A/N: Special Thanks to Child of Moon for reading this over first!

This chapter was written upon request. I hope you like it! :)

"REGINA!" Came a shout from the first floor, but this shout fell deaf upon the queen's ears.

The door to the master bedroom flung open and a blonde woman wearing a red leather jacket burst into the room, closely followed by a ten year old boy.

"I told you she'd be here." Henry whispered, a half smile across his face.

Emma had said Regina would be too smart to come back here because this is where the townspeople would come to look for her first, yet here she was, apparently sleeping of all things.

"Yeah, I'm sorry Henry I should've listened to..." Emma trailed off as she was hit with a sense of foreboding, something wasn't right.

"Mom?" Henry moved towards his adoptive mother but Emma raised her arm in front of him.

"Wait, Henry stay back for a minute okay?"

"Why?" He looked up at her in confusion.

"Just do it Henry, please."

Emma tentatively stepped forward.

"Regina?"

"... Regina?"

"Emma what's wrong?" Came a small voice from behind her.

Emma sat down and tried gently shaking the mayor, and when that didn't work she tried again, a bit more forcefully. When there was no response she glanced back at the ten year old briefly, wishing he wasn't here to see this.

Emma's heartbeat increased as she lifted her hand to Regina's neck and tried to find the pulse that she was positive wasn't going to be there. Emma's eyes grew forlorn when hen her assumptions were proven correct.

"Henry..."

"What is it? What's wrong with her?" Henry asked, frightened.

Emma shifted her position and was greeted with a sharp pain. She held up a frame and felt her heart sink as she saw the picture of Henry and Regina, there was blood smeared on the glass.

Putting it down she looked back at Regina, trying to keep her breathing steady. A delicate hand brushed back raven strands to reveal a pale, but peaceful looking face. Her skin was still warm. Regina looked as if she was simply sleeping. Some of her eye make-up had run but otherwise she looked almost the same as usual.

"Mom?" Henry's voice cracked.

Emma lifted back the blankets and gasped, seeing the mess that was revealed.

"What?!" Henry asked, he rushed forward to try to see his mother but Emma grabbed onto him and held him close.

"Henry we're too late. She's gone."

"No! She can't be! There has to be something that can save her!"

From Emma's arms Henry stared at his mother heartbrokenly.

"I'm sorry Henry."

A pounding could be heard from the front door. From the citizens of Storybrooke trying to seek revenge on their queen. Emma and Henry had arrived just in time to stop the mob from storming into the house. The two had managed to get passed the crowd and Emma had managed to keep them at bay, trying to convince them that killing Regina was not the answer. Back at the hospital they had heard the commotion from outside and saw a mob forming, Archie had run into the building looking for Emma to ask for her help to stop them. Presently he was in the mayor's front yard still trying to calm the crowd's rage.

"This is all my fault," Henry sobbed. "I wanted the curse broken."

"No. Henry don't say that. This wasn't your fault."

He thought back to when they were all in the hospital. Remembering when his mother had left. When she was leaving the room... he should have seen it in her eyes. He had thought she was just upset over the curse breaking, but that wasn't it.

She was scared.

That had been the last time he would ever see her, and he had let her down.

He should have told her they could protect her. He should have told her that he loved her.

He hadn't realised that in that moment she'd desperately needed to hear him say those words. For so long he had believed she didn't love him. He never considered the fact that maybe she had the same doubts about his love for her.

"Emma please save her..." Henry sobbed into his birth mother's jacket.

xXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXx

As Regina regained consciousness she became aware of the soft surface beneath her, and of the warm, sweet smell of the surrounding area.

What happened? Had she failed?

A quiet, sleepy groan emitted from her throat as her eyes fluttered open. She was met with a blinding brightness, she couldn't see anything but the outlines of the things around her.

Where was she?

Involuntarily, she gave a frightened gasp as she pondered the notion that maybe she hadn't succeeded, and the townspeople were still coming for her. Even if they decided to leave her to her misery she couldn't bear to live without Henry. To see him live, happy with another mom. Another family.

"It's okay, your safe," came a male voice. She could feel a subsequent hand on her arm, trying to keep her calm.

"Henry?" She asked, her senses still a little fuzzy from just waking up.

"No, I'm sorry Regina he's not here. It's Daniel."

"Daniel," she breathed. "How...?"

She shut her eyes tightly and then opened them again, urging her pupils to adjust.

"Take it easy Regina," came Daniel's soft voice. "You've just been through a lot. The adjustment takes some getting used to."

"What... what adjustment?" Her brown eyes now met his kind blue ones.

He smiled sympathetically and ran a gentle hand through her hair. "You're dead Regina." He said softly.

Her expression saddened. She had succeeded.

She reached up for him and without hesitation he took her into his embrace, knowing it had been far too long since anyone had shown her any affection. He could feel her trembling and so he began to rub her back comfortingly.

For the next few minutes they simply enjoyed being in the other's arms once more.

"Where are we?" Regina whispered into the curve of Daniel's neck.

"It's a place in between the land of the living and the afterlife. It has many names, but I prefer the term limbo."

"Limbo?" Regina looked around at the trees, blue cloud-filled sky and soft green grass. "It looks just the same as Earth. Or the Enchanted Forest."

"It suits whatever we are accustomed to, it can look different to whoever visits it. But we can't stay here forever. That's why I'm here. To help you."

"With what?" Regina reluctantly pulled away from him to look him in the eyes.

He smiled reassuringly and held out his hand to her to help her stand up.

"You can either decide to move on, and come with me. We could live together forever, if that's what you want."

Regina's eyes searched his. Hers were desperate. That sounded perfect.

"What's the other choice?"

"You can go back to Earth, or the Enchanted Forest. Both in fact. You can visit either one whenever you wish. But essentially you will be nothing more than a ghost. You will be able to see your son but he won't be able to see or hear you. It can be a tempting choice, many people think it would be like going home but it isn't. Most people who choose that path end up miserable, they feel like they should be a part of the world, but everything and everyone is just out of their reach."

Regina looked at him sadly. "If I come with you... will I never get to see Henry again?"

He cupped her face delicately with his hands. "You will, but from afar. You will still be able to watch over him, I promise."

"I'll still get to see him grow up?" She said hopefully.

"Yes." He smiled.

The corners of her mouth lifted into a small smile. "Then of course I want to come with you."

She wrapped her arms around him and melted into his embrace.

She looked up into his eyes as he wiped away a few tears from her cheeks with his thumbs.

"Daniel... I've missed you so much. You're the only person who's ever loved me for who I am. "

"I've missed you too Regina. And I'm sorry I wasn't able to be there for you in these last few months, I know how much you've had to go through."

Regina suddenly remembered the dream she'd had earlier. "Daniel, are you... I've done terrible things, hurt so many people after you were taken from me. How can you still stand by me, knowing all the pain I've caused?"

"I know deep down you have a good heart. You just needed someone to love you."

"I had Henry's love, but I ruined everything. By the time I realised he was slipping away it was too late. He doesn't love me anymore."

Daniel's watched her sympathetically. "I want to show something." His arms left her waist.

Regina wiped her eyes and allowed him to lead her hand-in-hand to a nearby pond.

"What's this?" She asked, her voice a little thick with emotion.

"This will allow you to see what's going on in the mortal world."

"Why would I want to see that?" Regina's voice betrayed a slight horror, she thought about what she might see. The last thing she'd heard was the townspeople smashing through one of the front windows of her home.

"I wouldn't do this unless I thought it would help. Trust me."

He indicated that she should look into the water, and with some hesitation she complied.

The water began to ripple, and images began to appear. Once the water had steadied a bit Regina recognised her own bedroom. She could see herself still in the same position as before, covered by the blankets she had used to try to make herself feel safer.

"Is that...?" A hand raised to her mouth as she saw the other figures in the room. Emma Swan was sitting on the edge of the bed. Beside her was Henry, he was lying parallel to Regina, on top of the bedclothes. He appeared to be hugging her, and his whole body was shaking with sobs.

Regina's eyes shone with tears as she watched the scene unfold. Her heartbroken expression met Daniel's briefly before he nodded for her to keep watching. She felt a much needed arm placed around her shoulder as Daniel moved closer to her.

Emma moved across the room to talk to the two people she had just discovered were her parents. Regina and Daniel saw Henry lift his head as Emma left his side. He sat up and stared glumly down at the lifeless body of his mother, tears streaming down his face.

"Daniel..."

"I know."

Henry pushed back some of the hair away from Regina's face. "I'm sorry mom." They heard him say.

The Regina that was watching hid her face against her fiancé's chest, she couldn't watch any more.

"I'm sorry..." Daniel said softly. "I know that was hard to see. But I wanted to show you that Henry still cares deeply for you."

All Regina could manage to do was nod. He was right. It was painful to watch, but... Henry still loved her. That meant more to her than anything.

Regina looked up at Daniel with the most heartbreaking of expressions. He knew what she was thinking. Now that she knew Henry still cared, she was regretting her final actions.

He wrapped his arms more protectively around her. "If I could have done anything to stop you I would have. But there was nothing I could do."

Regina's arms tightened around him.

"Did I do the right thing in showing you?"

His eyes met hers and she actually gave a small, but very happy smile.

"Yes you did. Thank you Daniel."

"You're welcome Regina." He said softly. "So what do you think, are you ready to go?"

Regina felt more tears fill her eyes. She gave a shaky smile as she nodded. His arm encircled her waist and she wrapped her arm around him in turn.

"Let's go home."

A/N: Thank you for reading, reviews are always welcome and are much encouraged!