A/N : This fic is yet another idea thrown at me by Velace (go read her stuff…) based on a gif over on Tumblr created by SaviorQueen. A huge thanks to Velace for being a sounding board on this one because it was supposed to be more crack and smut. Somehow, it ended up very different than expected. Hopefully in a good way and folks will like it.

This fic is set immediately following "Ariel, S3.06" (and contains spoilers for S3 up to that point) and it is what I think should happen… it was written before S3.07 aired so… it will be interesting to see how different mine will be from what A&E do.

To my usual readers and followers - I am hoping to have another chapter of The Prophecy ( s/9502781/1/The-Prophecy) up next weekend. I apologize for pre-empting with a one-shot...

and for the usually, official disclaimer:

No official beta, so all mistakes are mine. Special thanks to Renienne for being an in-house personal super-beta. All mistakes are still mine.

Disclaimer: All characters are the property of their respective copyright holders. As always, I own nothing but my own imagination, and am just borrowing those who populate my tale. This work is not intended to violate any copyrights, and is for entertainment purposes only and not for profit.

Truth Within the Echo

Regina arrives late the following afternoon from her departure from the group. She stands at the tree-line, unobserved for several moments as the group engages in intense arguing. Snow is clearly angry at Charming, shooting down whatever suggestion he has and snidely observing "of course you would" whenever he'd agree with Hook, who was advocating that they needed to try to negotiate with Pan. Neal is meanwhile going all macho warrior advocating a planned attack on Pan while simultaneously claiming they can't kill any lost boys, nor can they include his father in any plan. While the group sits in a rough circle around a low burning fire, Emma has separated herself and is clearly withdrawn, scratching at a patch of dirt with a long stick, seemingly uninterested in the idiocy going on in front of her.

Neal's voice rises up above the others. "Negotiating with Pan doesn't work, Hook, and you know that. It didn't work with when your brother was here, it didn't work in your lame attempt to protect me, and you know it isn't going to work now, yet you keep pushing the idea." At those words Hook sneered but Neal ignored it. "The only way is to plan an attack, grab Henry and make a run for it. We can't trust my old man, but maybe Regina, because she seems to care for Henry. Maybe we can use her magic to our advantage."

Regina steps from the trees. "Oh yes; let's just use the woman we all hate for our stupid suicidal plans to save her son without consulting her, after shooting down every idea she's had."

She feels all the eyes turn to her as she continues. "And may I say what a brilliant plan it is coming from the imbecile who was on the island all of fifteen minutes before being captured by the brigade of overindulged teen boys and their leader who can't even shave yet — which would explain your apparent inability to groom properly."

"Regina, that isn't fair. Neal is —," Snow says.

But Regina waves her off. "Please, I've seen turkeys on a farm who were better able to evade capture than our former island expert. I do hope his navigation skills are worth the effort because from where I'm sitting his escaping this island the first time was most likely a mere fluke."

Hook has a grin on his face but it withers as Regina throws a glare his way. She looks across the clearing and although Emma's head is down and her hair prevents her from seeing her face, Regina is confident from the slight up and down movement of her shoulders, that she is laughing.

"But, while you were off doing whatever it was you did to rescue the man, who among his other flaws was engaged to the woman who kidnapped Henry, Rumplestiltskin and I have put a plan into action."

Neal stands up and shuffles a bit before he says, "You can't trust him."

"I do not. But I know him well enough to know that he is useful."

"What plan?" Charming asks while Snow continues to glare at him.

"Well, sharing the details is not necessary at this point. Suffice it to say that when what we need arrives I'll receive a signal — perhaps not as quick as Snow blurting out a just shared secret, but efficient all the same. We will go collect the item in question then finalize a plan to neutralize the evil boy wonder, get Henry back and go home."

Snow's glare is now focused on Regina, which makes her want to smile, but she contains her enthusiasm at Snow's discomfort for the moment.

"I am not convinced of the wisdom of keeping the details from us, Regina," Hook says.

"To prevent Pan from learning from you idiots — who, if memory of the last week serves me correctly, have been captured and used as bait, been visited by Pan and fed suspicious information, has a life-long disability of Tourette's Syndrome when it comes to secrets, and has been given a map that is like trying to use Google Maps on the moon. Did I miss anyone?"

Snow stands and walks away from Charming, looking first at him, then back to Regina. Regina looks at Emma who shrugs. "He failed to mention that he'd been hit by one of the Lost Boy's poisoned arrows, and he and Hook conveniently also failed to tell anyone that Hook healed him but in the process doomed him to be stuck in Neverland."

"Looks like those shepherding skills may come in handy after all. At least you'll be with people who share your mental age," Regina says. Everyone has at least the courtesy to look ashamed of themselves. Except Emma. Emma just looks like she's done with the whole group of them, which makes her wonder what happened today. No sooner than the thought comes to her than Emma has disappeared into the jungle. She moves to follow but feels a hand on her forearm. She turns and glares at Hook. "She's had a rough go since yesterday. Let her cool off."

"Explain, and take your damned hand off me."

He gives a weak smile. "Yes, I know, or I'll need another hook."

"No, you'll need a basket to carry your head in."

He nods and motions for her to follow him away from the other three.

As the waning light deepens the shadows in the already dense jungle, Emma walks back a short distance the way they came then veers off the path and makes her way through the foliage to the cliffside where she can watch the sun set and have a few moments of peace and quiet. Between Hook's constant innuendos, Snow's glaring at David and his hangdog expression she was ready to throw things at them, so she left. She refuses to even go down the road of Snow's secret, and every second she thinks about Neal's damned longing looks and apparent inability to hear anything she said after the statement 'I knew I never stopped loving you,' makes her blood boil. It's as if the rest of what she said had just disappeared into the same void he had existed in for ten years.

The only remotely good thing about the last twenty-four hours was Regina returning with an apparent plan. Until she saw Henry's mother standing there sniping at everyone, she hadn't realized how unsure she was that Regina would return. She knew she'd fallen yet again into one of Pan's traps and she needed to be alone, to not think about how much she was mucking this whole rescue up.

Sitting on a large flat rock overlooking the deep valley, she can almost appreciate the beauty of the landscape. Almost. The fact that they are in the middle of a game whose rules keep changing and that Henry is still out there somewhere takes away from the appeal of the scenery.

Emma picks off a damp leaf stuck to her shirt and can't help but think about the fact that they have been out here a week and outside of that one small pond they found, haven't had much more than a sponge bath. Her clothes are grungy, and while she never was a real stickler for making sure every shirt was worn only once between washes, this was getting extreme. That thought leads to her next thought which is that somehow Regina always appeared just a bit fresher than all of them. Emma comes to the conclusion that Regina is using magic. Maybe not big, fancy, noticeable magic, but just enough.

Her thoughts drift to the evening lessons Regina has been giving her, wondering if there is something she can do to clean up a bit. Magic is all about emotion and right now her level of disgust is high. Emma concentrates on that feeling and can feel her magic welling up causing a slight tingling sensation. Then she thinks about her clothes being clean. After a moment she opens her eyes but doesn't see any tell-tale pale smoky residue. She pulls on the hem of her top and looks down, only to see the same sweat stains. "Damn it," she says aloud to no one in particular.

For the next five minutes she continues to try with no success, her frustration growing with each failed attempt. Then she tries another tact, thinking about her dirty clothes disappearing and being replaced by a clean version of the same, because it will be too obvious to everyone else what she has done if she shows up like Gold did on the ship with a whole new outfit. Unfortunately, that doesn't seem to work either.

Finally she growls in irritation, "How the fuck hard can it be to make clothes disappear," but as soon as the words leave her mouth she feels the magic, then the cooling air against her skin. Her hand flies to her mouth but not before an "Oh, fuck me," escapes.

She doesn't need to look down to confirm that she is now naked in the middle of the Neverland jungle, clothes no where in sight. Her stomach knots and she can feel the pulse pounding in her veins. "Okay, think," she says trying to remain calm. If she made them disappear, surely she can make them reappear. She concentrates but doesn't feel even the faintest tickle of magic. With each passing second her panic grows. "Ugghh. This can't be happening. Where the fuck did they go?" she yells, throwing a rock she happens to grab.

Then she realizes that she's never been able to magic even the smallest of objects more than a few yards away so she begins to search the surrounding area, parting leaves and fronds, looking up at branches above and even lifting the occasional rock, all to no avail. Near frantic, she rushes across the small clearing to search the other side but pulls up short of almost barreling into Regina.

Emma, like so many times before finds herself in the woman's personal space, but the look on Regina's face is one she's never seen. It is one of surprise, shock even. But as she tries to stutter out some explanation, the expression in front of her changes. Regina's eyes drop uncomfortably low, then dart back up as the corner of her mouth quirks up and one eyebrow rises. "Lose something?"

Regina tries to keep a straight face as the blonde takes a quick step back and flushes.

"No… well, yes… kind of…"

At this, Regina can't help but laugh. "Oh, dear, how did you manage this—" she says, waving her hand up and down Emma's exposed form. "—inconvenience," she finishes as she moves past her into the clearing, intentionally allowing her shoulder and arm to brush briefly against the naked woman.

Emma shivers slightly at the touch then hopes that Regina hasn't seen it or misinterprets it if she has.

When Emma turns again, Regina has another look she has never seen before: a look somewhere between finding this amusing and, oh god, Emma realizes what the look is. "Come on, it's not funny," she says, recognizing she sounds like she is whining.

"That's not what I was thinking," Regina says, surprising herself.

Emma shifts awkwardly and her arms start to move to cover herself, but as Regina's eyebrow goes up she decides better of it, and straightens up. She's been in plenty of locker rooms in her life, and really, this wasn't' any different, she thinks, trying to convince herself.

"Instead of standing there, you could help."

"I'm not sure how, since I'm not even sure what you did," Regina says trying not to stare at the woman's breasts or the curve of her hip, or toned thighs that come together at the patch of—

She snaps out of her very sexually charged thoughts as Emma hands go up in exasperation. "Kind of obvious, isn't it."

Regina starts to laugh. "The results are, but what I'm asking is what you did, what you were thinking about when you did it," she tries to explain to the flustered, flushed woman.

"What difference does it make?" Emma says, louder than intended as her frustration level rises again. "Can't you just get my clothes back?"

"Unless you transported them to a void or they burst into flames, then yes. But why would I want to?" Regina asks as her eyes once again drift up and down the blonde's well toned body. "Perhaps I can think of better things to do."

Emma feels herself flushing at the tone and implication of Regina's response. "You're bluffing."

"Am I?"

Emma runs her hand through her hair unsettled by Regina's behavior. "This is awkward, Regina. I just wanted clean clothes," Emma knows she should stop this… this whatever the hell is happening — demand her clothes back, tell Regina she isn't interested. But she can't because she doesn't really want to deal with the reality of the look of lust on Regina's face. "Because well, you must be using magic because you always look better than everyone here—" Emma almost stutters as the Regina's eyebrow goes up and that smirk that says, 'oh really,' flits across her face.

"So, uh, yeah. I tried to think about my clothes clean but that didn't work, then I sort of got frustrated, and then my magic started up I think I wished my clothes would uh…"

"Disappear?" Regina finishes for her, laughing at Emma's impetuousness.

"Stop, okay. You win. I'm no good at this magic stuff. Happy now? Can you just get me clothes?"

Regina starts slowly walking towards Emma. "No."

"No? No? No what? No, you won't help? No you aren't happy?"

Regina says nothing as she advances. Emma finds herself backing away almost panicking at the fact that Regina seems to have all the power in this situation. But damn it was sexy. Regina has that 'Evil Queen' presence again, but now it was all hypnotic and alluring, not daunting and more than a little scary.

She can feel her magic fueling up but isn't sure any more what emotion is behind it. She is angry and as much as she hates to admit it, she is also turned on. It's not the first time she has found herself thinking about Regina's body. But thinking about it while she herself was naked — and not alone in her room or shower — leaves her vulnerable and Regina is clearly trying to take advantage of the situation.

She holds up her hand and says, "Regina."

Regina pauses, feeling Emma's magic building. Perhaps she has misread all those lingering looks she caught Emma giving her, or how Emma's gaze when they argued would drop to her lips or lower. She thinks about how to retreat and leave Emma some dignity and she stops. But then the looks happen again. She watches as Emma's eyes drop to her exposed camisole and her cleavage. It lingers and Emma's tongue darts out and moistens her lips.

Emma brain seems stuck on wondering what Regina looks like beneath her expensive wardrobe, then before she realizes what the sudden surge at her fingertips is her magic releases in a quick flash. When the light smoke clears, Regina's clothes are gone.

Regina's initial shock dissipates quicker than Emma's if the repeated opening and closing of her mouth with no words coming out is any indication. What Emma's magic has done clarifies to her what she was thinking about and she takes that as a green light. Taking advantage of Emma's confusion at her own apparent unconscious action, she advances once again towards Emma, backing her up.

Emma can't stop looking at Regina's perfect breasts. And that smooth torso. And that patch of dark hair between her long legs. Emma feels like she is going to faint, her heart hammering in her chest and her ears. She feels the rock at the back of her knee but she can't maintain her balances. Before she can maneuver away, she finds herself falling back into a sitting position on the flat hard surface. She looks up at Regina who looks absolutely predatory in the last light of the waning day. "Oh-jesuschristalmighty-you-are-so-fucking-hot-and -this-is-like-some-insane-but-amazing-torture."

Regina straddles the blonde wincing slightly as her shins take her weight on the hard stone. "You might want to breathe, Emma, because I haven't even begun to torture you, yet. But if that is what you are into…" she says licking her upper lip, watching as Emma's eyes follow its movement. "I'm sure I can accommodate."

Emma surprises herself and is the one who leans forward and grasps Regina behind the neck and pulls her in, lips crashing into Regina's with real force, without the hesitation she felt earlier. She feels Regina immediately respond with equal aggression, her hands gripping her face and tangling in her hair. Regina then takes her lower lip with her teeth, biting down enough to cause her to gasp in pleasure.

Regina immediately takes advantage of the gasp to thrust her tongue into Emma's mouth eliciting another groan. To her surprise, Emma doesn't back down and her tongue is just as forceful against hers. For a moment that is all there is, the pressure of lips, the thrusting and swiping of tongues, then scraping of teeth on lips and tongues. Then, she feels Emma's fingers rake hard down the length of her thigh. In response she brakes the kiss and drops her head down to Emma's neck as she brushes aside the blonde's long hair.

Emma drops her head back giving Regina more access as she feels her mouth latch onto her pulse point and suck. Emma feels the moisture between her legs increase and can't stop the moan from escaping. Her own hand grips Regina's thigh and her other hand reaches up between them to the spot just below the center of her collarbone. As Regina continues to suck and tongue her pulse point she starts to drag her fingers down between Regina's breasts and then back up, using her nails to graze the skin. She can feel Regina's moan vibrate against her skin she knows will be bruised by Regina's actions.

Emma feels Regina bite down briefly then pull back. As she straightens her back Emma realizes Regina's position has her perfect, enticing breasts right in front her. She moves the hand between them quickly around Regina's back and latches her mouth her onto a nipple, feeling it harden as she flicks her tongue against it several times.

Regina feels Emma's hot mouth against her and arches her back, encouraging Emma to take more of her into her mouth, to use that tongue more aggressively.

Emma responds by pulling Regina in tight against her, sucking and nipping at her nipple. Regina uses her weight to push Emma down and Emma braces herself with her other hand as she tries not to fall back too quickly. But the rock beneath her is hard and uncomfortable and she pulls her mouth away. "Uh, Regina? I don't mind a little pain mixed in but this is not exactly comfortable."

Regina shifts slightly, and looks down at Emma, her eyes dark with lust. "What's wrong, Princess? Afraid of a few abrasions?"

As she says this she drops her body down onto Emma, grinding her hot wet core against Emma's lower torso and in the process forcing Emma's back and hips into the stone. Emma hisses at the small fragments of rock she can feel digging into her skin. She pushes against Regina, leveraging herself back into a sitting position, forcing Regina to adjust her position again.

Emma grasps Regina around the back and waist and stands. "No, but I'd rather not die of some god-awful infection from this cursed tropical hell-hole," she manages to say as she maneuvers them to a nearby grassy area. She groans as Regina wraps her legs around Emma's waist, pushing her wet pussy tighter against her as she drops to one knee and as gently as possible lowers the dark-haired woman to the grass, which isn't all that gentle.

Regina is surprised by Emma's change of position, and as the blonde dips her head towards her neck, she tries to roll them. But Emma is faster and braces her arms, effectively pinning her. She grunts in frustration and Emma chuckles against her neck. "Don't be upset. I'm just taking your advice."

"I'm sure I did not advice you to—" but her words are cut off by another aggressive kiss from Emma.

She breaks the kiss, but only to move her tongue down the length of Regina's throat, then back up to her earlobe, which she bites and pulls. As Regina squirms beneath her, again seeking to roll them.

Emma's breath is hot against her ear and in a throaty deepened voice Regina has never heard she says, "You told me to lead. So let me."

Regina isn't one to let others control things, but the reality was she is literally aching for Emma's touch. Everything the woman is doing, her touch, her words, is making her vibrate with need. Giving in, she lets her body relax. One of Emma's hands grasps her calf and pulls it away from her back and once Regina lets it drop to the grass, Emma shifts her body to that side, straddling Regina's thigh. She groans as Emma's pussy makes contact with her and she feels how wet Emma is.

"That is all your doing. That is what you do to me." She says this and grinds lightly against the thigh below her, knowing that Regina can feel her wetness as it smears across her skin. "What you do to me with your damned open shirts," she says, grinding harder. "Your sexy power dyke suits," her voice almost a growl as she uses even more force as she pushes against Regina. She slides herself low enough to tease Regina's nipple with her tongue.

Regina struggles to control her breathing as she says, "You should talk. I have no idea how you manage to make those cheap tank tops you wear sexy." Her hand traces a path up Emma's arm. But as Emma's hand goes between her legs and a finger traces a path right to her clit she loses her train of thought.

"Hmm, apparently I do because you are dripping," Emma says before taking the nipple fully into her mouth as she pushes two fingers into Regina. Regina's hips rise against her, and Emma smiles against the breast in her mouth. Some other time, she'll force Regina to be patient, but today isn't that day. All the times she buried the sexual thoughts and denied the sexual tension and the desire come to the forefront and it almost overwhelms her. Emma wants nothing less than to make the woman below her lose control.

Emma's fingers move in and out as Regina uses the leg still around Emma's back to try and control the pace, but Emma slows things and Regina gives a growl that almost sounds disapproving. That is until the growls turn into a series of gasps and low long moans as Emma's fingers begin exploring every inch of Regina's walls, rubbing and pushing finding all the sensitive spots.

Emma tries to keep the sweet sounds coming as she repositions herself to sit between the beautiful shapely legs. Using her free arm she manages to pull Regina's leg from her waist and reposition it so her knee was on her shoulder. The position pulls Regina's hips and back off the ground as Emma sits up straighter, but opens the woman up wide allowing her to penetrate deeper.

Emma's shift in position leaves Regina with no leverage and the last bit of pretending she has any control disappears. But in that moment, it feels absolutely right and she smiles at that thought that all those alpha moments of staring each other down, of verbal sparing for control had brought her to this place where she cares only that someone, no, that Emma can make her feel like this. Even the connection of the grass her hands clutch at to ground herself is quickly lost to the sensations rushing through her body.

While Emma misses the skin to skin contact, she is fascinated watching Regina's reactions as she continues to finger her. Regina's head is turned just a bit to the side and arched back slightly. Her tongue seems to alternate with her teeth either sensually licking or biting and pulling her red, swollen lips. There is a fine sheen of sweat across her chest which is rising and dropping with each sharp short breath. Emma realizes she has never seen anything as beautiful as the normally controlled woman about to completely be undone.

Emma can feel Regina's wall tighten as she begins to push and rub against the rough patch of skin while her back arches to the point that only her shoulders and Emma's arm is bearing her weight. Regina stiffens momentarily and her breathing stops. Her eyes open and she looks directly at Emma and then Emma watches as they lose focus and her body begins to vibrate. The way Regina draws out her name in a long breathy moan makes Emma lean forward and cup her cheek as she kisses her until Regina's body starts to come down from the powerful orgasm.

As Regina's body relaxes and settles back onto the cool grass, Emma lies on her side skin to skin with her as the dark haired woman's spent body continues to give off heat. She props herself on her elbow and watches as Regina's face softens and her eyes eventually flutter open. The last of the daylight is gone, but Regina is bathed in a bluish light of the moon hovering just over the trees and Emma can't help but stare.

Regina leans to the side enough to kiss Emma and it intensifies quickly. Just a hint of her hand brushing against Emma's nipple has it hardening and Emma moaning softly. Knowing it won't take much to bring Emma to climax, she sits up, then shifts to her knees so she is kneeling upright. "Come here."

Emma gets up on her knees in front of Regina, but the brunette shakes her head. "The other way," her voice commanding, dark, and dripping with desire.

She turns around, wincing once as her knee impacts a small rock. Regina repositions herself so she is flush to Emma's body, one leg between Emma's one to her right. Emma gasps as she feels Regina's breast pressed against her and her ass is pulled tight to Regina's hip by the arm that snakes across her torso.

Regina's hand brushes Emma's long hair over one shoulder and she hears the deep moan as her lips begin to suck on the thick tendon between her neck and shoulder. Regina can feel every muscle of her toned back every time Emma tenses or moves. As she brings her left hand to Emma's nipples to tease them with light flicks and quick pinches, she adds her teeth on the spot she is sucking. She hums approvingly as Emma tenses and tries to pull away yet groaning in response as she slowly increases the pressure. She moves her other hand down through the soft curls and smiles when she realizes that the differing lengths indicate that Emma usually waxes there. But her hand doesn't linger long and as she reaches between Emma's legs she hears her own moan as her fingers are quickly coated by the evidence of Emma's arousal.

Emma's body is screaming at the sensations Regina is creating. Her nipples are now being pulled and lightly twisted, Regina's tongue is dragging up her exposed neck and teasing her earlobe, and her fingers are drifting up and down her cunt, periodically stopping to rub her clit. She can feel Regina's hot breath against her ear as she says, "You are so ready."

"Don't tease. Not now. I need this."

Without warning, Regina presses two fingers into the wet, hot entrance and for a moment she thinks Emma is going to lose her balance. But the blonde recovers and pulls her left leg up so that she it is extended in front, knee at a right angle, giving Regina better access. She pushes her fingers in deeper and Emma responds with a raspy "Yes, like that."

She pumps in and out several times but Emma is shifting and squirming so she slides her fingers out and moves them to press and massage Emma's clit. She takes her other hand and quickly penetrates Emma again from behind, sliding her fingers across the her g-spot on each stroke. It doesn't take but a few times doing this before she can feel Emma start to clench against her. She increases the pressure on her clit and then Emma is moaning and shaking against her and her hand is coated in Emma's cum as she goes over with a string of panted profanities.

When she feels the aftershocks, she moves her hand from Emma's clit to her torso and gently slides her fingers from inside her. She carefully guides the younger woman as she kneels back against her heels so Emma ends up in her lap, leaning back against her, head dropped back on her shoulder, cheek resting against her own.

Regina holds her as she comes down, and they stay like that for a few moments, the only sounds are the night noises of the jungle and their slowing breathes. She hates to break the moment, but even amazing moments have to end. She says quietly, "We should probably get back before someone comes looking for us."

She feels Emma nod against her shoulder. "Hmm, there is still the problem of my clothes."

Emma hears and feels Regina laugh. It is a deep genuinely amused laugh that makes Emma smile. Emma sees her hand wave and two neatly folded piles of clothes appear on the rock where this all started in a puff of purple smoke. Of course they were folded, this is Regina after all. Emma laughs as she stands and walks to the pile. Emma reaches for hers but the first thing she notices is the underwear. Red, lacy, and well, not exactly comfort wear. "Regina?"

The dark haired woman looks up, almost innocently. Unless you know that smile. "What? It gives me something to think about when the others irritate me and I need a distraction. Which is quite often."

"While there is an element of hotness to being your fantasy, I am not going to spend the next few days uncomfortable. So… uh… please?"

"Only if I can see you in those first."

Emma, hesitates but complies. She is awkward and self conscious as Regina takes her time in appraising her. Finally, Regina waves her hand again and Emma finds herself in a pair of boy shorts far softer than anything she owns and a sports bar that has a bit more plunge than anything she's ever seen at the gym. And they are both still red.

Regina says nothing but just shrugs as she dresses quickly.

They head back to camp, knowing the others will be out searching for them shortly if they don't return. They walk silently and Emma wants desperately to hold Regina's hand, but doesn't risk it. This all started in a strange way, and it wasn't like Regina seems like she wants to talk about it, so Emma just walks. Mostly she is feeling alone with her racing thoughts and confusion.

Everyone stands when they return, Snow is of course first to start a question which is cut off in the first syllable by Regina. "She doesn't want to talk to you right now, which is understandable. As usual, I never want to talk you, so save your oxygen." Emma was thankful for the Evil Queen look that silenced any other questions and she moved to where she had laid out her bedroll. Emma watches as Regina turns and goes to her own, which is separated a bit from the rest of the others' sleep spaces.

When she looks to the items next to hers, she realizes that Neal, probably with Snow's blessing, has moved his stuff close to hers. Suddenly her stomach starts to knot. She isn't ready to deal with him. Not when he clearly isn't ready to listen to what she has to say. They are so far apart in how they have conceptualized each other in the past years that he may as well still be in Storybrooke or Manhattan or running from ogres in that damn fairytale land David and Snow keep talking about going back to.

She gathers her few belongings and moves towards Regina, who has removed her jacket and is folding it neatly to use as a pillow.

"Hey."

Regina looks at Emma and realizes that Emma is about to ask to share her space. She isn't sure she's ready for this and simply waits for Emma to continue.

"Can I stay over here? I don't want to be over there with them."

Regina looks up and see the others moving to their bedrolls and notices Neal standing in the spot Emma just vacated, looking over at them. Suddenly she finds her anger welling. "Oh, you mean you don't want to be with your boyfriend? His plea to gain your trust seems so genuine. Maybe you should go with your new crush. Just stay on his right side — for safety purposes."

Emma is thrown by her shift in attitude. "It's not like that."

"Then what is it like?" The question comes out harsher than she intends. "Because to me it sounds like you don't want to be here with me, you just want to be away from them."

Regina watches Emma who bounces on the balls of her feet and bites her lower lip. "Can we not do this? Not right now."

As much as a part of her wants to fight and scream at Emma, she is tired. Tired wins out and she says nothing but nods once, sharply.

Emma watches her as she turns away, because apparently her jacket needed refolding again. Emma takes the hint and places her bedroll a few feet away, far enough to look acceptable to any of the others who occasionally look their way. She sets up her bed roll and watches as Snow points to a spot some distance from her and David looks like he's about to protest, but she holds up a hand. His face and shoulders drop and he begins to make his bed where indicated. Tomorrow is going to be a long day she decides. She wants to say something more to Regina but the woman is now lying with her back to Emma, so she instead tries to get some sleep.

When she awakens a short time later because of some root or rock pushing into her hip she sits up and looks around. It is moments like this she regrets giving up wearing watches — a thought which reminds her again of the shit Neal put her through which then reminds her that Regina had acted standoffish when they had returned. She looks around and it seems that everyone is asleep, so she quietly shifts her bedroll right next to Regina. The woman is on her back, arms crossed over her chest and her legs crossed at the ankles. Emma thinks about the after-sex blissful face she saw only a few hours ago and can't help but wonder where that woman went.

As she lies down as gently as possible she hears Regina let out a long breath. "What do you think you are doing, Ms. Swan?" While whispered, it is almost growled out.

She is taken aback by the tone and the use of her surname instead of her given name that she's grown used to hearing from Regina over the past week. "It's chilly out."

Regina turns her head to the blonde who is on her side, looking a bit like a child who has climbed into their parent's bed but doesn't want to admit they had a nightmare. "I'd be happy to conjure you another blanket, or perhaps you could move your bedroll closer to the fire. The pirate would probably enjoy your company."

"Stop. What is your issue?"

Emma is so close. Too close and Regina can't do this. "Nothing, now go to sleep," she says rolling away from Emma.

But Emma is nothing if not stubborn, and almost predictably Regina feels the blonde scoot her body up against her and place her hand on her hip. There is a silence between them that is anything but comfortable, and she can feel Emma's breath on her neck. Periodically, it stops as if she is about to say something, then comes out in a long almost sigh-like huff.

Emma finally formulates what she wants to say into something that will make sense, or at least she hopes so. She takes a deep breath and says quietly, "I don't know what anyone told you, about what happened yesterday, but my day really sucked. But then, what happened with you… well… it's like this: when we get back home with Henry I want to see where this goes."

Regina feels her heart clench at Emma's words, but too many times has something raised her hopes only to ultimately shattered them into millions of little pieces and she has never been able to put all the pieces back together, leaving her with painful gaps and holes that nothing except Henry has even come close to filling. She controls her breathing and pulls on her armor. Commanding as much strength as she can manage, she knows she has to kill this before it starts. "Miss Swan,"

She is cut off by Emma putting pressure on her hip. "No, we are not back to that, not after everything that has happened on this fucking island. Everything, not just tonight. You don't get to do that. If nothing else we've earned that much."

Regina sighs. "Yes, I suppose we have… Emma." She waits a moment and Emma seems to relax a bit. Or at least loosen her grip. "I know enough to know that what happened this evening was a reaction to your confusion over the situation you've managed to find yourself between someone who admitted to finding himself falling in love with you, and someone who you've admitted you, what were the words?" Regina knew her tone was angrier than probably needed to be, but she wasn't doing well controlling the conflicting emotions within her. "Oh, yes 'never stopped loving' suddenly being back from the dead."

"It's not–" but she stops as Regina rolls towards her almost violently, her dark eyes catching a faint reflection of the fire. "Don't interrupt."

Emma nods sheepishly and Regina feels hot under her hand which has now slipped under the black camisole she is wearing.

"And I'll be okay with that. I just need to process things. I shouldn't have let it happen and that is my fault." She feels her eyes watering so she rolls back to her other side. She feels Emma pull away and hears her get up and she feels a wave of relief pass over her. But it is short lived as she feels Emma pull on her forearm.

"Emma, go to sleep."

Emma continues to tug. "Get up. Now."

Regina is startled by the anger in her voice. She rolls again to her back and allows herself to be pulled into a sitting position. But once there she pushes away Emma's hands and stands on her own. "Lower your voice," she says whispering. "You'll wake the others."

"I don't care about the others. Not the way you seem to think. You couldn't be more wrong." As she says this she grabs Regina's hand and pulls her with her. Although she is angry she tries to be as quiet as possible as she makes her way to where David is. She releases Regina's hand to bend and wake David gently.

He sits up, eyes wide until he sees Emma. "Hey. What's wrong?"

She pats his arm gently. "Nothing. I need to talk with Regina. I didn't want to leave without saying anything. But I don't want anyone to come looking for us."

David tilts his head and looks from Emma to Regina, who says nothing. Emma almost laughs at the look of confusion on his part when he realizes there is no snark coming at him. He seems about ready to say something but instead nods and give her a soft, knowing smile.

Emma straightens and motions for Regina to follow her. She stops long enough to grab a lantern then heads to the trail. Regina stops her when they are far enough from the camp not to be overheard. "What are you doing?"

"You don't believe me, so I am going to prove it to you."

Regina doesn't follow, unsure of what Emma intends. Emma continues without turning around and only says, "I know this is a big request, but you are just going to have to trust me."

She doesn't respond, but hurries to catch up. They walk in silence past the point where the cliffside clearing was only a short distance away, which makes her smile, before she realizes she has slowed down. Before Emma can see her she catches up once again. "How much further?" she asks to break the silence and get the thoughts of Emma's naked, sweating, writhing body out of her head.

"Not much further."

The path takes a sharp turn, and Emma stops, holding up the lantern. It takes a moment for Regina to realize that they are standing in front of an entrance to a cave in the steep terrain. Her hand moves unconsciously to her torso as her stomach begins to churn. "Emma, why are we here?"

"Because, you have everything wrong, and the longer we go the more you'll rationalize this all away because it is what you do. You protect yourself. And I get that, I really do, because god knows I've done it often enough. But right now, we don't have the luxury of time. Right now, I —no, we can't have what happened get in the way of rescuing Henry."

Regina steps forward again, right into Emma's personal space. "Believe me, nothing will get in the way of that. Not some adolescent boy-king who is in dire need of some tough-love parenting, not some overly cautious do-gooders with an overdeveloped sense of self-righteousness, and certainly not some ill-advised sex in a moment of weakness."

Emma feels the back of her neck get hot but she knows Regina is trying to hurt her, to push her away. She knows because for that moment in a clearing beneath pale moonlight she felt something right with Regina, like how she felt something right about being in Storybrooke, and she wasn't going to let Regina just tear it away so easily because she gets scared by emotions. So she does the only thing she can in that instant: she closes the remaining distance and kisses Regina, hard. She puts her anger, her hurt, and the tiny scrap of self-confidence she has left into the kiss.

And Regina kisses her back. And it leaves them both panting.

When they finally break, Emma smiles and grabs Regina's hand. "I'm calling bullshit. We are going to deal with this, now," she says leading Regina into the cave.

"And how is revealing secrets going to help? You've already revealed yours. What makes you think you stand to gain anything by my revealing any of mine?" She knows she has plenty of them and she isn't eager to get into the details of her history with the one person who least often sees her as the 'Evil Queen' of Henry's storybook.

"Just answer one question. Magic, curses and such can be adaptive right?"

The look on Regina tells Emma that she doesn't understand what she is getting at. "Like the curse. You didn't sit down and figure out a story for everyone, right?"

"No, of course not. A few people I took personal interest in, but the curse just supplied the outline and parameters, and the magic filled in all the details and made adjustments as necessary."

"Okay, that's what I am banking on."

Again Regina's eyebrows go up in either a question or irritation, Emma isn't sure which, so she continues. "Hook said that the cave was based on the saying, 'the deeper the lie, the more truth in its echo' and that in order to rescue someone you have to tell your deepest secret, but there has to be more to the cave. It's not like Pan is constantly fighting off invaders, so it seems too elaborate for such a limited purpose, you know? So there has to be another purpose. If Gold is right about this place being run on belief and Pan said the map would work when I admitted who I really am… he didn't come up with these puzzles for us. So that got me thinking about what purpose the cave served for the Lost Boys."

Regina snorted behind her, but Emma chose to ignore it and she continued deeper into the cave.

After several minutes Regina is frustrated by Emma's silence. "Did you come to a conclusion?"

"No, just theories."

Regina groans. "Untested theories. Considering what we've seen of Pan so far, don't you think that is risky?"

As they step into an open cavern that doesn't immediately appear to have another entrance, Emma's heart skips a beat. There were no turns, or at least she hadn't seen any, yet this was different from the chamber where they had found Neal. She holds the lantern up and steps towards the side of the cavern. She realizes that it wasn't a natural cave wall, but a wall made of large, evenly shaped blocks. As she comes closer, torches on each wall light up, including the wall behind them, which was no longer a cavern tunnel. "Little late to worry about that now, I guess."

Regina turns to see what Emma is looking at and her heart sinks. "Of all the impulsive, thoughtless, asinine things you've done…"

Emma looks at Regina and puts her hand up. But clearly the woman is angry and isn't interested in an apology, so she remains silent. Regina stares at her, nostrils flaring with each breath.

Finally she bursts out angrily, "I can almost sympathize with that idiot mother of yours in wanting another child."

Emma feels the tears welling up despite knowing that Regina is lashing out. No sooner than the words are out though, Regina hisses, grasping her right arm. Emma can see blood along a thin line up Regina's forearm, as if she had been slashed with a blade. She steps close and says gently, "Let me see it."

Regina pulls away. "This is your fault."

Emma nods. "I know. So let me see it."

Reluctantly, Regina holds out her arm. The cut isn't long, but it is deep. Emma is sure it hurts like hell. She takes the bottom of her freshly cleaned tank top and uses the knife in her boot to tear off a strip and folds it. She hands it to Regina who presses it to the cut.

"Why did you say that? I know you don't believe it?"

Without looking up she snaps, "To hurt you. I'm angry."

Emma says nothing then it hits Regina. "No, I don't believe that. In fact, I think what your mother said was awful, cruel, thoughtless and heartless. I can only imagine how it made you feel, and I am appalled that she could even imply that you aren't enough."

There is a sliding noise behind her and Emma turns to watch as one of the stones about head height in the middle of the wall slides backwards, leaving a hole. "Well, that is interesting."

"Indeed."

Emma turns to Regina and studies her. Having a better sense of how this needs to play out, she asks, "Why did you, uh… initiate sex with me?"

Regina hesitates, knowing that lashing out will backfire again. "Because you were available and you didn't seem averse to the idea."

Emma chuckles and Regina feels her anger growing. She is about to say something when she notices Emma isn't look at her, but behind her. She turns and in clear writing on the wall behind her are the words, "Because I have been physically attracted to you since you came to Storybrooke." She shakes her head, feeling the blood rush to the surface of her face.

She turns back to Emma, arms crossed protectively against her chest, still holding the cloth to her forearm. "I do not like this game. I am not happy that you brought me here."

Both of them stand for a moment, but nothing happens. Regina thinks for a moment. "You kissed Hook not more than thirty six hours before you had sex with me."

Emma nods, but says nothing, because when it is presented like that, it sounds pretty sleazy.

"Why should I believe that tonight was nothing more than you trying to avoid dealing with the pirate's confession and your own about the spawn of the Dark One?"

"Don't call him that, it isn't funny."

Regina starts laughing. "Apparently it you think it is," she says pointing.

Emma turns to see, "Yes, it is" written behind her. She shakes her head. "Can we just deal with the important things and get the wall open?"

"You wanted to come here to talk about what happened, so answer my question."

"That is part of it, but it was way more complicated than that."

Regina left arm jerks away from her chest, still clutching the now bloody scrap of clothing. "Damn it, Emma. Why did you lie?"

Emma shakes her head in confusion, but understands that her words have led to harming Regina as more blood appears, now on her left forearm. She starts to move towards her, but Regina shakes her head. "It isn't as bad as the other."

"I'm sorry, I didn't—"

Regina cuts her off. "Think before you say whatever you are about to say."

Emma nods. "Ok. I said it was more complicated because I didn't want to hurt you."

"Well, we see how well that worked. Just tell me why? Complicated or not."

She takes a deep breath and thinks about why she ended up in the clearing in the first place. "I left the camp because I didn't want to deal with David and Snow and the whole wanting a baby but can't leave bullshit because it hurt, because it was such a familiar fucking feeling. I left to not think about Neal because it is just easier that way, because I don't want to deal with everything he did to me and about how he thinks he can just say he's sorry and everything will be cool. And yeah even the Hook confession was fucking with my head. I kissed him because yes, I was feeling alone, but there isn't anything there for me. So all of those things were in the back of my head when you showed up." Nothing happens so she continues. "I wasn't lying when I said you've always had an effect on me physically. You are an incredibly beautiful, sexy woman. But more than that, you are the only one who hasn't abandoned me. Yeah, I know you left yesterday, but you wanted me to come with you, and you came back. That meant something to me."

They both turned to see three blocks disappear into the wall. Emma almost laughs when she realizes they weren't three connected blocks so there would be no trying to squeeze through. No shortcuts. Pan was an ass.

She turns back and looks at Regina and notices that her eyes are glistening with what Emma knows to be tears. "Why did you follow me?"

Regina's eyes close for a minute. She knows that anything but the whole truth will not work. That while shading the truth didn't harm either herself or Emma, it would be revealed anyway but would not help them get out. She finds herself almost wishing she were being asked to reveal secrets rather than admit to the complicated emotions the evening with Emma had stirred up.

She looks at the deeper cut on her arm and she moves towards Emma. She holds out the cloth and says quietly, "I don't want to try magic in here. Can you bandage this?"

Emma nods, but instead of taking the material from her, she cuts another strip from the bottom of her shirt. She places the original piece over the cut, then begins to wrap the other piece around Regina's arm.

As she does this Regina says softly, voice vibrating with nervous energy, "When I found out what happened in the cave, I was angry. A little jealous too, since we're being honest."

Emma gave a little chuckle. "That is the idea."

Regina can't look up at her, however. "I wanted to hurt them all because to me it seemed like you ended up taking the worst of everyone's truth. It was either give in and throw some fireballs or come see if you were okay. I was worried about you, and…"

Emma reaches to Regina's chin and gently lifts her head. Regina eyes are closed so she says softly, "Regina."

When her eyes open she looks right into Regina's dark eyes and nods slightly, silently encouraging her. She watches as Regina closes her eyes again, and bites her upper lip. Earlier in the evening, it was sexy, but here it is almost painfully sad.

"I think deep down, I wanted to offer you comfort."

Neither turned around as they heard another block sliding. When Emma releases her chin she drops her head down. But then she feels Emma soft lips kiss her gently on her brow.

"Was it just sex for you?" Regina asks suddenly, almost angrily.

Emma answers without hesitation. "No, it felt so right. Like we were supposed to be together. Like we should have done it a long time ago."

Another block sides.

Emma thinks about the progress of events that led to the amazing sex. "Would what happened tonight have still happened if I hadn't accidentally magicked my clothes to who the hell knows where?" she wonders out loud.

Regina looks up at Emma's green eyes. "I honestly don't know for sure, but I think so. It would have been different — had a different dynamic or energy, but yes. I came to comfort you and I think that if you had let me, we'd have ended up physical. Ever since you jump-started my magic in the courthouse, I… well, physical contact with you is arousing. I think if you had become angry at me or the situation, or we started fighting we'd have ended up having angry sex because—"

Emma interrupts her. "Because there is a lot of pent up sexual energy behind our fighting. Like we substitute fighting for what we really want to do."

She nods in agreement, because it isn't really a question. This time they both turn to look as the blocks shift yet again. There are only a few blocks left preventing them from leaving. Emma thinks about why she brought Regina to the Echo Caves. When she started this it was about getting Regina to understand that tonight meant something to her, but she didn't realize that she too would have to ask questions she wasn't sure she really wants to know the answer to.

Summoning her courage she asks, "Was it just sex for you?"

Her heart feels like it drops into her stomach when Regina pulls away and turns from her.

Regina's voice is sad, wavering. "I wanted it to be. I… struggle with letting people in, to connect. Too many times I've been hurt by trusting others, by feeling something. Or people I care about get hurt because of me. I don't want that to happen. I didn't want it to mean anything. As much as it would have been simpler if it had been only sex, and even though I don't yet understand what I feel exactly about last night, about you—" Regina pauses and turns back to Emma, looking at her almost pleading eyes. "—it was definitively not just sex."

As she hears the scraping stones behind her, Emma lets out a breath she didn't know she was holding. She looks over her shoulder, but there are still a couple blocks and she had no idea what else to say or ask.

Regina sees Emma run a hand through her hair, a gesture she recognizes as frustration. "Emma."

The blonde looks at her so she continues. "You mentioned at the campsite that when we returned tonight, that you want to see where this goes."

Emma nods, but she tries not to guess where Regina is going with this. The smile she gives, however, is not filled with excitement or happiness.

"I do as well." In the slight pause, Emma allows her self to start to feel happy, but it is short lived because Regina's next word is the dreaded, "But—" In that second, Emma is disappointed. "Right now, I feel so intensely guilty, as if we are choosing ourselves, our needs above Henry."

Emma sees the tears slide down her cheeks and hears her voice break. In an instant she has her hand around Regina's waist and her other hand is wiping away the tears. But Regina turns her face away, eyes focused someone where distant.

"God, no, Regina. That is not what is happening. We have done everything we can for the moment. And as soon as whatever you and Gold need arrives we are going to take Henry back from Pan. Together, we are going to bring our son home. You have to believe me. You have to believe in we can do that. Please, tell me you believe me?"

Regina turns her head back and looks into Emma's now tear filled eyes. Her hand moves to rest gently on Emma's clavicle. She is unsure how, but even in the panicked beating of the heart she can feel beneath her hand and in the eyes now frantically searching her face, she can sense something deeper: a confidence perhaps born of facing her own truth of being an orphan, perhaps born of her love for a son she has given up and found again, but the confidence is there all the same. Slowly she nods and says, "Yes, Emma. I believe you."

Emma doesn't need to turn around to know that they have removed the last impediments to leaving. She pulls Regina closer and tenderly kisses her. Regina responds in kind. It isn't aggressive like their first kiss or passionate like other kisses that evening. But it is full of promise and Emma knows that Regina feels it too.

When they finally break the kiss, Regina reaches up to brush away the tear that lingers on Emma's cheek. "Lets go back to camp."

Emma nods and starts to pull away, but Regina tightens her grip around Emma's waist. "I think magic is safe now."

Before Emma can finish nodding she finds herself standing next to their bedrolls. As she is about to comment on the new experience, Regina gracefully drops down to the ground and tugs at Emma's arm. Emma sits as Regina waves her hand over her deep cut. The bandage disappears and Emma watches as the skin closes and heals. She repeats the process on the smaller cut. Finally, she waves her hand over Emma's shirt and it is whole, and clean again.

Emma watches as s soft, shy smile plays across Regina's face. She says softly, "Is it okay if I only want to sleep next to you?"

Emma smiles, but asks. "Uh, can we touch… you know… can I hold you or vice versa."

Regina nods but is smiling. They arrange themselves so Emma is spooning Regina and Emma smiles at the soft sighs from Regina as she kisses Emma's fingers, then places her hand to cup her breast through the silky fabric of her camisole. She rises up on her forearm and kisses Regina's neck. "You know this is called cuddling, right?"

She watches as Regina turns enough to look her in the eye and her face scrunches up in what Emma can only call a cute look of distaste. "Must you label everything?"

Emma laughs and leans in far enough to give Regina a quick kiss then settles down next to the woman, feeling her body heat through her thin shirt. "Goodnight, Regina."

"Goodnight, Emma."

Sometime later, as dawn lightens the sky, Emma wakes and hears someone else stirring. She can't scoot away because Regina head is on her chest, her arm is across her abdomen underneath her tank top, and her leg is crooked over her thigh. She nudges her gently. "Regina," she whispers. "The others are starting to wake."

Regina snuggles closer and turns her head upwards to gently kiss Emma's neck. In a sleep thickened voice she says. "Honestly, I don't care what they think right now."

Emma chuckles as she brushes dark locks of hair from Regina's forehead. "Okay, then. Got it. Fuck 'um."

"Hmm, I'd rather fuck you, but that might be more than they can cope with right now."

Emma snorts and Regina slides her hand up further to graze the bottom of Emma's breast under her bra as she says, "Let's go back to sleep so I can dream about you in the red underwear with which I replaced whatever remainder's bin garments you hid below your sexy tank tops."

She grabs Regina's hand and moves it back lower on her torso. "They weren't that bad. But fine, just know that in my dreams you aren't wearing any underwear."

She smiles as she feels Regina's lips against her collarbone as she hums a soft affirmation against her. She feels Regina relax back into her shoulder and only a moment passes before she hears the even breathing of sleep coming from her.