Chapter Text
Emma slams the door of the Mayor’s office on her way out. She knows she’s being immature but she can’t help it when she’s so riled up. Regina knows exactly how to push her buttons and the tongue lashing she was given just a minute ago reflects that. Emma sighs and slumps against the hallway wall, wondering what went wrong. She hadn’t gone to Regina’s office looking for a confrontation. She just wanted to run an idea she had by Regina, about making a modification to the sheriff’s department budget but Regina definitely had something up her ass this morning. Emma huffs and makes her way out of the building, deciding to go on patrol to help distract her from her anger at the seemingly impossible impasse she and the Mayor were at. She was getting sick of all the anger and insults, but no matter what she did, the insufferable Mayor wouldn’t budge from her high and mighty perch looking down at Emma.
As the patrol car pulled up to the Storybrooke cemetery, Emma noticed that one of the gates were askew. Upon closer inspection, it appeared that someone snapped one of the chains that are used to lock the cemetery gates at night. Emma wondered why this would be necessary, since the fence is a joke and doesn’t even require 30 seconds to jump over. Deciding that a stroll through the cemetery would be prudent, Emma followed the carefully laid out path throughout the grounds. About 10 minutes in her stroll, Emma took in the scene and couldn’t put her finger on it, but something felt a little off. She stepped off the cemetery path to investigate, and upon walking to the nearby patch of gravestones, she swears she can see the air shimmer. She knows, because the weather is not hot, it can’t be hot air causing the shimmering, and take small, cautious steps closer to the shimmering section she’s seeing. Emma raised up her hand, hesitantly, and allows it to touch the shimmering air.
Boom! Emma is everywhere and nowhere all at once, her body hurtling through space. Before she can even think “Oh shit”, her body hurtles through the air and lands with a whump on the ground. Emma laid there, blinking her eyes. What the hell just happened? She wiggled all of her major limbs and is relieved that she is apparently not injured. Well, maybe her pride. Raising her head, Emma surveyed her surroundings. She’s still in the cemetery, but there’s something different. She can’t quite put her finger on it. Propping herself up on two arms, she takes in the scenery and realizes that there are more gravestones than there should be. As her head does a 360 degree turn, her glance falls on the patch of nearby gravestones, and she’s surprised to see someone there, kneeling. This woman is looking at her with an expression of shock, and there’s a niggling feeling of familiarity that Emma feels upon viewing this woman’s face. Suddenly the realization hits her—she’s looking at a much older Regina Mills. Older by like, thirty or forty years.
“R… Regina?” Emma stutters out. Older Regina just gazes at her, expression changing from one of shock to one of… wry amusement? “Emma. Of course you’d go and do something like this,” chuckles Older Regina. “I don’t… don’t understand what’s going on?” She scans the environment, wondering why Older Regina is kneeling on the ground. Her second shock of the morning hits when her eyes fall on the gravestone nearest to Older Regina which reads ‘EMMA SWAN-MILLS’. She can’t breathe and suddenly everything fades to black.
When Emma wakes up, her head is resting on something soft. She looks up and realizes she is lying on Older Regina’s lap, with the former looking down at her with an expression of concern. “Emma. Are you alright?”
Emma reaches up and touches Older Regina’s face. “Am I dead and in my own special hell?” Older Regina chuckles and says tenderly, “No, Emma. You’re very much alive.” Emma points to the gravestone that has her name on it and Regina sighs. “Emma. You’re in the future. Many years in the future, if your apparent youth is any indication.” Emma looks steadily at Older Regina, taking in her face. Older Regina is still beautiful, very much so, but it apparently is true that she’s many years in the future as there are wrinkles lining Older Regina’s forehead and eyes. Her skin is also showing the signs of aging, but damned if she isn’t glowing. Chocolate brown eyes meet her emerald green ones and Emma sighs, seeing that this Older Regina is definitely different from “her” Regina. For one, Older Regina is looking at her with affection and fondness, which Emma finds disconcerting. Emma breaks eye contact and looks back over to the gravestone. Emma Swan-Mills? She can hardly believe it. “Regina…?” and Regina looks over to the gravestone, understanding Emma’s unspoken question. She sighs and closes her eyes and an expression of pain flits over her face. “My Emma passed away about four months ago.” She opens her eyes and looks back down at Emma, “And, yes, we wed about 4 years ago. We were together for 3 before that.” Emma’s eyes widened as she considered the implications of what Older Regina has stated.
Older Regina smiles ruefully at her “We have always had our differences. They started to fade after we became friends, but our blind pride always prevented us from seeing the obvious: that we were in love with each other and had been for the longest time. We didn’t have the courage to act on our hidden feelings, well, actually, it was you, Emma, who acted first, until seven years ago. Those seven years were wonderful but I can’t help feeling regret that we wasted so many years circling around the elephant in the room.”
Emma stared at Older Regina in shock. “Just how many years in the future am I, exactly?” “It’s 2057,” murmured Older Regina. Emma considers this, “So this is 42 years later. I came from 2015.” Older Regina looks skyward as she tries to recollect what the year 2015 was all about. Emma prompts, “It was a few months after I… brought back Marian and we had just recently found out Zelena was pregnant with Robin’s baby.” She winces, not sure what Older Regina’s reaction will be, as she’s been dealing with the aftermath of “her” Regina’s anger at the whole situation.
Older Regina chuckles “Ah, Zelena and Robin.” Emma looks up gingerly, and Older Regina remarks fondly, “Don’t worry, Emma, I evidently got past that. And despite my bitch of a sister, their child got the best qualities of both parents and is actually quite the darling. Her name is Wren.” Emma stutters, “But… what about the whole soulmate thing?” Older Regina’s eyes come to rest upon her and Emma squirms a little under that penetrating gaze. It’s as if Older Regina knows her and her very soul, and that isn’t something Emma is ready to face. “Emma. Robin and I were separated for a very long time after Tink proclaimed him my soulmate. And you weren’t even born then. Apparently destiny can change, and change it did for me, Emma.”
The very way Older Regina breathes ‘Emma’ makes Emma feel she is home, safe and loved. She hasn’t ever felt like that in her life. She stares wonderingly at Older Regina and thinks that if this is what life has in store in her, she’s all for it. She knew there was a soft side to Regina somewhere, she’s seen it when Regina is around Henry, and if she’s seeing it in Older Regina, there’s hope after all.
Lost in her thoughts, Emma swims back up to realize Older Regina is staring at her contemplatively. Well that part of Regina evidently hasn’t changed, thinks Emma. “Spill it, Regina. What’s going on in that devious little mind of yours?” Older Regina smirks, “Ah, Emma. You know me so well, even during the early years.” She looks at Emma, a serious expression settling on her face, and Emma steadies herself for whatever she is about to hear from Older Regina.
“Our years together were very happy, don’t get me wrong, Emma. But the thought of all the years we wasted eats at me. Especially now, when I’ve lost Emma too soon. You being here is a golden opportunity for that fact to change.” Emma, puzzled, asked “But isn’t changing the timeline verboten?” Older Regina smiles, “That rule’s for the past, Emma. The future is always fluid and changing. True enough, tampering with the future could change a happy ending to a painful ending, or vice versa, but I’m willing to take that risk if it meant much more happy years together.”
Emma did the math… she was 28 in 2015, which meant she died at 70 after getting together with Regina at 63. That would mean Regina was now around 76 or well in her 90s if you did the Enchanted Forest math, which just made her head hurt. Damn. Older Regina looked pretty hot for a senior citizen. She idly wondered if she had aged as well as Regina.
“Regina, I’m… I’m not totally convinced we could change the future. You’re, well, impossible back in 2015 and I just don’t see how we can get past Regina’s… well, your, uptight ass.” Emma looked up apologetically at Older Regina, who was clearly amused.
“Miss Swan, my uptight ass is just an act. You’d have to work hard and this won’t happen in a week, but if you’re armed with some knowledge and fortitude, you could accelerate the process and make both of your happy endings come sooner… much sooner.”
Emma’s mouth quirked at the ‘Miss Swan’ uttered by Older Regina. Damned if she didn’t sound exactly like “her” Regina. It was nice being called Emma, though, especially in the breathy tone Older Regina used. “What kind of knowledge are you talking about, exactly, Regina?”
Older Regina stood up, brushing the dirt off from her pants, and offered her hand to Emma. “I’ll show you some things from the past so you can understand Regina better. This process can only be accelerated, Emma, if you come to accept who Regina is and how you both work. I know you have your own issues to work out, Emma, and you would need to be strong once you go back to your own time.”
Emma stood up, taking Older Regina’s hand, and looked at her warily. “What issues are you talking about, Regina?” Older Regina looked at her reproachfully. “Emma. I love—loved you. You loved me. Do you really think I wouldn’t know how far you want to run from any kind of commitment, any kind of love shown to you? That I don’t know about your childhood, growing up? I don’t wish to rehash this with you now, Emma, as I know it still hurts you, but please believe me, you move on after you face your demons. You’ll have to face this eventually with your Regina, too.” Emma took a deep breath at the fact that she had apparently bared her very soul to Regina when she never, never spoke about her past with anybody. She looked at Older Regina, whose face was soft with understanding and something, somehow, took root in her heart. She was going to be with someone who knew her, and loved her despite everything. Eyes met, held, and Older Regina heard a quiet “Okay. Let’s do this.”
Smiling, Older Regina took Emma’s hand and they disappeared together in the shimmering air.