to save her from a curse cast by the woman she was currently head-over-heels in love with.

Somehow, with one arm draped over her son's shoulders and the other around her true love's waist, none of that mattered. This was what family felt like.

This was what home felt like.

So Emma grinned and kissed Regina thoroughly, reveling in the magic that skittered across her skin at the contact. It had always been between them, she realized, even when they couldn't stand to look at each other or be in the same room without fighting.

"Well that's good, because I don't like you either."

Suddenly having a destiny didn't seem so bad.