A Second Chance

Chapter 5

[Note: Thanks for sticking around through these boring chapters. I swear it's about to get much more exciting soon.]

It took nearly five hours for Regina and and the rest to figure out what happened to Happy and bring him back. Five of Regina's last hours alive, wasted on bringing back an idiot dwarf. Her least favorite dwarf at that. All she really wanted to do now was spend as much time with her family as she could since she only had about 16 hours left to live. She wasn't giving up...or at least that's what she told herself. She really had gone over it in her head. She simply couldn't see the flaw in the Evil Queen's plan. Well, at least not any flaw that could help her save Emma without dying. No, the only thing she could see wrong with it was the fact that much of the end result depended on her being able to wake Emma with a kiss, a kiss she was still quite positive wouldn't work. Not that it would stop the Evil Queen from stealing her life. Henry could surely wake Emma, the Evil Queen would simply have adjust her plans slightly, tweak her story a bit...and of course she wouldn't be with Emma, which was actually a releif, but she hoped it would be enough to save her life.

"Okay. Now that that's taken care of. We need to come up with a plan to beat the Evil Queen." Snow exclaimed as they re-entered the castle.

"About that, I was thinking about it while we were pulling the tiny man out of a swirling vortex and I have a plan." Regina stated, hoping her sarcastic remark would mask her lie.

"Great, let's hear it." David said. Regina looked down and away from their gaze for moment.

"You're not going to like it." She said, "But I have to go alone."

"No. Mom, we can't let you do that. We do this as a family. Like Always." Henry said.

"No. Henry, listen, if she sees anyone with me, it's over. Emma's as good as dead." Regina said.

"Again with this Emma stuff? We still can't be sure it's even her. I, for one, don't believe it." Hook said.

"Well, I never underestimate magic, but there is no way to know for sure." Snow said.

"It is hard to beleive when Emma is standing right there." David added.

"You're all mad. It's clearly a trick. Is anyone here actually sold on that being our Emma?" Hook asked.

"I am." Emma finally spoke from the back of the group. Everyone turned to look at her.

"Y...you? But you said..." Regina started.

"I know what I said, but I started thinking about it, about everything really, I never noticed before, but as I tried to focus on those memories harder...I realized something, I remember everything before the wish realm perfectly." Emma said.

"Isn't that a good thing?" Hook asked.

"Too perfectly. And worse, though I can remember feeling a certain way at the time, I don't feel it now when I think back on it. It's like I'm watching my memories on a movie screen...like...they're..." she stopped and looked directly at Regina. "...someone else's memories." Regina lookes back at her sadly. She'd already known in her gut, but having this new assurance made her heart drop into her stomach.

"But that would mean that...you're my real mom...and you don't remember me." Wish Henry said.

"I suppose it would." Emma said. Wish Henry said nothing in response but seemed to go deep into thought, confused at the new possibility.

"No. No. You're not actually buying into this lunacy?" Hook pushed.

"Look I know it might be hard to swallow..." Emma tried to explain, but was cut off.