Hi guys. So, I'm relatively new to the Swan Queen fandom. Well, I guess it has been almost a year but I've never written a SQ fic before! This is my first Once Upon a Time fic as well, so be nice with the reviews. :p I am very excited for this story, though, and I know the beginning is a little ehh but please stick with it I promise it will get better! There will be Swan Queen, of course, in later chapters, lots of romance, some smut, and even some humor too. It isn't all sad! Happy reading!

Prologue

"You okay?"

Regina immediately looked up at the sound of the blonde woman's voice, and her expression of pain and discomfort morphed into one of surprise. Her lips pressed together, she let her eyes linger on the woman in the doorway.

"Yes, I'm fine. Just a little seasick."

Emma bit her lip, not sure if she was welcome inside the small room, one of the many inside Hook's huge ship. She remained safely in the doorway, her body leaning on the wall.

"I have…" Emma put a hand inside her coat pocket, fishing around until she pulled out a small bottle of pills. "I used to get carsick when the drives were long from one foster home to the next. Two of these usually did the trick."

Regina looked up hesitantly, then gave a small tip of her head, subtly inviting Emma into the cozy room. She took the bottle gratefully, offering the savior a smile, small but genuine. Emma smiled back, now inside the room but still feeling a bit uncomfortable in the tight quarters. She hesitantly took a seat on the small bunk next to Regina's.

"So um, this is new," Emma said with a small chuckle.

"What?" Regina's brow furrowed in confusion.

"Being on the same side as you. You know, just not trying to kill each other."

"Miss Swan, if I wanted to kill you, I could easily do so."

"I… don't doubt it," Emma said quickly, her eyes widening a bit. They sat in silence for a moment while Regina swallowed the pills Emma gave her.

"Miss Swan… may I ask you something?"

Emma rolled her eyes. "Yeah, if you stop calling me Miss Swan. I've told you a million times, just call me Emma. Miss Swan just makes me feel… weird."

Regina sighed in exasperation. "Of course you dislike anything that's proper."

"Regina, did you want to ask me something or not."

Regina looked at Emma, biting her lip. Emma stared back, trying to discern Regina's unreadable emotions. After what felt like an eternity she finally spoke up.

"Why did you come back for me?"

"Huh?" Confusion was evident on Emma's face.

"In the mines. I told you to go on without me. Why did you come back for me? Why would you risk your life, everyone's lives, just to make sure I lived?"

The question caught Emma off guard. She opened and closed her mouth, not sure what to say.

"I, um…" she took a small breath. "I don't know. I guess it was just the right thing to do. You… you weren't ready to die, Regina. You didn't deserve to die."

"But I was ready." Regina's voice was insistent. "I was ready to die if it meant Henry could be happy. I still am. I would gladly give my life for Henry. Every time."

Emma looked into her eyes, her sincere brown pools. Regina truly was a good person. She truly was trying her very hardest to change. It was too bad no one else could see it.

"You're a good mother, Regina," Emma said in a soft voice.

"I'm glad you're finally realizing it." Regina was back to her confident drawl.

Emma rolled her eyes. "I guess cockiness is one of the Evil Queen's well known traits."

"Was there a reason you walked in here and invaded my privacy, Miss Swan?" Obviously the vulnerability and softness was long gone, a fleeting moment.

"Does there have to be? I'm just trying to be nice."

Regina gave Emma a look of disbelief.

"Okay, fine. Hook wanted me to tell you that we're almost there. About an hour away. Everyone's up on the deck, if you want to join us whenever Your Majesty desires." The mocking tone was evident in Emma's voice, and Regina gave an overly sweet smile, rolling her eyes at the immature woman.

"Tell the pirate I'll be up in a minute."

"As you wish, your majesty," Emma made a big show of bowing out of the room, unsuccessfully trying to hold back a chuckle at Regina's far from amused face.

After a short while, the large pirate ship reached the shores of Neverland at last. The air was chilly and dark, and somehow stifling, as if it was almost hard to breathe. Nothing could be heard except for the ominous lapping of the ocean against the boat and the faraway cries of children that missed their homes.

The mismatched team disembarked from the ship, Hook leading the way, Rumplestiltskin following, Snow and Charming close behind, and Emma and Regina in the rear.

Although they were a random and odd team, they did make quite an effective group, and within a few hours they were able to locate where Tamara, Greg, and Henry were.

Thanks mostly to Snow and Charming, they had tracked them all the way to what seemed to be a huge cave deep within the island. Just before they were about to enter, Rumple turned around to give the rescue team a quick warning.

"Careful, dearies. This force we're dealing with… it's something we should all fear. It's powers are tricky, and that's what makes it dangerous."

Hook simply raised his eyebrow and turned around to go in. Snow and Charming squeezed each other's hands in preparation. Emma and Regina shared a quick glance.

After going through a multitude of obstacles and fighting several Lost Boys, the team finally reached their destination. The back of the cave was tall and spacious. As Emma glanced around, she spotted Greg and Tamara standing in the back, their arms crossed, looking determined and solemn. No one else was there except for a dark hooded figure who seemed to be flying, and another figure suspended in the air, tied up with thick rope holding him up, dangling from the roof of the cave with a black sack over his head.

Both Emma and Regina saw him first, and seeing the small legs kicking helplessly around in the air, they both feared the same thing. Their fear was confirmed when the flying hooded figure cackled evilly and threw the sack off of the boy's head.

"HENRY!" Emma cried, rushing forward.

At the sound of Emma's scream, all four people in the cave turned towards the rescue team, noticing them for the first time.

"Well, well, well. What have we here?" The hooded figure drawled in a deep, intimidating tone. "A cute little rescue team come to save poor little Henry."

Emma ran even closer to the figure, Regina right on her heels. Upon nearing them, they could see that Henry's mouth was taped and sturdy rope bound his whole torso.

"You will not hurt our son," Emma hissed.

The figure threw his head back and laughed, a deep, throaty sound that made everyone cringe.

"Well, that's where you're wrong, sweetheart."

"Who are you!" Regina called out from slightly behind Emma. Her voice was strong, but showed signs of cracking.

"Me? Well, I'm Peter Pan of course!" the figure roared, floating comfortably in the air. "Lower him!"

Immediately, the rope holding Henry up began to lower, slowly but surely, until he was able to stand on the ground. However, the bindings still held him in place. They could see his face clearly now, and his eyes were wide with fear. He made muffled sounds from behind the tape, struggling as hard as he could to free himself.

"Henry!" Emma cried again and ran to him, only to be blasted backwards by Peter Pan.

"Stay away from the child," Peter Pan growled.

"Regina, can't you use magic? Blast this asshole outta here!" Emma muttered.

"I-I can't. My magic isn't working inside this cave. There's something stopping it." Her voice was panicked, and she looked over at Rumple, realizing he was having the same problem. Regina's heart dropped to her stomach and her eyes widened as she came to the realization that she would have to save Henry without using a stitch of magic.

Peter Pan chuckled gleefully and raised his arm, gold sparks emitting from his gloved fingers.

"Now," he hissed, "the child dies."

"NO!" Regina sprinted forward, pushing Charming and Hook out of the way as she did. The evil figure cackled one last time and then forcefully brought his arm down, pointing at Henry, but not before Regina leapt forward, pushing Henry out of the way, catching the intense golden blast of magic herself.

"REGINA!" Emma screamed, her eyes wide with fear.

As the gold blast hit Regina square in the chest, she was blasted backward a few feet and fell on the ground, unconscious. But the blast also somehow ricocheted off of her and back at the evil Peter Pan, and everyone's eyes in the room widened as they watched the magic turn the oh so powerful dark figure into a mound of glittery dust.

Greg and Tamara quickly scampered out of the room, and as much as the team wanted to go after them, they knew they were all needed here, to help Regina and Henry.

Emma rushed over to Henry, freeing him from the rope and pulling the tape off of his mouth. His eyes were filled with tears and he immediately pulled Emma in for a hug once he was free of the rope. It was only a few seconds, though, before he realized his other mom had been the true savior of his life this time, and pulled away from Emma.

"Mom!" Henry cried, running over to where his dark-haired mother lay on the ground, eyes closed, face pale.

The rest of the adults quickly followed suit, running over to Regina. All were worried for her, but Rumple less than the rest. He was more intrigued by what had just happened to Peter Pan.

"Love," he murmured to himself. "Truly is the most powerful magic of all." He shook his head like he couldn't believe it.

"Regina," Emma breathed, her face crumpling in pain, tears threatening to fall from her wide eyes. "No." She ran over to the still woman, her heart thumping wildly. This couldn't be happening. Why was this happening? Regina couldn't die. She couldn't. She was just on the verge of turning her life around. Of truly being a good, decent person. Perhaps even more than that.

Snow, Charming, Rumple, and Hook all stood solemnly a few feet away as Emma and Henry crouched by Regina's side, not able to function what was happening.

"Mom, no, please, no," Henry pleaded, tears cascading down his pink cheeks.

Upon seeing Henry's pain, the tears rushed out of Emma's eyes and she put a hand on Henry's shoulder. He didn't deserve to have this heartbreak. She felt Regina's pulse, put her head down to Regina's chest, tried everything, trying to catch a glimpse of life in the unmoving woman. Nothing.

"Henry, I… I'm sorry," Emma whispered, tears glistening on her cheeks. "She's… she's gone."

"No!" The pain in Henry's voice made all the adults close their eyes in sympathy.

"Mom, I love you. I love you Mom." Henry cried over the pale face. "You saved me. You sacrificed yourself for me. You're a hero." He cried even harder, then fell dejectedly into Emma's arms, his sobs muffled by her strong body.

"She wasn't supposed to die," he sobbed into her strong embrace.

"I know, Henry," Emma's voice cracked. "I know."

Reviews are much appreciated! The more reviews, the faster I tend to put a new chapter up. :)