I'm Coming Home

Chapter Sixteen

*Regina's POV*
"Hey Hen, it's twenty minutes past bedtime." I said, realizing it was 9:30. "But mom!" He shouted. "Yeah, mom!" Zelena shouted. I shot her a death glare. "Hen, go on up to the guest room and get ready for bed." I said. He looked at Zelena. She shook her head. "Go on up. We'll hang out tomorrow." She said. Henry sighed. "Night moms. Love you. Night grandma, Zelena and Belle. Love you." He said with a smile. We all smiled. "Hey moms, can aunt Zelena tuck me in? Please?" He asked. We smiled. "If you ask." I said. He looked at Zelena who smiled and stood up. They walked upstairs and he left Gracie with us. "So, how's married life?" Belle asked. We smiled. "Good." I said. She smiled. "I think I'm going to ask Z." She said and blushed. "Yes! Finally!" Mom shouted. We all laughed. "Well, I'm heading to bed too. I love you guys. Merry Christmas." Mother said and stood up. "Night mom. Love you too." I said. "Night." Belle and Emma said. Zelena came back downstairs and looked at us. "Where'd mom go?" She asked. "Bed." I answered. She nodded. "So, wine?" Zelena asked. "Yes." Emma, Belle and I said simultaneously. "Agreed." She said. We laughed as she walked to the kitchen. She came back and handed Emma and I each a glass of wine. It's red. We took it and smiled, then she went back for hers and Belle's. "So, what should we do?" Zelena asked. "Uh, I don't know." Belle said and looked at us. I got the point. "I think, after wine, Emma and I are going to take a walk." I said. Emma nodded. "Oh, we'll join you." Zelena said. "No, let's stay here." Belle said and smirked at Zelena. Zelena blushed and smiled. "We won't be joining you." Zelena said. I snorted a laugh and nodded. Emma and I finished our wine. We took our glasses to the kitchen, then walked back to the living room. "We'll be back later." I said. Zelena nodded and Emma grabbed my hand as we walked to the door. When we got outside, Emma kissed my cheek lightly. "So, did you want to give them privacy?" She asked. "Nope. I wanted alone time with you. Although, this does give them alone time, so it works." I said. She chuckled. "I love you." She said. I smiled. "I love you too darling." I said back. I shivered lightly at the cold, Maine air, but then felt an arm wrap around me. I smiled knowing it was Emma's. "So, we made it through your first Mills Family Christmas." I said with a smile. She chuckled. "It was fun." She said. I smiled. "Except for Graham coming." I said with a sigh. "Yeah. That stunk. But hey, you took care of it." She said and kissed my temple lightly. I nodded. "Let's sit in the gazebo." She said and nodded towards the gazebo. I nodded. I guess we had been walking for longer than i thought. We walked to the gazebo, then leaned against the rail. Emma wrapped her arm around me, tight and I smiled. She kissed me lightly and we just sat there for almost an hour. "Ready to go back? It's kind of cold." She said. I nodded. We stood up and instead of walking, we flashed back to the house. Zelena was standing outside. There were tears rushing down her face. Emma and I rushed over. "What's wrong?" I asked. She hugged me tightly. "She proposed and I said no. Why did I say no?" She whispered. I felt my heart break for my sister. I shook my head. "I'm so sorry." I said. She cried into the crook of my neck. I rubbed her back soothingly. "We broke up." She said. I sighed. "I'm so sorry Z." I said. She nodded. "I'll be fine." She said in a shaky voice and pulled out of my embrace. She smiled lightly. "She'll come back. I know she will." Zelena said, causing me to chuckle. Emma hugged her. "Well, do you want us to leave?" I asked. She shook her head. "Stay. Don't go out in the snow." Zelena said. I nodded. Emma and I walked in and Zelena smiled. "I'm going to bed. Goodnight." Zelena said. We nodded and followed her upstairs. We went to the guest room and she went to her room. We put on pajamas, then climbed in the bed. It's almost midnight. Emma kissed me lightly. I wrapped my arms around her and she smiled. We fell asleep. This is my happy ending and I am happy. *Time lapse-2 days later*
Emma and I went to Granny's. It was almost 9 am. She said she needed to talk to me. We've been sitting here, drinking coffee, in silence. For at least 30 minutes. "Emma... What's wrong?" I asked. She looked up at me. "Aurora got in touch with Blue." She said. I raised an eyebrow. "And?" I asked. She sighed. "There's another ogre war. The Enchanted Forest is on the verge of being destroyed. Aurora, Mulan, they need help. They need a soldier." She said and looked out the window. I shook my head. She looked at me. "Not going to happen." I said. She sighed. "Regina. I'm the savior. I have no choice." She said. I shook my head. "Emma. No. That is not our world anymore. Emma, you will not fight their battles." I said. She frowned. "Regina. That used to be our world. How can you just not want me to help?" She asked. I shook my head. "The last ogre war? Almost all of the humans who fought were killed. Okay? I can not risk losing you!" I said and slammed my fist on the table. Several people stared. I don't care. Not at all. "Regina! I have to do this!" She shouted. I shook my head and stared out the window. The tears began brimming in my eyes. "I'm sorry." Emma said and her voice cracked. "When are you leaving?" I asked. "Tomorrow." She said. I closed my eyes. "Emma... There is no way we'll be able to communicate.. How... What if.. What if you die? How the hell will I know?" I asked. She frowned. "I won't die. Okay? I promise and I don't break promises. Magic. You'll be able to feel something if anything is wrong. You'll know. Okay? Please. You have to trust that I'll be okay." Emma said. The tears fell from my eyes. I nodded. She smiled weakly. "I love you Emma." I said. She nodded. "I love you too. Forever and always. I'll be back before you know it. I will be back. Okay?" She said. I nodded. "I have hope." I said. She smiled. We both stood up and she wrapped her arms around me. She pulled away and kissed my forehead. We both had tears dripping from our eyes. Ruby walked over and looked at Emma. "Emma... You have to be careful." She said and looked at Emma. She nodded. "I will be, Red." Emma said and hugged her. Emma and I walked out and walked home. "H-have you told anyone?" I asked. She shook her head. "We have to do it. We have to tell them. Everyone in this town knows us. We know everyone. They'll notice you're missing." I said. Emma nodded. "We just have to tell the family." She said. I nodded. I sent a text to Zelena, telling her to meet at our house. Then, i texted Charming, telling him to bring Henry and Snow. We got there and mother, Zelena, Snow, Henry and Charming were all standing by the front door waiting. I smiled weakly. "What's going on?" Mother asked. Henry was staring at Emma. Maybe he knows... "Go inside. We have to talk. It's important." I said. They nodded and walked in. Snow and David sat on the couch, Henry sat beside them and Gracie sat in his lap. Mother and Zelena sat on the other couch. Emma and I were standing in front of all of them. "I'm going back to the Enchanted Forest." Emma said. Everyone's faces fell. "Why? What? Regina? Are you going?" Snow asked. "Mom, there's another ogre war. Being the savior, they need my help." Emma said. Everyone started crying. Including myself and Emma. "When are you leaving?" Henry asked. "Tomorrow morning." Emma said. He frowned and went back to playing with Gracie. "How long will you be there?" Zelena asked. Emma shrugged. "I love you all and I'm promising I will be okay." Emma said. Everyone nodded. The entire day was spent with our family. The night would be just for the two of us. Everyone left around 10. I frowned. "Ma, I don't want you to go." Henry said and hugged her. She nodded. "I'll be okay Hen." Emma said. He nodded. He ran upstairs to get in bed and I smiled weakly. I looked at her and she grabbed my hand. We walked upstairs, then changed into pajamas. "There's no way I'll be able to sleep." I said. Emma nodded. "We can try though." She said. I nodded. "I love you Em." I said. She smiled and kissed me lightly as we walked to the bed. "I love you too. I'm going to go tuck in Henry. I'll be back." She said. I nodded and got in bed. I turned on the tv and turned on Netflix. I turned on Friends because it's one of the only tv shows I like. When Emma came back, she sat in the bed and leaned against the headboard. I leaned against her chest and she began playing with some of my hair. "Em, I'm not going to be able to sleep without you beside me." I said with a sigh. "I know. I won't either. But, I'll be back soon. I won't be gone long." She said. I sighed again. "But, what if it takes years?" I asked. "It won't." She said. "Okay.." I said. She kissed the top of my head and I smiled lightly. "Em... I love you a lot." I said. I heard her chuckle. "I love you too." She said. "I know. I just... I'm scared." I said again. "I know. I am too." She said. I sighed. "Tell Aurora and Mulan I said hello." I said. "I will." She said. "I love you dear." I said again. "I know. I love you too." She said. I smiled lightly and we just stayed there with each other, watching Friends. After several hours, my alarm clock went off. I sighed because that meant Emma had to get up and get ready. "So, are you and Blue both going?" I asked as she stood up to change. "No. Just me." She said and pulled out her outfit. "I'm going to miss you. Like, a lot." I said. She smiled. "I'm going to miss you a lot too." She said. I nodded. She pulled on a pair of jeans, a white shirt and a brown leather jacket. "I'm leaving you my baby." She said and held up the red one. I smiled. She pulled on a pair of light brown riding boots and I got up to change. I put on jeans, a black shirt and one of Emma's hoodies. She smiled. "That's my favorite hoodie." she said. I smiled. "My favorite girl, in my favorite hoodie." She said. I chuckled. She kissed me lightly as I pulled on a pair of Free Runs. She grabbed my hand and I looked at the clock. 7:30. "I have to meet Blue at the church at 8." Emma said. I sighed, but nodded. We walked to Henry's room and he was already awake and dressed. I raised an eyebrow. "I didn't know when Ma was leaving. So, I wanted to be ready." He said. I smiled. "Where is she?" He asked. "Our room. We have to meet Blue at 8." I said. He frowned. "I really don't want her to go." He said. I nodded. "I don't either." I said back. He nodded. He stood up and hugged me. "I've only had her for a few months and she's leaving me again." I said sadly. He hugged me tighter and I wrapped my arms tightly around him. "She's not leaving you, she just wants to help. She'll be back." He said. I nodded. We walked to my room and Emma smiled. She hugged Henry tightly. "I love you kid." She said. He nodded. "I love you too ma." He said. She kissed his head lightly and a tear fell from her eye. Henry pulled away from her and she came and hugged me. I smiled. "I love you." I said again. She nodded. "I love you too." She said. I smiled. "Well, we should get going." She said and pulled away from me. I nodded. The 3 of us walked downstairs and to Emma's car. I was driving. But, I wanted to drive her car. She reached over and laid her hand on my thigh. I smiled as I pulled away from our house and toward the church. We got there and it was 7:57. I sighed and we climbed out of the car. We walked towards the church door and walked in. Blue was standing there waiting. She smiled weakly. Emma smiled again. "Ready?" Blue asked. Emma nodded. "Just give us a minute." She said and motioned to her and I. Blue nodded. "Hey Henry, why don't you and I give your moms some time alone." Blue said. Henry nodded and they left the room. Emma looked at me and gave me a sad smile. "I love you." She said. I nodded. "I love you too." I said. The tears broke free from both of us and she quickly wrapped her arms around me. I wrapped mine around her and we just held each other. We had both stopped crying and she pulled away. She leaned in and kissed me. It was full of love and passion. We were panting when she finally pulled away. I sighed because I didn't want it to end. Henry and Blue walked in. "Emma... It's 8:15. You need to go soon." Blue said. Emma nodded. "Promise me you'll stay safe." I said. She nodded. "Always." She said. "I love you." I said. She nodded. "I love you too." She said and kissed me lightly. When she pulled away, Blue walked over. "I'm ready." Emma said with a sigh. Henry ran over and hugged her tightly. Then, he came and stood beside me. He grabbed my hand and held it. Emma sighed and looked at Blue. "Alright. Here you go. This has everything you might need in it. Magic beans for when you're done and ready to leave. Memory potion, just in case. A mirror in case we figure out how to talk between realms. A map. A spellbook. You should be good." Blue said and handed Emma and small bag. She wore it across her body. "It's enchanted so it's bigger than it seems." Blue said. I nodded. Emma sighed. Blue handed her a sword in a sheath. She hooked the sheath around her waist and took a deep breath. I walked over to Emma and she kissed me one more time. "I love you." She said. I nodded. "I love you too." I said. "Be safe." I said. She nodded. Then I walked back to Henry. Blue threw a magic bean to the ground and a portal began swirling and opened. "I love you Regina." Emma shouted, to be heard over the noise. I nodded. "I love you too!" I shouted back. She jumped in the portal and she was gone. The portal disappeared and I cried lightly. Blue came and hugged me. "She'll be okay. I promise." She said. I nodded. Henry and I walked out to Emma's car and got in. "I love her." He said as he climbed in the passenger seat. "I love her too." I said. "What if she doesn't make it back?" He asked. I sighed. "I don't want to think about that." I said as I turned the car on. "Me neither." He said. I nodded. I drove home, only thinking about my wife and what she was doing or where she was. It's almost 9 o'clock. My phone started ringing and I raised an eyebrow. Henry looked at me and creased his eyebrows together. I found my phone and smiled. "It's Emma." I said. He smiled as I answered. "Emma!" I said as I answered. "Hey Gina. I just got here and I wanted you to know I was okay. I'm not going to be able to call you much. I'm kind of surprised my phone even worked here. But, I'll call you anytime I can." She said. I smiled. "Good. I love you Emma." I said. "I love you too Gina. I have to go. I'm at Auroras castle. I'll call you when I can. Okay?" She said. I frowned. "Okay. Be safe." I said. "I will be. I love you." She said. I smiled. "I love you too." I said. Then, the line cut off. I sighed and put my phone in my pocket. "She's there. She's safe." I said. Henry nodded and got out of the car. We walked to the door and I unlocked it. We walked in and I sighed. It felt so empty without Emma. Henry ran up to his room and I walked to mine. I sat on the bed and looked around. It reminded me of life, pre-Emma. I don't like it. I already miss her. I picked up my phone and let out a sigh. I dialed Emma's number and it went straight to voicemail. "Hey, you've reached Emma Swan-Mills. Sorry I missed you. Leave me a message." Her voice said and it beeped. "Hey Em. I knew you couldn't answer, but I wanted to hear your voice. I love you. Call me when you can, but don't worry about it. Don't think about us. Just think about your job and what you're supposed to be doing. I love you. I'll see you soon darling." I said and hung up. I sighed and looked at the pictures of her. I got lost in my thoughts and before I even knew it, it was 2 in the afternoon. I sighed and laid down in the bed. I miss my Emma. Please. Please. Be safe Emma.