Regina turned away from Emma, unable to stand the sight of her any longer. She knew that she had to leave, find somewhere away from the judging, pitying eyes where she could release the well of emotion currently tightening its grasp around her neck; yet she didn't go straight away. She lingered for a moment, her gaze captured by what was happening before her.

Robin had his arms around his wife and son, a look of pure joy on his face the likes of which she knew her own embrace had never been able to provide. Roland, normally such a quiet little boy, was giggling as Marian whispered in his ear. He clung to his mother's dress, as though he feared she would leave him again if he let her go. It had taken a mere moment for her to be forgotten, discarded as if she had just been a distraction from what he had lost. Now…now Robin had it all back. She wasn't needed anymore.

And it hurt. It hurt so badly that she wanted to cry out, scream until the dull ache in her chest subsided and her broken heart reformed; but it wasn't that simple. Regina tore herself away, feeling her eyes burning with tears at the knowledge that he wouldn't try to stop her. She heard vague sounds of someone calling to her, but everything around her seemed muffled as if her head had been pushed into a bucket of ice cold water.

She could still feel the tingling on her lips, the ghost of a kiss they had shared moments before turning what had been a happy moment as bitter as her poisoned apples. As the door slammed shut behind her, the bell adorning it twinkling as if to mock her, she felt her eyes finally betray her as droplets caressed her cheek. Regina heard her mother's words in her ear once more – love is weakness Regina.

'You were right mother,' she whispered, her lower lip trembling despite her best efforts to stop it. She had opened her heart, finally taking down the walls that had prevented her from feeling what she had dared to hope could be love, and with a single embrace he had broken it. And Regina knew, without doubt, that she simply wasn't strong enough to survive that pain again.

Xxx

Emma watched Regina as she took one final look at the reunited family before almost running from the diner.

'Regina-' she tried, but her words didn't even register with the brunette before she disappeared from sight.

Emma didn't know what to say. She had only done what she had thought to be best, to save a life; she had never meant for any of this to happen. But looking at how the young boy gazed up at the mother he thought he had lost, Emma couldn't say that she had done the wrong thing in bringing her back.

'What's going on?' asked Henry, approaching Emma for answers as he tried to make sense of the scene unfolding around him.

'It's complicated kid,' Emma sighed, shaking her head.

'Why is my Mom so upset?' he insisted. Emma almost felt a flicker of jealousy rise at his protective tone.

'I brought someone back from the past,' she explained, nodding towards Robin and Marian, 'and I…I didn't know who she was.'

Henry looked at Robin, the realisation setting in, and he felt his heart sink for his mother. The change in her these past few weeks had been clear to see; the added brightness in her smile, the way she would brush her hair behind her ear whenever Robin looked at her – she had finally seemed to find some happiness. After everything she had been through and how hard she had tried to change, Henry knew that she deserved it. And he knew how much it would hurt her to have it taken away so mercilessly.

'I need to talk to her,' he said at once.

'I don't think that's a good idea, kid. She seems pretty mad.'

'She needs me,' Henry pushed, frustrated that they didn't understand, 'she…she hasn't got anyone else.'

Emma felt her heart melting a little at his sincerity, and she hated to admit it but it was true. No matter how venomous her threats had been, Regina hadn't been able to hide the look of pure despair in her eyes; she was in pain, and she needed help.

'Okay, fine,' she relented, 'but try and get her to come back here. I think we need to attempt to discuss this like adults before it gets out of hand.'

Henry smiled before running past her, hoping that he wasn't already too late.

Xxx

Her legs seemed to carry her without her mind having to process the thought, as all she could think about was the glistening of happiness in Robin's eyes at the sight of his true love. Regina wanted to hate him, to curse him with the dark magic she had done her best to bottle away within herself, but she couldn't bring herself to do it. Just seeing Marian again had made him happier than she had ever been able to and although that killed her, deep down she had always known that finding love was too good to be true. It was her own fault. No matter what she did or how hard she tried for redemption she would always be the Evil Queen, and villains didn't get happy endings.

Regina turned out of Granny's, but only made it a few metres before she felt her legs wobble. She grabbed onto the green fence, stumbling to a stop as a wave of dizziness came over her. Reaching a hand to her aching forehead, she cursed the tears that continued to mark her cheeks with the evidence of her brokenness and tried to stop the Earth from spinning quite so fast. This was what she had become, a shadow of her former self left clinging to a flimsy stronghold to keep herself from falling. Despite the light from the diner and the streetlamps surrounding her, the world had never seemed so dark.

'Mom?'

Her aching heart quickened at the sound of her son's voice and she forced herself to straighten, fiercely wiping her sodden cheeks. He was by her side in an instant, his expression a picture of concern.

'Are you okay?' he asked, gently putting a hand on the arm that was still gripping the fence dependently.

'I'm fine Henry,' she lied, less than convincingly, before trying to attempt a smile which she knew would never fool her intelligent son.

'No, you're not,' he said gently. 'Emma didn't mean to, I mean…she didn't know…'

'It's cold out here, you should go back inside,' Regina cut him off, stroking his hair with her free hand and wishing that it made her feel better.

'Come with me,' he begged.

'I can't.'

'It's okay to be sad, and scared, and I know that you won't admit it but you are not fine Mom. If you just talk to him, you'll see he still loves you.'

The words were like a dagger to her heart. Love. A word that had so far evaded both of their lips, and now would always go unsaid. It had only been a few weeks since their first kiss in the forest, but it was long enough for her to know that she had fallen head over heels in love with the man. It was long enough for her to get too involved, for this to hurt that much more. Regina shook her head.

'He doesn't love me, Henry. We hardly knew each other really, and now his w-wife has come back.' Regina swallowed thickly, trying to keep her voice from breaking.

'It's unfortunate, and yes it…it hurts…but maybe it is for the best.'

'You don't mean that,' said Henry disbelievingly.

'Roland has his mother back,' she reminded him, feeling a little stab of pain in her chest at the mention of the child's name. It hadn't taken her long to become attached to the boy, and she had never learned her lesson on getting too close to what wasn't hers.

'They are a family, Henry, they should be together.'

'But you deserve happiness too,' he insisted. 'Please, Mom, come back inside with me.'

'I can't Henry, I…I can't face him,' she answered honestly.

'I don't think you should be alone right now.'

Regina smiled sadly, her eyes glistening with such despondency that it brought a lump to Henry's throat. She placed a light kiss on his forehead, and he surprised her by wrapping his arms around her middle like he had done when he was younger and hugging her tightly. Resting her chin on his head, another tear slipped down her cheek and Henry hardly heard her whisper;

'I am always alone.'

'Mom-' he started.

'I'll be fine, Henry, I just need some time to try and deal with all of this. You go back and I'll see you very soon, okay?'

'Okay, but-'

'Just give me some time,' she repeated slowly. 'I love you Henry.'

He didn't have time to reply before she disappeared in a whirl of purple smoke.

'I love you too,' he muttered to the air, hanging his head.

He walked back into the diner, his eyes going first to Robin who was sat in a booth watching Marian playing with Roland who was sat on her lap. Henry scowled; did he have any idea how much he had hurt his mother? Did he even care what he had done? He had never seen her so pale, so broken. She was hardly able to keep it together even for him, and thinking of her alone in the house without anyone to even try to be strong for worried Henry. He knew that she wasn't as strong as she liked everyone to believe.

'I'm guessing it didn't go quite as planned?' Emma asked, as Henry sat on a stool beside her at the counter. He shook his head.

'She said she needed some space.'

'Maybe that's for the best,' she offered.

'I've never seen her like that before,' Henry said quietly. 'She was crying, barely able to stand up; she looked as if she'd given up. I'm worried about her. I didn't want to leave her but she used her magic to get home.'

Emma felt guilt weighing heavily on her shoulders. This was all her fault, and even if her intentions had been good she knew that she should have found out who exactly she was bringing back when she saved the woman's life. It might not have changed the end result, but it could have allowed her to at least try and find a way to make this less painful than it had proven to be for all involved.

Before she could try to reassure Henry, Robin came over looking somewhat overwhelmed.

'Do you know where Regina is?'

'Gone,' Henry answered sourly, in a tone that surprised both his mother and himself.

'Is she alright?'

'What do you think?' he spat.

'Henry!' Emma warned him. 'She…she hasn't taken the current situation all too well.'

'I'm such a fool,' Robin shook his head, running a hand through his hair. 'When I saw Marian I…I didn't think about it. It was all such a shock that I forgot that she was there; oh God what must she think of me. Is she angry?'

'I don't think so, not with you anyway,' she explained. 'I think she's just upset.'

Robin closed his eyes for a moment, cursing his thoughtlessness. He knew that he should have handled everything better, and now he had hurt Regina. It had just been so unexpected, and he hadn't known quite how to handle something so impossible. He would rather she hated him; thinking of her crying because of how he had acted caused his heart to sink heavily in his chest.

'I should go and talk to her,' he started, but Emma caught his arm to prevent him from leaving.

'If she won't see Henry, she won't see you,' she said simply. 'You need to figure out what you're going to do before you see her, otherwise you're just going to end up hurting her more.'

'Yes…yes you're probably right,' sighed Robin, looking back over at his family and feeling the strain of being pulled in two directions as if he were the object of a tug of war.

Xxx

Her head pounded as she tried to open her eyes, every beat of her heart echoing harshly with a pulsing headache. For a moment Regina couldn't tell if her eyes were open, as her surroundings were as dark as the blackness that had enveloped her after she had teleported from Granny's. Blurred outlines began to become clearer as she strained to see, and she felt the cold wood of her own laminate flooring beneath her cheek.

Drawing what strength she could muster, Regina pushed herself up from the ground and rested her weight on her elbows. Her head felt so heavy, but she forced herself to lift it and look around. She didn't know how long she had been there, and she supposed it didn't matter. The memories of everything that had happened seemed to hit her squarely in the chest, destroying that brief but beautiful moment just after waking when she hadn't remembered; she felt fresh tears forming in her eyes. But now wasn't the time to fall apart. She had to concentrate on getting up, which she guessed would be a formidable task in itself.

As Regina grasped at the wall to try and pull herself into a standing position, she tried to work out what had happened. Her magic had turned on her, still transporting her to where she wished to go but almost punishing her for the effort. It wasn't something that she was familiar with, but she could guess its root cause.

On her feet she was unsteady, still needing to hold onto the wall to prevent her body from reacquainting with the floor, but after a moment to recover herself she started to move towards the kitchen. Regina flicked on the light, and even though she knew what she was going to see it still felt as if her heart was being crushed to powder in her chest all over again.

Tears escaped, flooding the barriers that had been holding them back, and she let them fall. She was alone now, alone and standing, so she could crumble. It didn't take much.

They had planned to spend the night, with Regina even making a room up for Roland to sleep in. They wanted to do it properly, wake up and have breakfast together like a normal couple. Normal. She almost smiled at the irony. Normality was a reward for those who led quiet lives, not for evil fairy-tale queens. I should have known better, she cursed herself I am not worthy of normal.

On the counter before her were the remnants of the picnic they had shared, two empty glasses standing side by side as if they were meant to be together. Regina let a choked sob escape from her lips as she leaned back against the wall. She waved her hand to try and clear the mess, not able to stand the sight any longer, but felt the magic reverberate back up her arm and it caused her to cry out in pain.

Fighting to stay conscious, Regina slid slowly down to the floor. She knew now that she couldn't use her magic, not if she wanted to stay awake for the next eight months. Placing a hand gently over her abdomen, she closed her eyes; she sighed with relief as she felt the little pulse of energy within her. Another sob escaped her lips. She couldn't even think about what that meant for her future, she didn't have the strength to think ahead.

All she knew was that she was weak, she was alone, and she was pregnant with the child of a man who didn't love her. How far the queen had fallen.

I'll try and get the next chapter up as soon as possible.

I know it's been done, but I'm taking a different spin once it gets going. Thanks for reading :)