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Chapter Text

She was late.

Emma was late, and she knew Regina was going to be pissed. Her magic lesson was supposed to start twenty minutes ago, and Regina had insisted that she needed to show up on time, if she was serious about learning. Emma had thought about calling, but she knew Regina wouldn't accept her sleeping in as an excuse.

No, it was better to only get yelled at once, when she arrived in person. She knew Regina had a soft spot for her puppy dog eyes, though she would never dare call her out on that. She didn't want to risk incineration on the spot.

She was nearly thirty minutes late by the time she finally arrived at Regina's vault. Regina's car was still there, so at least she hadn't gotten annoyed enough to leave yet. Emma jumped out of her car and ran towards the vault. She hadn't practiced last week's lesson at all this week either, even though she had promised she would. She wasn’t trying to be a terrible student, but life always seemed to get in the way.

"I'm dead," she muttered to herself as she pulled the heavy door open and ran down the concrete stairs. The vault creeped her out and smelled like death, but she ignored that as she reached the bottom of the stairs and saw… nothing.

No, that wasn't exactly accurate. She saw a bunch of old books open on the table, and a few small bottles scattered about, but no Regina.

"Regina?" Emma called out. As she stepped further into the vault, she heard the crunch of broken glass on the stone floor under her foot. She looked down and saw a broken vile on the ground, with a few droplets of a transparent blue liquid around it.

"What the hell?" Emma muttered, as she stepped away from the spilled potion. She had no idea what it was, but she didn't want to get any on her.

"Regina?!" Emma called out again. "This isn't funny! Where are you? If you're trying to scare me or some shit because I was late, please don't. Just… I don't know… reveal yourself, or whatever."

Emma was pretty sure she was talking to herself at this point, so she shut her mouth. Within moments, she heard the sound of a small whimpering breaking through the silence. It was faint, and she held her breath until she located the direction it was coming from. Following the sound, Emma turned to find what appeared to be a small, dark-haired child, crouched in the corner, her little arms hugging her knees tightly to her chest, and her face buried. She was dressed in a pretty yellow dress with crinoline and white lace trim, and little black leather laced up boots.

"What the hell?" Emma whispered under her breath, as she took a couple steps closer to the child, and crouched down in front of her. "Hey, there."

The little girl's head snapped up, and Emma was met with deep, brown eyes that were all too familiar.

"No fucking way," Emma said, staring at the child, dumbfounded. She supposed she didn't need to worry about Regina's wrath at this point. Maybe just a temper tantrum. She thought about the broken vial and the spilled potion on the floor. What the hell did you do, Regina?

The little brunette buried her head again, and Emma realized the explicative must have upset her.

"Oh, hey, Sweetie, it's okay. You don't have to be scared," Emma said, trying to sound convincing, even though she, herself, was scared shitless right now. She wondered for a moment if this was some sort of test. Maybe Regina was doing this on purpose, to see if Emma could use magic to turn her back. She hoped to hell that wasn't the case, because she didn't even know turning yourself back into a child was possible. But who else could this kid be? She needed to know for sure.

"Regina?" Emma finally asked.

Brown eyes flashed upwards again. "How do you know me?" she asked, her voice much smaller than Emma would have expected.

Well, it's definitely her, Emma thought to herself , and she apparently doesn't remember me. Wonderful .

"Um, that's kind of a tricky one, kid," Emma replied.

"Kid?" Regina asked, not taking her wide, wary eyes off of Emma.

"Yeah, sorry, it's uh… just a nickname. Like a term of endearment, or something."

"You talk like a peasant," Regina said, though Emma noticed there was no malice there; just a simple, childlike observation.

"Well, I'm not. I'm a princess," Emma replied, trying to sound as dignified as she could.

"Of what kingdom?" Regina pressed, clearly skeptical.

"Uh… Snow White and Prince Charming?" Emma said.

Regina narrowed her eyes. "I have never heard of Snow White and Prince Charming."

"Oh, right, of course not… 'cause you're like five, and they…" Emma stopped herself before she finished with 'aren't born yet'. "I'm a descendant of King Leopold."

Regina looked surprised for a moment, before schooling her little features as though she were trained to do so.

"You've heard of him, then, I take it?"

Regina nodded. "My mother speaks of him. The King and Queen Eva don't have any children. Who are you?"

"I'm Emma."

"Princess Emma?" Regina asked.

"No, no no… just Emma."

Regina pouted at that response, looking mildly perplexed.

Emma sighed. "What is it? What's wrong?"

"My mother wouldn't approve of me addressing an adult by only their given name," Regina explained, apprehension evident in her voice.

"Yeah, well, your mother's not here, and I won't approve of you calling me anything but Emma," Emma said. She and Regina had come too far from 'Miss Swan' to go back now, regardless of her present age.

Regina's eyes grew wide again. "Where is my mother?" she asked, her scared little voice barely above a whisper.

Shit , Emma thought to herself , how am I going to explain this one?

"Um, I'm not sure, kid," she lied, "but I think maybe we should get out of here and figure out what the hell is going on."

Regina scooted further away when Emma reached her hand out to her. Emma sighed. "Look, kid, I'm not going to hurt you. We need to go see a man who can help us figure out what happened here."

"I'm not supposed to go places without my mother's permission," said Regina.

"Right, ok, but like I said, your mother's not here. So either you can come with me, or you can stay here and I'll come back after I talk to Mr. Gold. Your choice."

Regina looked around the dingy vault, and then back at Emma. "I don't like this place."

"Well, that makes two of us," Emma said, with a small laugh. "So what's it gonna be, kid?"

"Who's Mr. Gold?" Regina asked.

"A… friend, I guess you could say. He knows about magic. He can help."

"I'm not supposed to do magic," Regina said.

"Well, it's a little late for that," Emma sighed, trying to maintain her patience. "So choose now: stay here or come with me. Which is it?"

Regina hesitated for a moment more, looking from Emma's eyes, around the vault, and back to Emma's eyes, before finally reaching out and taking Emma's hand.

"Good choice," Emma smiled, helping her up. She couldn't help but think how much she looked like a porcelain doll, with her pristine olive skin, dark curls and big brown eyes. Her dress was lacy and ornate - nothing a child could play in - and she stood with perfect posture, like a tiny version of her adult self. “You’re better off with me, kid.”

"Please don't call me that," Regina said, "my name is Regina."

"I… know," Emma replied, "but that's a lot of name for a little girl." Before this moment, Emma had never really thought about the fact that Regina had once actually been a little girl. If she didn't know any better, she'd have guessed Regina walked out of the womb in six inch black stilettos, full of the poise of a Queen and the sass and snark of… well, Regina. She couldn't equate that name with this timid little child holding onto her hand for dear life.

"My mother named me Regina because I'm going to be Queen," Regina replied, lifting her chin up as she spoke.

"Yeah, okay," Emma said with a smirk. If you only knew, kid.

For her part, Regina looked unfazed.

"What about a different nickname?" Emma asked, as they headed up the stairs out of the vault. "What if I called you Reggie?"

"Absolutely not!" Regina replied, looking at Emma like she had just slapped her across the face.

There’s the Regina I know, Emma thought as she smiled down at the dreadfully offended child.

"Ok, fine, Regina it is," Emma laughed, as she led Regina out of the vault, careful not to let her see the names on the coffins at the entrance. She couldn’t remember if she knew how to read when she was five, but to be safe, she assumed Regina could, and she didn't need her finding out both her parents were dead, on top of everything else that was happening right now.

Regina stopped short as Emma tried to lead her towards the yellow Bug. "What's that?" she asked, still squeezing tight to Emma's hand.

"It's a car," Emma said. "It’s like a carriage, but without horses."

"A carriage without horses? That sounds like dark magic," Regina replied, her eyes wide and her voice a little shaky.

"You're afraid of magic, aren't you?" Emma asked.

Regina nodded, her bottom lip quivering a little.

"It's not magic, Regina, it's…" Emma's voice trailed off. How the hell was she going to explain this?

"What is it?" Regina pressed.

"It doesn't matter. We can just walk," Emma said, smiling. It was a long walk, but she supposed it would take her just as long to explain a car to a child who lived in the enchanted forest. Regina seemed to relax as they made their way away from the car and the vault.

"So, Regina, why are you afraid of magic?" Emma asked, trying to keep her voice light, though she found it a little concerning.

"People do bad things with magic," Regina replied.

"People like your mother?" Emma asked.

Regina just nodded.

"And you have magic?" Emma asked.

“Yes," Regina said, "but I'm not allowed to use it."

"How do you control it?"

Regina shrugged. "I just… do."

Emma thought back to when Regina had put her on that bridge, and how angry she had gotten about her wasted potential. She knew Regina had had difficulty in the beginning learning magic, and it occurred to her that as a child, Regina's magic must be fairly weak, and that's how she could easily control it. Lucky her , Emma thought to herself, before it occurred to her that she was also lucky right now to not have to deal with a magical five year old, on top of everything else.

Regina told Emma all about her home in the Enchanted Forest as they walked. Emma was half listening, and half panicking, as they neared the town, as the reality of how bad this situation could be started to set in. Regina stopped talking when they started to approach buildings.

"What is this place?" she asked, looking at the light posts and telephone wires.

"It's called Storybrooke," Emma said, squeezing Regina's little hand. "You're a long way from home, kid. I know it’s nothing like what you’re used to, but I'm going to keep you safe, don't worry."

They finished the walk to Gold's pawn shop in silence, garnering more than a few quizzical looks and stares from the townsfolk they passed. Emma wasn't sure if people were just confused to see her with a little girl in tow, or if they recognized the child as Regina, but either way, she wasn't stopping to give any explanations. Not that she had any to give, even if she wanted to.

"Gold?" Emma called out, as she and Regina entered the pawn shop. Regina's wide eyes took in everything around her. Emma wondered if anything looked familiar to her, since so much of it had come from the Enchanted Forest.

"Miss Swan, how…" Gold's voice trailed off as he entered the front of the shop and spied the child clinging to Emma's hand. "Is that… Regina?"

Regina slid closer to Emma, staring up at Mr. Gold, studying him with her wary eyes.

"Yeah, apparently," Emma replied. "I showed up at her vault, and found her like this. There was a spilled potion on the floor."

"What potion?" Gold asked, unable to take his eyes off the child.

"I don't know, it was blue," Emma shrugged.

Gold’s eyes snapped back to Emma’s. "It didn't occur to you to bring it with you?"

"It was spilled," Emma repeated. "On the floor. What was I supposed to do?"

"Oh, I don't know. Perhaps use magic?" Gold replied.

"Oh, yeah, I didn't think of that," Emma stammered.

"What exactly has Regina been teaching you? Nothing useful, I see," said Gold, as he waved a hand and, without so much as a warning, the three of them disappeared in a cloud of red smoke, back to Regina's vault.

Regina let out a panicked cry, and grabbed onto Emma's leg.

"It's okay," Emma assured her, putting a hand on her head and stroking her hair. "She's afraid of magic," she explained, when she noticed Gold's expression.

"I supposed anyone would be, growing up with Cora," he remarked, as he waved a hand again, and the shards of the broken vial came back together and the bottle appeared in his hand, the remaining blue liquid inside. He held it up to the light, studying it.

Emma could feel Regina shaking against her. She was terrified. Emma wondered for a moment if she should pick her up, but she had no idea how the kid would react to that. She couldn't imagine Cora carried her around very much.

She watched as Gold ran a finger over some of the foreign looking writing in one of the open books. She couldn't tell if it was elvish or gibberish, but Gold seemed to know how to read it.

"It's definitely a rejuvenation spell," Gold said, still looking at the book. "Who would have thought Regina was so vain?"

"What are you talking about?" Emma asked, still stroking Regina's hair.

"In small doses, it's like a magical botox. In larger doses…" Gold's voice trailed off as he motioned towards Regina.

"In large doses it turns you back into a kid… why would she drink that much?"

"I would imagine she spilled it on herself. The effect would be the same."

"Ok, so how do we reverse it?" Emma asked.

"You don't. The effects will wear off on their own, in time."

"In time? How much time?"

"It's hard to say," Gold shrugged, clearly amused now. "Just be glad you caught her at an agreeable age."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"Well, Regina was a sweet little girl at five. But sweetness doesn't last forever. She could have only regressed back to the Evil Queen days. That would have been fun."

"Dude!" Emma exclaimed, motioning towards Regina, who clearly knew nothing of the Evil Queen.

"Well, I suppose if that had happened, she would be my problem. But since this happened, she's yours."

"What, I'm supposed to just babysit her then? Indefinitely?"

"Who else is going to do it?"

"Good point," Emma said, nodding. "So how does this work then? One day she just wakes up, back to normal?"

"Maybe. We'll see. I haven't seen anyone ever go back this far," Gold admitted. "She might just go back, or she might go back gradually. If that happens, have fun with the teenage years."

"What? I thought she was still good as a teenager?"

"All teenagers rebel, Miss Swan," Gold replied, as he waved his hand and disappeared himself in a new cloud of red smoke.

Emma turned and knelt down in front of the trembling little girl. "It's ok, Regina, I'm gonna take care of you. I promise."

"What was he talking about? The Evil Queen? And a spell?" Regina asked, her voice panicked.

It occurred to Emma that maybe they shouldn't have talked about any of this in front of the child. Now she had to do damage control. "Don't worry about any of that stuff, ok? There’s no Evil Queen here. You're gonna come home with me, and I'm gonna take care of you until everything is normal again."

"Where are my parents?" Regina asked, as her tears started falling.

"They're not here right now, Sweetie, but it's ok. You’re safe with me. Nothing bad is going to happen to you, I promise. Now let's get out of this vault, ok?"

Regina nodded, somewhat reluctantly, and took Emma's hand. When they got outside, it occurred to Emma that the walk to Regina's house would be much quicker than walking across town to her parents' loft, so she decided they would head there first, and she could figure out their next move then.

Chapter Text

"Wait here," Emma told Little Regina, as she headed over to the Mercedes to get the keys to Regina's house. She grabbed her own keys out of her Bug locked both cars before heading over to take Regina's hand again. Adult Regina could have poofed both vehicles out of the cemetery, but Emma hadn't learned that one yet, so she would have to leave them there for now.

"How does that carriage work without magic or horses?" Regina asked.

"It's… hard to explain. This world is different than what you know. You're just gonna have to trust me when I say this stuff is safe, okay?"

Regina nodded. "I'm sorry for crying before," she said, much more quietly.

"It's okay, you were scared. You don't have to apologize for that," Emma replied.

"It wasn't ladylike," said Regina.

"Ladylike? You're not even a lady, you're a kid. You're allowed to cry. That's what kids do."

"That's what babies do," Regina corrected her.

"Is that what your mother told you?" Emma asked. Regina nodded. Emma fought the urge to tell her her mother was an idiot, because she was pretty sure that Regina at five probably thought her mother hung the moon. What kid wouldn't? "Well, you're staying with me right now, and I say it's okay to be scared and to cry, not matter how old you are."

"It's unbecoming of a princess to display her emotions publically," Regina said, raising her little chin haughtily.

"Unbecoming of a princess, huh?" Emma said with a smirk. She didn't care how many private etiquette tutors Regina probably had as a child, that was not the vocabulary of a five-year-old. That was Regina regurgitating Cora's words, verbatim. Emma guessed she had probably heard that a hundred times, at least. "Well, I'm a princess and a direct heir to the throne, and I say displaying your emotions is perfectly fine."

"You don't seem like a princess," Regina said. "Not any princess I've ever met."

"I'm not like any princess you've ever met," Emma agreed, as they approached Regina's house.

"This is not a palace," Regina pointed out.

Emma shrugged. "It's not my house. It belongs to a friend of mine, but we're gonna stay here for now. I'll be sure to let her know you don't approve."

Regina looked up at Emma, her brown eyes wide and her mouth gaping slightly. "Please don't!"

"I was kidding," Emma said, rolling her eyes. She had never before met a child who took everything quite so seriously. "And don't worry, you're not gonna see the owner of this house, anyway. You'll be back home before she comes back, trust me."

"Okay," Regina nodded, looking back at the house. "Is this what all the homes in this place look like?"

"Yeah, but they're not all as big as this one. It's different, but you'll get used to it," Emma assured her, as she used Regina's key to unlock the front door.

"Henry?" she called out, as they walked into the foyer. She knew he would be home soon, if he wasn't already.

"My father is here?" Regina asked, suddenly sounding hopeful.

Shit, Emma thought to herself. She forgot for a moment that Regina had named Henry after her father. "No, my son is also named Henry. I thought he might be home already."

"Home? Your son lives with your friend?" Regina asked.

"You don't miss anything, do you?" Emma said, smiling, before changing the subject. "Are you hungry? How about lunch."

Regina turned and looked around for a moment, before turning back to Emma, her head cocked to the side. "There's no one here," she commented.

"I know. I told you my friend won't be back for a while," Emma reminded her.

"There's no staff," Regina replied.

"Oh yeah, no, there's not."

"Then who will make lunch?" Regina asked.

"Um, that would be me, kid," Emma laughed again.

"Princesses don't prepare food," Regina said, narrowing her eyes at Emma again.

"Well, here they do. I even know a Queen who cooks a mean lasagna. But you've gotta watch out for her apple turnovers," Emma said, laughing at her own bad joke. Regina just stared at her. "Hey, lighten up, kid."

Regina looked like she might cry as she followed Emma into the kitchen. Emma felt bad for her, knowing how terrifying this all must be. Everything here was different and strange and scary, and she was stuck in the care of a woman she didn't know. Worst of all, it wasn't like Emma could bring her to her parents, since they were both dead – not that she would have handed her over to Cora, even if she were still alive.

"How about grilled cheese?" Emma asked, when she found bread on Regina's counter and cheese in the fridge.

"I don't know what that is," Regina replied, pouting a little.

"It's good. It's kid food. You'll like it," Emma smiled, as she found a frying pan and got to work. Regina watched her with a mix of trepidation and curiosity.

"Everything here is so strange," Regina commented, looking around the kitchen.

"I know, but you'll get used to it. You like apple juice?" Emma asked, as she pulled the juice jug out of the fridge. Regina nodded, and Emma wasn't surprised.

When the sandwiches were done, Emma lead Regina into the dining room, and set her up with her sandwich and juice. Regina stared at her plate, perplexed.

"What's wrong?" Emma asked.

"You forgot silverware," Regina replied.

Emma laughed. "No, it's finger food. Like this," she explained, picking up half of her sandwich and taking a bite.

For her part, Regina looked utterly revolted. At the same time, she was hungry, so she decided to try it. She took a dainty bite and chewed it slowly, while Emma watched her with a smile. She knew Regina would probably roast her when she was back to normal for feeding her grilled cheese as a child, but right now, Emma was loving it.

"How is it?" Emma asked.

"It's… odd," Regina admitted, but she still continued to eat.

"Mom?" Henry's voice called out from the foyer, "are you home? I saw your car and Emma's car at the vault but no one was there!"

"Wait here. Keep eating, I'll be right back," Emma told Regina, as she got up to stop her son before he came into the dining room.

"Mom?" Henry asked, confused, as Emma entered the foyer, "what's going on."

"Um, listen kid… your mom had a bit of a magical mishap," Emma said.

"Magical mishap? What do you mean? Where is she?"

"She's… here. Sort of. She spilled a potion on herself. It was a rejuvenation potion."

"Rejuvenation? Like, something to make you younger?" Henry asked.

"Yeah," Emma nodded.

"How much younger?"

Emma let out a short laugh. "Well, come and see for yourself," she said, motioning for him to follow her into the dining room.

"Henry, this is Regina," Emma said, when they entered the room. Regina quickly got up from her chair and offered Henry a small curtsey. "And Regina, this is my son, Henry."

Henry gaped at Little Regina for a few moments, until Emma jabbed him in the ribs with her elbow. "Oh, hi, Regina. It's nice to meet you," he said, forcing a smile. He turned back to Emma. "I'm gonna, um, go put my backpack away."

"Yeah, take a minute, we'll be here," Emma said, offering him a small smile.

She sat back down when Henry headed up the stairs, and Regina followed suit.

"Why did he say 'my mom and Emma' if you're Emma?" Regina asked.

"What?"

"Your son, Henry. He said 'my mom and Emma'. I thought you were his mother?" Regina pressed.

She really doesn't miss anything, Emma thought to herself. "I don't know," Emma shrugged, not sure what to say. "He must have been confused."

Regina nodded. She seemed to accept that answer, as she started eating the second half of her sandwich. Henry joined them at the table a few minutes later. It never ceased to amaze Emma how quickly he could adapt to things like this. She supposed that was a result of all the magical craziness he had seen over the past few years.

"How long is she going to be… with us?" Henry asked.

"I'm not sure," Emma admitted, as she passed Henry the uneaten half of her grilled cheese. "I talked to Gold, he doesn't know either. But not forever."

Henry nodded, as he studied Regina's little face. Her eyes were the same, but everything else was different. So young and innocent. His mother, before her life had taken a nose-dive into darkness.

"Does she have M-A-G-I-C?" Henry asked, turning back to Emma.

"I can spell," Regina indignant little voice piped up.

"Sorry," Henry said, flushing a little.

"She does," Emma nodded, "but she's not allowed to use it. Her mother's rules."

"Oh," Henry nodded, and flashed Emma a knowing look that she hoped meant he understood that Little Regina thought her mother was still alive. "I'm gonna go play my game."

Emma smiled as Henry got up to leave the room. She knew Regina didn't like him playing video games before his homework was done, but she figured she could make an exception today. This was a lot to take in, he probably need to zone out for a while.

When Regina finally finished eating, Emma gathered up their plates to take them to the kitchen, before bringing Regina to the living room, where Henry was playing some sort of fighter game. This was a new one Emma hadn't seen before. She would have to get him to let her play later.

Emma failed to notice the panicked looked on Regina's face, as the child stared at the game on the screen. It was loud and violent, and she had never seen a TV before, and almost instantly she started to cry.

"Hey, Regina, it's ok, it's not real," Emma said, as she reached out for Regina's shoulders, to try to lead her out of the room and away from the game. Regina flinched at Emma's touch, and immediately Emma noticed the lights flickering and the books on the shelves start shaking.

"Henry, turn the game off," Emma said, as she kneeled down in front of Regina, meeting her at eye level. "Hey, sweetie, it's ok. It's not real and it can't hurt you."

Regina looked around at the flickering lights. "Are you doing that?" she squeaked out.

"No, honey, you are. It's your magic. You need to calm down," Emma said, trying to sound as calm as possibly. She wondered if that was perhaps why Cora kept such rigid control over Regina's emotions. Maybe that's how she kept her magic under control.

"I can't!" Regina cried.

Emma put her arms out to Regina. "You can, it's okay. Come here, sweetie."

This time, Regina stepped forward, and fell into Emma's arms. Emma squeezed her tight, and stroked her hair. "It's ok. You're safe. I'm not going to let anything hurt you, I promise."

Slowly, as the child calmed down, the flickering and the shaking shelves stopped, and Emma breathed a sigh of relief.

When Regina had stopped crying, Emma pulled back from their embrace and cupped her little face in her hands. "Are you ok?" Emma asked.

Regina nodded. "I'm sorry."

"It's alright. It wasn't your fault," Emma said, smiling reassuringly at her.

"I'm not supposed to use magic. I'm supposed to keep it under control," Regina said, pouting.

"It was an accident," Emma said. It occurred to her then that perhaps Regina wasn't apologizing because she was actually sorry. She was apologizing because she thought she was in trouble. "I'm not going to tell your mother, don't worry. You're not going to get in trouble."

Regina visibly relaxed at that, to Emma's relief.

"Maybe you can sit with Henry and read a book instead?" Emma suggested, before turning to Henry. "I've gotta call Gold."

Henry nodded, and went over to the shelf to find an appropriate book to read to a small child, while Emma helped Regina up onto the couch. When they were situated, Emma headed into the other room and called Gold.

"Problem, dearie?" Gold's obnoxiously condescending voice rang through the phone.

"Yes. She has magic," Emma said, the frustration already evident in her voice.

"Well, that's hardly news."

"I was under the impression she had it under control. She said her mother doesn't allow her to use it. But she got upset a few minutes ago and caused a small earthquake in the living room."

"Did you really think a five-year-old had her magic under control? She didn't use it because Cora blocked her magic with her own. Regina wasn't allowed to learn spells or use magical objects. Cora couldn't forbid her from using magic; it's innate. Instinctual. That would have been like forbidding her to breathe. So Cora blocked it and Regina didn't know."

"And Cora's dead so her magic doesn't work anymore," Emma sighed.

"Now you're getting it."

"So what do I do?" Emma asked.

"Either block it, or teach her how to control it."

"I don't know how to do either of those," Emma protested.

"Figure it out, dearie," Gold replied, before hanging up on Emma.

Fan-fucking-tastic, Emma thought to herself, as she glanced back in at the little brunette sitting beside her son, so much for not being stuck with a magical five-year-old.

Chapter Text

Emma paced in the foyer as Henry continued to read to Regina, trying to figure out what her next move should be. She couldn't help but think that if the roles were reversed, and Emma had sent herself back to five, Regina would have had everything under control by now. She probably wouldn't have needed Gold's help.

It occurred to Emma that she could perhaps call Blue, but she knew Regina wasn't overly fond of the fairy, so she decided she would leave that as a last resort. Regina had been teaching Emma magic for some time, so Emma thought perhaps it was time for the student to become the teacher, even if she literally had no idea where to start.

"What is that thing?" Emma heard Regina ask Henry, and turned to see her pointing towards the TV.

"It's called a TV. It stands for television," Henry explained.

"It's magic?" Regina asked.

"No. It's technology. That's something that doesn't exist in the Enchanted Forest. But you don't have to be afraid of it, it can't hurt you."

"There were people trapped in there. Where did they go?"

"They… weren't real… they were like pictures, but they moved. It's like… did you ever see your mother use magic to look at someone in the mirror, who was someplace else?" Henry asked. Regina nodded. "It's like that, but without the magic. Technology lets us see people who are actually someplace else."

Emma smiled at Henry trying his hardest to explain this foreign concept. At least in this world, even when magic didn't exist, people had at least heard of it. Regina had never experienced any sort of technology at all, and she looked utterly confused.

"I don't understand," Regina admitted.

"That's okay, kid," Emma said, cutting into the conversation, "it's not easy to understand. Just trust us when we say it can't hurt you, okay?"

Regina nodded. "Okay."

Moments later, Emma's cellphone started to ring, causing Regina to jump. The lights flickered momentarily.

"It's okay," Henry assured her. He knew his mother was a little jumpy as an adult, but that was nothing compared to how jumpy she was as a child.

"It's your grandmother," Emma commented, looking at the screen of her iPhone before answering. "Hey, Mom."

"Hey Emma, have you seen Regina today? I stopped by her office and she wasn't there. I called her cell and she's not answering," Mary Margaret explained.

Emma sighed. "Where are you now?"

"Still at her office."

"Okay, I'm at her house. Something happened… it's too much to explain over the phone. Meet me here, okay?"

"Emma, is everything alright?"

"Yeah… well, sort of. Just come here."

"Your mother is coming here?" Regina asked, turning to Emma once she had hung up the phone.

"Yeah, I think she would like to meet you. She's a princess too, you know," Emma said, with a reassuring smile.

"Princess Snow White?" Regina asked, remembering the name that Emma had said in the vault, earlier.

"Yeah," Emma nodded.

"That's a pretty name," Regina commented, smiling. Henry laughed and Emma shot him a look, warning him to keep his mouth shut. Henry went back to reading Regina the book they had started earlier, while Emma waited anxiously for her mother to arrive.

A few minutes later, there was a knock at the door. Regina jumped again at the sound, and Emma got up to answer it. Both of her parents were there, with baby Neal.

"Hey," Emma said, stepping to the side so they could come in.

"What's going on?" David asked.

"Regina, um, had a slight magical accident," Emma started.

"Is that her?" Mary Margaret asked, looking past Emma to where little Regina now stood in the foyer, watching them.

Emma turned and held her hand out towards Regina. "Regina, sweetie, can you come over here?"

Regina plastered on a smile that looked rehearsed, and walked over to greet their guests like a perfect little lady, curtsey and all, just as she had greeted Henry earlier.

"Regina, this is Snow and David," Emma said.

"Princess Snow and Prince David?" Regina asked, looking to Emma for clarification on how to address them.

"Snow and David is fine, seriously," Emma said. She noticed the troubled look on Regina's face, so she added, "or Princess Snow and Prince David, if that makes you feel more comfortable."

"It's a pleasure to meet you, Regina," Snow said, offering a curtsey of her own. To Emma's surprise, the formality actually seemed to make Regina feel more comfortable.

"Hey, Regina, let's go finish that story, okay?" Henry suggested, taking Regina back into the other room so Emma could speak to her parents away from little ears.

"What happened?" Snow asked, her eyes wide.

"She spilled a potion on herself, and turned herself back into a five-year-old," Emma explained. "I have no idea how long it will last, but I'm babysitting until then."

"Emma, are you sure you want to take this on?" David asked.

Emma shrugged. "I don't see that I have much of a choice. I'm gonna have to stop by later and pick up some stuff."

"You're staying here?" Snow asked.

"Yeah, I mean, I can't bring her to the loft. There isn't enough room."

"Emma, maybe you should let us watch her," Snow suggested.

"I think I'll be alright," Emma said, thinking about how much Regina would freak if she found out that Emma let her stay with the Charmings as a child. "Wouldn't that be a kind of screwed up dynamic? She used to be your step mother, but then you'd be taking care of her? I mean, this whole situation is weird… but that's extra weird."

"Well, I just think having her and Henry, that might be a lot for you. You don't have all that much experience with young children," Snow continued.

Emma could feel herself getting annoyed. "I have all the memories that Regina gave me of raising Henry. I'll be fine. Plus, no offense, but it's not like you guys have experience with five-year-olds either."

"Okay, but will you at least let us help you, if you need it?" David said, interjecting himself into the conversation finally. Things had been tense off and on between his wife and daughter for a while, ever since Emma had started having trouble controlling her magic when Ingrid was still in town. He didn't want to let this situation escalate.

"Yeah, I will. I promise," Emma nodded.

"So, what are you going to do with her in the meantime?" Snow asked.

Emma shrugged. "I don't know. She has magic, so that's a concern… other than that, I guess just kid stuff?"

"Emma, she was raised as a princess, with Cora as a mother. She never did kid stuff," Snow replied.

"Yeah, I've kind of been getting that impression," Emma nodded.

"Well, it's not like this is really little princess Regina," David pointed out, "I'm sure you can let her have some fun. She already fulfilled the role her mother mapped out for her, and Cora's gone. Maybe you can give Regina some good childhood memories."

"I did feed her grilled cheese," Emma said, with a laugh. "She's probably going to kill me when she's back to normal."

"Any idea how long that will take?" David inquired.

"Nope. I talked to Gold, he doesn't even know if she will bounce back overnight one night, or gradually revert… and if that's the case, I'm a little nervous for those Evil Queen days," Emma admitted.

"Who's going to run the town while she's… indisposed?" Snow asked.

"Well, I guess you just got reinstated as mayor," Emma laughed, "Congratulations. And please, can you guys fill in everyone else on what's happening? I've explained this crazy story enough!"

"Yeah, we can handle that," David assured her.

"I guess we better get back to the office," Snow said. Emma nodded and said goodbye to her parents, before returning to the living room.

"Did they leave already?" Regina asked.

"Yeah, they had some stuff they had to do," Emma said as she sat down.

"Oh, I would have liked to say goodbye," Regina said.

"Did you like them?" Emma asked, with a small smirk.

"Yes, they seem lovely," Regina smiled back, without a hint of sarcasm. It was all Emma and Henry could do to keep from laughing.

"Well, I'm sure you will see them again," Emma assured her.

"I hope so," Regina replied.

"So, I was thinking… tomorrow's Saturday and Henry doesn't have school, maybe he and I can show you around Storybrooke? We can have a fun day, maybe get some ice cream?"

"What's ice cream?" Regina asked, looking intrigued.

"It's delicious, and you'll love it," Emma said. "Maybe we'll go to the playground, too. And we'll definitely have to get you some new clothes."

Regina looked confused, clearly not knowing what a playground was. Emma was getting excited thinking about all the things they could do. She hadn't had much of a childhood herself, and she was starting to realize that Regina hadn't, either, and she was determined to make this time count… even if Regina decided to roast her alive when she returned to normal.

"What are we going to do about dinner tonight?" Henry asked, suddenly realising they were actually going to have to fend for themselves without Regina or Snow to rely on.

"I was thinking pizza?" Emma suggested.

"What's pizza?" Regina asked.

Emma laughed, "Oh, kid, I've got so much to teach you!"

Chapter Text

Emma was in no way surprised by the horrified look on Regina's little face when the pizza arrived and Henry grabbed a slice right out of the box and started eating it, standing in the middle of the room.

"Kid! Seriously?" Emma asked, rolling her eyes, even though she was well aware that he had learned that kind of behaviour from her in the first place.

Henry and Regina followed her as she brought the box to the dining room, where she had already set out plates and glasses of juice. As she set the box on the table, she couldn't help but think this was probably the first time a delivery pizza had been in this house, especially on this table. She made a mental note to add that to all the reasons Regina was going to kill when she returned to normal.

Emma put a slice on Regina's plate and gave her a fork and knife, in case she didn't want to pick it up and eat it. Regina watched with wide eyes as Emma and Henry ate theirs with their hands, and after a few moments, decided to follow suit.

"Mom, where's your phone?" Henry asked. Emma look at him, confused, but handed it to him anyway. Henry quickly snapped a picture of Regina, with pizza sauce all over face, and on the front of her pretty yellow dress.

"As if you need to give her another reason to roast me," Emma laughed, grabbing the phone back.

"What did he just do?" Regina asked, turning her fearful eyes to Emma.

"He took a picture," Emma said, holding the phone up for her to see.

"That's dark magic," Regina said, solemnly.

"No, it's not. It's technology, remember?" Henry replied.

"Yeah, kid, it can't hurt you," Emma nodded.

Regina nodded, and turned her focus back to her pizza, but she looked like she was about to cry.

"Henry, don't do that again, okay? She's not ready."

"Sorry," Henry nodded.

When Regina had finished her first slice, Emma offered her another one, but the little brunette just shook her head. She had an odd look on her face.

"Hey, are you okay?" Emma asked.

Regina nodded. "Yes, but I'm getting tired," she admitted.

"Okay, well let's get you a bath and then into bed, okay?" Emma said, holding her hand out to Regina, who took it without hesitation and followed her up the stairs.

Emma led Little Regina through Adult Regina's bedroom, to the en suite bathroom, and turned on the water. Regina's eyes widened in awe.

"Where is that water coming from?" she asked.

"Pipes, behind the walls. Indoor plumbing, one of the best things about this realm, trust me," Emma said with a wink, and she showed Regina how the sink and toilet worked as well.

When the tub was filled, Emma helped Regina out of her dress and into the water.

"My mother is going to be angry that I got my dress dirty," Regina noted, looking at the pizza sauce on her dress.

"She'll never find out," Emma shrugged, as she started washing Regina's face.

"She knows everything," Regina replied.

"Listen, kid… I'm not afraid of your mother, and I promise you, you won't get in trouble from her for anything you do while you're with me, okay?"

Regina nodded, but Emma knew that she was never really going to fully trust her on that one. In five short years, Cora had already instilled enough fear in her daughter to last a lifetime.

When she was clean, Emma lifted Regina back out of the tub and wrapped her in a soft towel, before leading her into the bedroom. She started searching through Regina's drawers for something to put her in for bed. She finally found a T-shirt that looked small enough to make a nightshirt that the five-year-old wouldn't be completely swimming in, and put that on her.

Emma tucked Little Regina into her own bed, which seemed giant compared to the little girl.

"Okay, kid, I'm gonna be right across the hall in the other room if you need anything in the night," Emma said, pointing across the doorway at the guest bedroom. "Anything at all, you come get me, okay?"

Regina nodded. "Do you think my parents will come back to get me tomorrow?" she asked.

"No, sweetie, not tomorrow. But don't worry, we're going to have so much fun tomorrow, okay?" Emma said, putting on a smile to reassure her.

"I miss my daddy," Regina said, her bottom lip starting to quiver.

"I know Baby. You'll see him soon, okay?" Emma said. She knew it was a lie, but she also knew this little Regina would never know it was a lie.

Emma sat beside Little Regina on the bed until she was sure she was asleep, and then she headed downstairs to play video games with Henry, until they were both ready for bed. She lied and said she was tired early, but in reality, she was just excited to start their day tomorrow, and Henry didn't seem to object.

In the morning, when Emma awoke, she rolled over and opened her eyes, seeing a tiny figure standing in the doorway. For a moment, she was disoriented, and couldn't remember where she was, but as her vision cleared and she saw those dark curls and dark eyes, she remembered the events from the day before.

"Hey, Regina," she said with a sleepy smile. "Good morning."

Regina walked over to her slowly, her face twisted into a small pout.

"What's wrong kid?" Emma asked, sitting up and rubbing her eyes.

"I thought when I woke up maybe yesterday would be a dream," Regina said, softly.

Emma sighed. "I know you want to go home, Sweetie, and I promise you will soon, okay? But for today, we'll have so much fun you won't even think about it, okay?"

Regina nodded and offered Emma a small smile, which turned right back into a look of pure confusion as Emma rose from beneath the feathery duvet on the bed.

"You slept in your clothes?" Regina gasped.

"Yeah, kid, I need to pick up so more of my stuff today," Emma laughed. Regina looked absolutely horrified, which just made Emma laugh more. "Let's just get breakfast, 'kay?"

Henry was already downstairs when Emma and Regina emerged in the foyer. "Hey, kid, breakfast," Emma called out, motioning toward the dining room. Once Henry and Regina were seated, Emma grabbed bowls and milk and Fruit Loops.

Regina stared at the multi-coloured rings floating around in the milk. She was about to protest, but she saw that Emma and Henry were already eating, so she drew in a deep breath and picked up her spoon, trying as hard as she could to look sophisticated while she ate the sugary cereal.

"You like it?" Henry asked.

Regina shook her head no, but continued eating anyway.

"Regina, if you want something else, I can make you something else," Emma offered.

"No, it's fine," Regina insisted, plastering on a fake smile that looked very rehearsed. Emma guessed that it was a safe bet that Regina didn't get a say in a lot of things in her life, including what she ate.

"I found some of my old clothes after you went to bed last night," Henry told Emma, "some things that I think will fit her, until you get her some new stuff."

"Good thinking, kid," Emma smiled.

"Boys clothes?" Regina asked, looking again like she might cry.

"Only until we can get you something else to wear," Emma promised, "you can't walk around town naked."

Regina's eyes widened at that remarked, and she nodded solemnly.

"Kid, I was joking. It's okay to laugh," Emma said, shaking her head and smiling.

After breakfast, Emma helped Regina change into a pair of Henry's old denim overalls and a white long sleeved shirt.

"You are so adorable, you don't even know," Emma said, grinning like an idiot.

"These feel funny," Regina commented, picking at the legs of the overalls.

"I know, you'll get used to them," Emma replied. "So, listen, kid. We have to go into town and get you some clothes and stuff. Now, this will be easier if we take my car. It's not dark magic and it's not going to hurt you…. do you think that would be okay?"

"It's technology?" Regina asked, remembering the word Henry had taught her, though she still didn't actually know what it meant.

"Well, it's automotive…" Emma said, before she realized that wasn't helping either.

"If you say it's safe, then I trust you," Regina said, with an emphatic nod.

Once Henry had changed, the trio headed off towards Regina's vault, where Emma had left her Bug parked. Once they got there, and she strapped a very nervous little Regina into the middle of the backseat, she started the car and headed off into town. Regina watched out the window silently, until Emma pulled up in front of a children's clothing store.

"See, that wasn't so bad, was it?" Emma asked, as she freed Regina from her seatbelt.

"It was okay," Regina agreed.

Emma took Regina by the hand and led her into the clothing store. Regina's eyes went wide as she looked around at all the colours and patterns.

"See anything you like?" Emma asked.

"I don't understand… where's the seamstress?"

"There isn't one… the clothes are already made. You just find ones you like in your size, and we buy them," Emma said, with a shrug.

"Look at this one! It's perfect!" Henry declared, holding up a little pink shirt with purple glittery writing that read: You may be be a princess, but I'm the QUEEN.

"Yes!" Emma laughed, we're getting that."

"But I'm not the Queen. I am a princess," Regina corrected.

"I know… it's just… it's a joke. It's cute," Emma said.

Regina seemed to be in no rush to point out anything she liked, so Emma and Henry got to work picking out a few cute outfits for her. Emma couldn't resist buying her skinny jeans and Converse. She figured Regina was probably going to kill her anyway, she might as well make it all worth it.

After they packed the bags of clothes in the trunk, Emma put Regina back in the backseat. "We're going to go see my parents now, so I can get my clothes. We'll get you changed into something new when we get there, okay?"

Regina nodded, and turned to look out the other window.

At the Charmings' loft, Emma changed Regina into a purple skirt and the shirt Henry had picked out. Even though Regina didn't seem to love the clothes by any means, she did seem to relax a little once she was in the skirt and not pants, at least.

"This house is small," Regina commented. Emma bit her lip. She knew this Regina had no idea about the dark curse or the fact that she had, in fact, forced Snow White to live in this tiny apartment.

"It's not small, it's cozy," Emma heard Snow's voice from behind her.

"But, you're a princess!" Regina insisted, looking positively stricken.

"I know, but not all princesses live in palaces," Snow replied, with a shrug.

"Regina, we're going to go to the playground now, okay? And have some fun," Emma said with a smile, as she grabbed her bag of clothes off her bed, and led Regina down the stairs.

Regina's eyes widened with intrigued as they reached the playground, and she saw other children running around and laughing.

"I get to play with the peasants?" she asked. There was no malice in those words. She sounded like she was actually excited at the prospect of playing with the peasants – something Emma was sure Cora had forbade her to do.

"They're not peasants," Emma said, "we don't really have peasants here. They're just kids. And yes, you can play with them."

For the first time since she discovered little Regina hiding in the vault, Emma saw a big, genuine smile of excitement on her little face as she freed her from her seatbelt again.

"Listen to me, Regina," Emma said, before letting her go off, "stay with Henry. He'll show you how everything works and make sure you don't get hurt, okay?"

Regina nodded eagerly and took Henry's hand, and they were off running.

"Be careful!" Emma yelled after them, before heading over to a bench and collapsing into the seat to watch them play. Regina seemed to be enjoying herself, and Henry was having a good time, which made Emma smile. Maybe this wouldn't be so bad.

After a while of playing, Emma ushered the kids back to the car, so they could get lunch. Regina was still beaming.

"Did you have fun?" Emma asked as she started the car, even though the answer was obvious.

"Oh yes!" Regina replied, "but I got dirty."

"That's alright," Emma laughed, "you're allowed to get dirty when you're with me. I bought those clothes, remember… get them as dirty as you want."

For the first time, Emma actually heard a small laugh escape little Regina's mouth, and the sound melted Emma's heart.

She pulled up to Granny's diner, and brought the kids inside. She tried to ignore the stares they were getting, as everyone here apparently already knew the situation. In a way she was thankful that she wouldn't have to explain it, but she wished people in this town could mind their own business.

Ruby came over right away to take their orders. "That shirt is absolutely precious," she said, smiling at little Regina before leaning in towards Emma. "She's gonna murder you," she whispered.

"Oh, I know," Emma laughed.

Emma ordered them all grilled cheeses and chocolate milkshakes. Regina recognized what the sandwich was from yesterday, and even though she didn't have a clue what this frosty drink in front of her was, she watched Henry and Emma drink theirs from their straws, and decided to follow suit.

"This, I like," Regina said, grinning at the milkshake. Henry let out a laugh, knowing full well his mother would never admit to such a thing in her adult state.

"I had a feeling you might," Emma replied, with a wink.

When they finished lunch, Henry eagerly asked what was next. Emma glanced at Regina, and noticed she had a pained look on her face.

"Regina, are you feeling okay?" she asked.

"Yes, I feel fine," Regina said, putting on that fake smile again.

"Well, I think maybe we should head home for a while, anyway," Emma said. She took the kids outside and got everyone loaded into the car, and headed back to the mansion, glancing back occasionally at Regina in the backseat, turning greener by the minute.

Shit, Emma thought, knowing full well she had over done it. It didn't occur to her until just now that she had given little Regina lot of dairy, especially for a child who came from a world that didn't have pasteurization. Please hold on until we get home, Emma silently willed her, not wanting to clean vomit from the Bug's upholstery.

As soon as Emma had gotten Regina out of the Bug, Regina turned to her and said, "I don't feel well."

"I know, sweetie, let's-" Emma didn't get the whole sentence out before Regina's lunch and milkshake came back up, all over both of them and the driveway.

Awesome.

Chapter Text

The porch lights flickered until the bulbs blew out as Emma scooped the now wailing Regina up in her arms and carried her inside.

"Henry, grab the bags," she called behind her as she started up the stairs to the bathroom.

"It's ok, it's ok," she repeated as she stroked Regina's dark curls as she continued to cry.

In Regina's en suite, Emma peeled Regina's clothes off as the tub began to fill. Adult Regina had not given Emma any false memories of being vomitted on by Henry as a child, but Emma had spend enough time in group home where kids all got sick at the same time to be able to keep a cool head in the midst of everything.

"Here!" she heard Henry's voice behind her as he dropped the bags from the car in thw doorway and hurried out of the room. Emma grabbed a pair of jeans from her bag and changed her pants quickly. She would need to shower later, but the crying little brunette was her priority now.

Regina's sobs had reduced to just sniffles by the time Emma lifted her into the tub.

"Does your tummy still hurt?" Emma asked her as she began washing her. Regina just nodded. "I'm so sorry, Baby," Emma told her.

Regina cocked her head to the side, in apparent confusion. "Why are you sorry to me?" she asked.

"Because this one's on me, kid. I fed you too much food you weren't used to. That was my fault, and I'm sorry," Emma explained.

"Adults aren't supposed to be sorry to children," Regina pointed out.

Of all the things Regina had said to her as her five-year-old self, Emma found this to be the most disturbing. "What to you mean? What about when an adult does something wrong?"

Regina's mouth gaped, as she tried to figure out an answer to that question. "No one has ever apologized to me before."

"But you apologize," Emma pointed out.

"I have to, because I'm bad," Regina replied.

"You're not bad," Emma insisted. "You haven't done one bad thing since I met you."

"Mama says I'm bad," Regina said, looking down.

"Well, no offense kid, but your mother is wrong. You're a sweet girl, and you're not bad."

"Mama says I'm inso... inso..."

"Insolent?" Emma suggested.

Regina nodded.

"Well, guess what? Your mother is wrong about that, too. You are the least insolent child I have ever met."

Regina offered her a small smile at that. "I'm starting to feel better."

"Well, I'm glad, but I think we'll take it a little easier this afternoon," Emma said, as she lifted Regina out of the tub and wrapped her in a towel.

Emma picked up the bags of clothing they had bought in the morning and laid the clothes out on Regina's bed. "What do you want to wear?"

Regina looked at the clothes carefully. "What do you like?" she asked.

Emma was tempted to grab the little skinny jeans, but she opted for a cute blue dress. "How about this?" Emma asked, holding it up.

Regina nodded, and Emma helped her get changed.

"When can I go home?" Regina asked quietly, once she was dressed.

"You've kind of had enough, haven't you?" Emma asked.

Regina nodded. "I like you, Emma, but I don't like this place."

"I know, Sweetie. I like you, too. I promise the rest of your time with me will be better, okay?"

"You like me?" Regina asked, as if the notion was absurd.

"Of course I do. You're a good kid, regardless of what your mother might think."

"What else can we do today?"

"Well, I'm thinking we'll stay in this afternoon. Let's go see what Henry's doing, okay?" Emma suggested.

Regina nodded, and then hesitated for a moment, twirling one of her curls around her fingers.

"What is it?" Emma asked.

"Can you braid my hair?" Regina asked, shyly.

"Um... well, I don't know how to braid, but I can do something else," Emma said, heading back into Regina's en suite to look for some hair things. She returned moments later with a couple elastics and a hair brush.

She sat on the edge of the bed and patted her lap, motioning for Regina to come sit on her knees. Regina stood for a moment, staring, and debating whether or not that would be proper behaviour for a princess.

"Come on, Sweetie, sit here and I'll do your hair," Emma told her.

Finally, Regina climbed onto Emma's lap. "Sometimes I see the peasant children sitting on their mothers' laps when we go into town," Regina told her. "And they look happy."

"Your mother doesn't let you sit on her lap?" Emma asked, as she began brushing Regina's soft hair.

"She doesn't want to coddle me," Regina explained.

"Do you know what coddle means?" Emma asked.

Regina shrugged. "It means she doesn't give me lots of hugs and kisses. She said I need to learn independence."

"Well, I disagree with your mother there. I think children need lots of hugs and kisses."

Regina seemed to consider that comment carefully as Emma worked away at putting two pigtails into her dark hair.

"What are you thinking about, Sweetheart?" Emma asked, when she noticed how quiet Regina had gotten.

"I was thinking... that maybe you could give me hugs and not tell my mother?"

Emma laughed and wrapped her arms aroud Regina, squeezing her tight and causing that sweet little giggle to escape again. The sound was music to Emma's ears.

"It will be our secret," Emma assured her, giving her one last squeeze before letting her go. "Do you want to see what I did to your hair?"

Regina nodded and Emma picked her up and walked her to the bathroom mirror.

"They're crooked," she said, scrunching up her nose as she grabbed a pigtail in each hand.

"I tried my best!" Emma insisted. "I'm new at this, ya know?"

"It's okay. You'll get better," Regina smiled. For the first time, Emma realized that Regina at five didn't have a scar on her lip. She had always wondered how she had gotten, but never had the nerve to ask her. She had asked Henry once, but he had never asked her either, and Emma just assumed it was something she didn't talk about.

"What are you looking at?" Regina asked, realizing that Emma was staring at her reflection in the mirror pretty intently.

"I was just looking at how cute you are!" Emma said, giving her another quick squeeze as she heard someone knock on the front door.

"Who's that?" Regina asked, and Emma noticed she didn't jump this time.

"I have no idea," Emma responded. "Let's go see!"

Emma carried Regina down the stairs. She knew Regina was more than capable of walking, but after everything that had already happened today, Emma kind of liked holding the little girl close to her.

When they emerged at the bottom of the stairs, Snow was standing in the foyer with Henry.

"Hey," Emma said, as Regina squirmed in her arms. She let her down, and Regina hurried to curtsey to Snow, who returned the curtsey right away.

"I'll never get sick of this," Snow said, turning to Emma.

"What are you doing here?" Emma asked.

"Henry called me. He said Regina wasn't feeling well. He thought maybe I could help."

Emma's first instinct was to tell her mother she was fine, but she also knew how much Snow had always loved Regina, since she was a child herself, and she could tell she really wanted a chance to help out.

"I think I gave her too much food she wasn't used to," Emma admitted. "I could use some help making some real food for dinner tonight."

Emma felt a little tug on her hand, and knelt down to Regina's eye level. "What is it, Sweetheart?"

Regina leaned in and whispered in Emma's ear. Emma stood back up and smiled at Snow. "Our little princess would like to know if you can braid her hair. She's not too fond of her crooked pigtails, apparently."

Snow leaned down in front of Regina. "Pigtails are not very becoming of a princess, are they?"

Regina smiled and shook her head. "No, they're not."

"Well, maybe after dinner I can teach Emma how to braid, so she can braid your hair everyday," Snow suggested, and Regina nodded, eagerly.

"Alright, then, let's see what's in the kitchen, shall we?" Snow said, as she headed towards the kitchen. "Come on, Emma... I think it's high time for a culinary lesson, don't you?"

"Coming with?" Emma asked, holding out her hand to Regina.

"I can help?" Regina asked, excitedly.

"Of course!" she replied, before turning to Henry. "You wanna help, too?"

"Nah... I think I'll take this opportunity to play my game," he said, headed back to the living room.

Regina followed Emma eagerly into the kitchen, and Emma pulled a chair up to the counter so she could reach. Emma couldn't help but notice how she was beaming, and she wondered if Regina didn't really get included much during her actual childhood.

"I'm thinking homemade chicken soup," Snow said, as she started getting out ingredients. "How does that sound, Regina?"

"That sounds lovely," Regina nodded.

The three made small talk as Snow delegated tasks to Emma and Regina. When the soup was cooking, and once the table was set, Emma sent Regina to go play with Henry - who quickly turned off his game and got a book to read - so she could chat with her mother.

"She doesn't have her scar," Emma said, once Regina was out of earshot.

Snow nodded. "I noticed that."

"Do you know how she got it?"

"No. I asked her once, not long after she married my father, and she got upset. I never mentioned it again."

Emma called the kids to the table when dinner was ready.

"What do you think?" Snow asked.

"This is nice," Regina said, smiling.

"Better than Fruit Loops?" Henry asked.

Regina scrunched up her nose and nodded. "Much better!"

After dinner, Emma set Regina up on the couch between herself and Snow, so her mother could teach her how to braid.

"How come your mother never taught you to braid when you were a child?" Regina asked. Snow shifted uncomfortably in her seat.

"It's... a long story, kid," Emma replied, looking at her uneven braid compared to the perfect one Snow had done.

"You'll get the hang of it," Snow said, with a smile.

"What do you think, Regina? Can I practice on your hair til I get good at this?"

Regina grinned and nodded, before letting out a big yawn.

"Looks like someone's tired," Snow remarked.

"Mm-hmm. Come on, kid. Say good night to Snow and Henry," Emma said, standing.

Once good nights had been exchanged and Emma got Regina changed into a night gown and tucked into bed, she sat down beside her and started stroking her hair. "Did you have a good day today, baby?"

"Yes... even though I got sick, this was my favourite day in a very long time," Regina said, smiling up at her. "Thank you for getting me new clothes, and for everything else."

"You're welcome, Sweetheart. We'll have more fun tomorrow, okay?"

Regina nodded and closed her eyes, and again Emma sat with her until long after she fell asleep. This time, she caught herself wishing she could keep this little angel forever.

Chapter Text

Chapter Six

In the morning, Emma woke up to the feeling of someone breathing on her face.  She blinked a few times, adjusting her eyes to the light, and was met by Regina’s curious brown eyes, inches from her face.

“What are you doing?” Emma groaned.

“You slept in my bed!” Regina exclaimed.  “In your day clothes!”

Emma laughed.  “I guess I feel asleep here.”

“You talked in your sleep,” Regina commented, backing away so Emma could sit up.

“What did I say?”

Regina shrugged.  “I don’t know.  It sounded like gibberish.  But I thought you were having a nightmare.”

“That happens sometimes, kid,” Emma shrugged, “I’m used to it.”

Regina just looked at her quizzically, as if she were trying to figure her out.

“What?” Emma asked finally, with an exasperated laugh, when Regina didn’t stop staring.

“You’re not like any adults I have ever met,” Regina replied.

“Is that a good thing or a bad thing?” Emma asked, raising her eyebrow.

“I don’t know yet.  I’m hungry.”

Emma smiled.  “Okay, well then let’s get breakfast, shall we?  I can make oatmeal, it’s better for you than Fruit Loops.”

“I should get dressed first.  I can’t sit at the table in my nightgown!” Regina exclaimed.

“Alright,” Emma laughed.  She got up and headed to the dresser, where she had tucked away Regina’s new clothes after the child had fallen asleep the night before.  “What do you want to wear?”

Regina came over and eyed the clothing carefully, then looked back at what Emma was wearing.  “You bought me pants that look like that,” she commented, pointing at Emma’s faded skinny jeans.

“Yes, I did.  Do you want to wear them?”

Regina shifted, looking back at the drawer, as if she were trying to figure out a way to say yes, without seeming like she actually wanted to.  “I could… if you think I should?” she said, finally.

“We could be twins!” Emma grinned.  She no longer cared if Regina was going to roast her when this was all over.  She was loving it way too much.

She dressed Regina in her skinny jeans and a plain white t-shirt, and pulled her dark hair back into a ponytail.  “You look good, kid,” Emma remarked, pointing towards the full length mirror on the wall.

Regina looked at herself for a moment.  “I don’t look like a princess.”

“Is that a problem?” Emma asked.

Regina shook her head.  “Sometimes, I wish I wasn’t a princess.  I wish I was just common.”

“Well, here, you can be,” Emma nodded.  “Now I’m going to get changed, and we can have breakfast.”  Emma left Regina to continue to admire her new look in front of the mirror, while she headed into the guest bedroom to change into a clean pair of jeans and a white tank top.  She pulled her long blonde hair into a ponytail, and headed back to fetch Regina.  She peeked into Henry’s room on the way by, but she was already out of bed.  She expected to find him downstairs, trying to squeeze in some video game time before Regina came in and freaked out.

Emma reached for Regina’s hand and led her down the stairs.  Sure enough, she was right in her guess as to where Henry was, but this time, Regina didn’t freak out. 

“How does that work?” she asked, looking at the screen.

“The controller, in Henry’s hand: he presses buttons and it tells the characters what to do,” Emma explained.

“Do you think I could do it?” Regina asked, looking up, hopefully.

“Probably,” Emma smiled, trying to imagine Regina playing video games, “maybe Henry can teach you.  On a less violent game.”

Regina nodded.  “I don’t like when people get hurt,” she said, very seriously.  Emma couldn’t help but smirk at that.

“What do you think, kid?” Emma called over to Henry, who she knew had been listening the whole time.  “Can you teach Reggie to play?”

Regina looked up at Emma, her mouth gaping.  “Don’t call me that!”

Emma laughed.  “Sorry, kid, I thought it was worth a try.  I thought a new personality would go with a new look.”

Henry turned, and rolled his eyes when he saw how his child-like mother was dressed.  “New look? More like your look!”

“We’re twins!” Regina announced, proudly.

“I can see that,” Henry agreed, before looking at Emma and mouthing, ‘she’ll kill you’.

“Do you want to come with me to make breakfast, Regina?” Emma asked.

“Yes!” Regina nodded, eagerly. 

Emma pulled up the chair to the counter again, so Regina could help.   It came as no surprise to Emma that the adult Regina didn’t keep instant oatmeal in her cupboards, but luckily cooking oatmeal on the stove was something that Emma had actually learned to do.  Even though it was a fairly simple process – much easier than chicken soup from scratch – Regina seemed just as enthralled and impressed as she had the night before.

When the oatmeal was done, Emma cut up fruit on top, and called Henry into the dining room. 

“What is this?” Henry asked, poking at the oatmeal.  She knew he knew what it was, he was just shocked she knew how to make it.

“It’s healthy,” Emma replied.

“It’s delicious,” Regina cut in, smiling.

“Well, I’m glad you approve, your Highness,” Emma chuckled.

Regina’s smile faded, and she looked at Emma with a serious face.  “Don’t tell my mother what I said before, about wanting to be common.  She wouldn’t like it.”

“Sweetheart, I can promise you I won’t tell your mother anything that goes on while you’re with me, okay?”

Regina nodded, and seemed visibly relieved at that answer.  If it weren’t for the fact that Emma knew telling her Cora was dead would traumatize her, she almost wished she could, so the child could relax.  She had to wonder exactly what Cora could have possibly done to instill this much fear into this tiny child.  She knew Cora didn’t have her heart, and couldn’t really love Regina, but she started to wonder just how cruel she could have been.  Not for the first time, she wondered what Henry Sr’s role was in all of this, as well.

“Can you show me how to control the people on the TV now?” Regina asked, the moment breakfast was done.

“Yeah, sure, kid,” Henry grinned.  Emma could tell the prospect of actually getting his mother to play a video game – regardless of the fact that she was currently a five-year-old child – was just too enticing for Henry to pass up.

“Nothing violent,” Emma reminded him, before leaning in to whisper, “and now she’s gonna kill both of us.”

“Mostly you,” Henry said, with a laugh, as he headed back to the other room, his little shadow Regina close behind him.

Emma sighed and started clearing the dishes from the table.  In her own home, she would have let them pile up for days, but with Regina under an unpredictable spell, she didn’t want to risk her turning back to her regular self in a disaster of a home.

When she was finished with the dishes, she headed back into the other room, where Henry was busy trying to teach Regina to play Mario Kart.  Regina looked more frustrated than ever, and Emma couldn’t help but think how much the miniature version of her pissed-off face looked a lot like the grown up version.  Thankfully, the lights weren’t flickering yet, so there was time to intervene.

“Let me help you, Sweetheart,” Emma said, as she sat down on the couch and pulled Regina into her lap, enclosing her hands around Regina’s little ones on the controller.

“That’s not fair!” Henry protested, as Regina’s car finally passed him, with Emma’s assistance.  Regina let out a gleeful laugh as Emma pressed a button to drop a banana peel, sending Henry’s kart spinning out.

“Henry’s just mad because I’m the Mario Kart champion!” Emma declared.

“Maybe one day I will be the Mario Kart champion,” Regina said, looking hopefully at Emma as their kart crossed the finish line first.

“In your dreams,” Henry laughed.

“Don’t worry, I’ll teach you all my secrets.  You’ll be beating Henry in no time,” Emma promised.

“No fair!” Henry cried, in a surprisingly whiny voice, that made Emma laugh again.

“Remind me which on is the five-year-old again?”

Regina looked at the screen, and then back at Emma again, with a somber expression.  “I can’t be the Mario Kart champion.  We don’t have this, in my world,” she sighed.

“No, you’re right, you don’t,” Emma agreed.

“Maybe… I should just stay here, a little longer?” Regina suggested.  It took Emma by surprise, and momentarily he thought Regina was actually choosing a video game over her home and family.  Slowly, it began to occur to her, that it was more than that.  Regina wasn’t choosing this game, she was choosing this life – a life where she was happy and had fun and received affection – over her real life in the Enchanted Forest.

Emma wrapped her arms around Regina and squeezed her tight, remembering her promise to give her lots of hugs.  “You can stay here as long as you want,” she promised.

“Go again?” Henry asked, motioning towards the game.

“Yes!” Emma said, putting her hands back with Regina’s on the controller.  “We would absolutely love to kick your ass again.”

“Mom!” Henry exclaimed, looking at Regina to see if she noticed, or knew what the word meant.  For her part, she seemed unfazed.

“I meant butt, kick your butt,” Emma stammered.

“Not better,” Henry laughed, as he started the next round.

“Sorry, mom,” Emma said, sarcastically.  Regina looked back at her, confused.  “Watch the road, Regina, we’ve gotta win!  I’m undefeated, you know!”

Regina turned back quickly and watched the screen intently, even though Emma was actually doing all the work.  Regina cheered when they came up victorious again, and Emma couldn’t help but laugh.  She thought about all the things that the adult Regina would probably be doing on a Sunday morning, and she knew round after round of Mario Kart would have never made the list.  She wondered if, perhaps, when this was all over, maybe it would.

Chapter Text

After several more rounds of Emma and Regina annihilating Henry at Mario Kart, Regina insisted that she could play on her own now. Emma reluctantly let go of the controller and let Regina take over. The little one was still perched on Emma's lap as Henry started the next game.

She got off to a rough start, but Emma was actually impressed at how well she was controlling her kart, even if she was losing miserably to Henry.

Henry cackled as he dropped a banana peel and made Regina's kart spin out.

"That's not nice!" Regina cried.

"It wasn't nice the fifty times you did it to me, either," Henry shrugged.

"Emma! Make him play fair!" Regina demanded.

"He is," Emma laughed, "you're just mad because you're not winning."

Regina scrunched her face into a scowl and threw the controller on the floor.

"Regina, we don't throw things on the floor. We need to respect other people's property," Emma scolded, thinking back to how various other foster families had handled her own tantrums growing up.

"I don't want to play anymore. Henry is a mean boy," Regina insisted, folding her arms over her chest and pouting.

"Victory at last!" Henry exclaimed, as he coasted over the finish line.

"Hardly," Emma teased, "but you go ahead and revel in defeating a preschooler."

Regina's head snapped around and she looked at Henry with angry, dark eyes. "You're lucky my mother isn't here! She would obliterate you for what you did!"

"Whoa," Emma cautioned, "let's tone down the obliteration, okay? Henry beat you fair and square, Regina. You can't win every time."

"But I never win!" Regina cried, jumping off Emma's lap and turning to face Henry, challengingly, her lip quivering in pure frustration. Emma noticed the lights flickering, and worried about the earthquake coming if Regina had a full blown temper tantrum.

"Kid! Calm down! It's just a game," Emma said, trying to keep her voice steady.

"Don't call me 'kid', I am a princess! And you have no respect!" Regina stated, stomping her little foot. If it weren't for the dangerous magical offshoots, Emma would have found this tantrum hilarious, but she knew she had to take it seriously and calm the child down.

"I'm a princess, too," Emma reminded her, "and I'm an adult. You're five. You don't get to speak to me like this."

"I'm six, you ignorant peasant girl!" Regina retorted, turning to look at Emma. Emma gasped, looking at her little face, which now had an angry looking red scar above the lip. Emma decided to ignore the 'ignorant peasant girl' comment, as she was sure they had bigger issues to deal with now.

"You're six," Emma repeated. "This morning you were five, and now you're six."

"No I wasn't," Regina insisted, scrunching her face in confusion. Thankfully, the confusion seemed to be distracting her from her tantrum, and the lights slowly stopped flickering.

"Sweetheart, where did you get that cut on your lip?" Emma asked, softly.

Regina absently ran her fingers over the scar. It didn't look new, but it wasn't fully healed either. Regina touched it lightly, her wide eyes on Emma. "I fell off my horse, on my birthday."

"When you turned six?" Emma asked. Regina nodded. Emma looked over Regina, wondering if it was her imagination that the child seemed to have grown an inch or two. Regina was still fairly scrawny, but Emma knew it wasn't her imagination that the jeans that had fit her this morning were now an inch too short.

Regina shifted uncomfortably and looked at the floor, spotting the game controller she had thrown. She picked it up, holding it up to Emma and Henry as a sort of peace offering. "I'm sorry for how I acted just now. I don't know what came over me," she said, sounding much older than even six.

Emma took the controller and sighed. She wondered if the tantrum was typical of Regina at six, or some strange byproduct of the spell wearing off. One thing she knew for certain: she needed to speak to Gold.

"Do you think you're up for another try?" Henry suggested. Emma wondered if he was coming to the same conclusion she was, and knew she needed to slip away.

Regina nodded, and offered a small smile of gratitude as she climbed back onto the couch and accepted the controller back from Henry. Emma threw Henry a nod, and got up to leave the room, to call Gold.

"Miss Swan," Gold greeted.

"We have a problem. Regina is six," Emma said.

"Yes, well, that is hardly news, and if I recall correctly, that problem is solely yours, not ours."

"It has just become ours, because she was five this morning. The spell is wearing off slowly, not all at once, which means it's only a matter of time before she's the Evil Queen again. That would be your problem."

Emma heard Gold audibly sigh. "Are you sure?"

"Well, she now has a nasty red scar over her lip that wasn't there before, so yeah, I'm sure."

"Did she happen to tell you how she acquired it?" Gold asked, and Emma was surprised that his interest was suddenly piqued.

"She said she fell off a horse, on her sixth birthday," Emma reiterated.

"Yes, well, I suppose that's how six-year-old Regina would have remembered it at the time."

"So that's not what happened?" Emma asked, confused. She supposed she shouldn't be surprised. It had to be something more sinister than a horse riding accident for Regina to be so secretive about it.

"Remember, Emma... Regina grew up with Cora. A lot of things were not as they seemed at the time, and that's the way Cora liked it. It helped her keep Regina in check."

Emma's stomach turned at that, and she wondered, truly, what horrors Regina had faced in her childhood, at the hands of her mother. "You know what actually happened, don't you?" Emma asked.

"Would you like to continue gossiping, Miss Swan, or would you like me to start working on an antidote for this spell?"

Emma sighed. "Get to work."

There was a knock at the door just as Emma ended the call, and she headed to answer it before going to check on the kids. She wasn't surprised to see her mother there.

"I thought you could use some help with lunch," Snow offered, her eyes beaming. Emma could tell she was loving Regina being little just as much as she was. Surprisingly enough, Emma thought, Snow was the only one who had yet to do something she would have to pay for later.

Emma filled Snow in on Regina's recent growth spurt and her conversation with Gold.

"What if he can't make an antidote?" Snow asked, quite visibly concerned. The concern didn't come as a surprise to Emma, since the return of the Evil Queen could mean certain death for her mother in a world where she wasn't protected against Regina.

"I... I guess we hope that giving her a better life and better memories somehow prevents the downfall?" Emma suggested, though she didn't feel overly confident in that assertion.

Snow nodded, and followed Emma into the room where the kids were still playing.

"I kicked his ass!" Regina exclaimed, turning to Emma with a proud grin on her face.

"Emma!" Snow gasped, shocked.

"What? I didn't teach her that," Emma lied, winking at Henry. She could tell by his smile that he had let her win.

"I don't believe that for a second," Snow scoffed, rolling her eyes.

"Did I do something bad?" Regina asked, looking back and forth between Emma and Snow, confused.

"No, Regina, you didn't. Emma did," Snow said, looking pointedly at Emma.

"Apparently, my mother doesn't think that language is becoming of a princess," Emma laughed.

Regina looked at her with wide, fearful eyes. "Is she going to punish you?" Regina whispered.

Emma felt her heart drop to her stomach. "No, sweetie, we're just playing around," Emma assured her, sitting down next to her and pulling her onto her lap in a tight embrace. "No one is getting punished. I promise."

Snow sat down next to Emma, looking to Regina's dark eyes. "I didn't mean to scare you, Regina. I'm sorry. I'm not going to punish Emma."

"So you beat Henry?" Emma asked, hoping to change the subject.

Regina grinned and nodded. "I'm not as good as you yet."

"One day you will be," Emma assured her, giving her one more squeeze for good measure. She knew if they ended up having to keep the Evil Queen at bay themselves, she needed to start now.

Chapter Text

Considering the overly eventful morning of swearing princesses, temper tantrums, and Regina's sudden growth spurt, the afternoon managed to remain uneventful, for the most part. Emma managed to magically stretch out the rest of Regina's wardrobe, Henry let his little mother win at Mario Kart a few times – but not every time, as he didn't want it to go to her head – and Snow stayed and supervised, until after dinner.

Emma didn't particularly think she needed her mother hovering, but she didn't mind having the company of another adult in the house.

After dinner, and once Snow had gone home, Emma brought Regina into the living room and sat her on the couch with Henry.

"I think we deserve a movie night, tonight," Emma said. "A movie is like TV, Regina, people are going to appear on the screen, but it's not magic. Do you think that will be alright?"

Regina nodded, and smiled politely.

"Good," Emma said, "Henry, why don't you pick out something age-appropriate for a six-year-old, and I'll make popcorn."

Emma searched around Regina's kitchen for popcorn, knowing that Henry had it there on movie nights with his mom. To her dismay, she quickly discovered that Regina didn't have bagged microwave popcorn, but rather an air-popper.

"Figures," Emma sighed, pulling it out from the cupboard and Googling how to use the thing. It took some time, but she finally got the oil and popcorn kernels in the right places, and the popcorn started to pop up and fill the bowl below.

When the bowl was full, Emma returned to the living room and settled in between Regina and Henry, pulling a blanket over all three of them. Henry started the movie, and Regina watched with wide-eyed wonder, until she fell asleep against Emma halfway through.

Emma smiled and stroked at her soft, dark hair, absently.

"You like her like this, don't you?" Henry asked, munching on more popcorn.

"She's much nicer at this age, don't you think?" Emma smirked.

Henry shrugged. "She's always nice to me, anyway."

"Lucky you," Emma laughed, even though Regina hadn't been nearly as rude to her recently as she had in the past. "I'm kind of starting to think she won't kill me when this is over. Is that just wishful thinking?"

Henry laughed. "You might be alright, as long as you don't tease her about any of this stuff, afterwards."

"I can't promise I won't bring up her newfound desire to be the Mario Kart champion," Emma shrugged. "But I guess it's time to put her to bed."

Emma stood and lifted Regina. She was a little heavier at six than she was at five, which was to be expected, but also made Emma a little sad. She really did like her like this, and she was pretty sure she was going to miss this little girl when Regina returned to normal. She knew she would miss her a lot if Gold couldn't come up with an antidote before she hit the 'Evil Queen' phase, but Emma didn't want to think about that right now. Or ever.

She changed the sleeping princess into a nightgown, and tucked her into her bed, giving her a light kiss on the forehead, before heading back to the guest room to change for bed herself. She wasn't used to going to bed before Henry, but Regina tired her out, and she knew she would be up at the crack of dawn the next morning again.

Emma was barely asleep two hours when she was awoken to the sound of wailing coming from Regina's room. She tried to jump out of bed, catching her foot on the blanket in her hurry and landing on the floor with a thud, before shaking her leg free and getting up again. Regina's wailing was getting louder, and Emma took off down the hall to get to her.

Regina was sitting up in her bed, her hands over her face, screaming in hysterics. Emma thought she could make out the words "It hurts! It hurts!"

She flicked on the lights and ran to the girl, grabbing her by the shoulders. "Regina! Regina, what's wrong? What hurts?"

"Mama please!" Regina wailed, and Emma realized she was still dreaming. She shook her gently until she opened her eyes, and looked up at Emma.

"Emma?" Regina whispered, looking around the room, trying to figure out where she was. Her tears stopped in an instant, but she was now hiccupping and trying to catch her breath.

"It's okay, Baby, I'm right here," Emma said, pulling her up onto her lap and squeezing her close. "You were having a bad dream."

Regina nodded, still trying to catch her breath, and gripped the fabric on Emma's white tank top tightly.

"What were you dreaming about?" Emma asked, rubbing her back and rocking her gently.

"I dreamt…. About the time I fell off my horse," Regina said, quietly.

"On your birthday?"

Regina nodded, and sighed, releasing Emma shirt from her grasp, and opting to wrap her little arms around Emma's torso instead, allowing herself to get closer.

"It's okay now, Baby. It's all over, and you're safe. You're not hurt, okay?"

Regina nodded again. "You don't have to hold me. I'm not a baby," Regina said, though she made no attempt to move off of Emma's lap.

"I know you're not a baby, but sometimes it's nice to have someone hold you after a bad dream, isn't it?"

Regina seemed to think on that for a while, and Emma thought she might not even respond, until finally, "no one ever has, before."

Emma wanted to cry, thinking about all the hundreds of nightmares she had had to soothe for herself, when no one in the group home or various foster homes came running to her side. No one held her in the night, while she cried herself to sleep, and she always thought if she had her parents, things would be different. Apparently, having parents wasn't all it was cracked up to be, either.

She squeezed Regina tighter. "Do you want me to hold you until you fall back asleep."

Regina nodded again. "I… I think so."

Emma shifted so they could both settle underneath the covered, and Regina snuggled up against her. Emma stroked her hair as she closed her dark eyes, and it wasn't long before she was asleep again. Emma couldn't bring herself to stop watching her, thinking about the woman she knew she would grow back into.

She still couldn't fathom that this little girl could grow up to be the Evil Queen. She knew that Gold's manipulation had played a huge role in Regina's downfall, but she couldn't help but wondering what kind of things happened to her at this age, that made her so susceptible to it.

She wasn't sure she wanted to know.

All she wanted was to snuggle this little girl forever, the way she never had been when she was a child. The way neither of them had been.

When Emma fell back to sleep, she dreamed.

Emma looked around. She was six years old, in a group home again. Sleeping soundly in the bed beside her was a familiar dark haired little girl. Emma shook her awake.

"Regina! Why are you here?"

Regina smiled. "Emma, don't be silly."

"Regina! Come along, it's time to go home." Emma looked in the doorway and saw Cora standing there. She looked back and forth, panicking, between Cora and Regina.

"Yes, mother," Regina said, reluctantly. Emma watched in horror as the cut on Regina's lip began to bleed, but Regina didn't seem to notice as she got out of bed.

"No, wait!" Emma cried. "You can't take her away!"

Cora walked up to the bed and grabbed Emma by her little arm, pulling her right up in the air. "Very well, I'll take you instead!"

"No!" Emma shot up in bed, her heart racing and tears burning at her eyes.

"Emma?" Regina's little terrified voice came from beside her.

Emma closed her eyes and tried to force herself to calm down. She laid back down beside Regina and pulled her close again. "Sorry, Baby, I didn't mean to scare you. I just had a bad dream, too."

Regina snuggled in as close as she could. "Then I will hold you," she said, softly.

Emma smiled.

She definitely liked Regina like this.

Chapter Text

Considering the overly eventful morning of swearing princesses, temper tantrums, and Regina's sudden growth spurt, the afternoon managed to remain uneventful, for the most part. Emma managed to magically stretch out the rest of Regina's wardrobe, Henry let his little mother win at Mario Kart a few times – but not every time, as he didn't want it to go to her head – and Snow stayed and supervised, until after dinner.

Emma didn't particularly think she needed her mother hovering, but she didn't mind having the company of another adult in the house.

After dinner, and once Snow had gone home, Emma brought Regina into the living room and sat her on the couch with Henry.

"I think we deserve a movie night, tonight," Emma said. "A movie is like TV, Regina, people are going to appear on the screen, but it's not magic. Do you think that will be alright?"

Regina nodded, and smiled politely.

"Good," Emma said, "Henry, why don't you pick out something age-appropriate for a six-year-old, and I'll make popcorn."

Emma searched around Regina's kitchen for popcorn, knowing that Henry had it there on movie nights with his mom. To her dismay, she quickly discovered that Regina didn't have bagged microwave popcorn, but rather an air-popper.

"Figures," Emma sighed, pulling it out from the cupboard and Googling how to use the thing. It took some time, but she finally got the oil and popcorn kernels in the right places, and the popcorn started to pop up and fill the bowl below.

When the bowl was full, Emma returned to the living room and settled in between Regina and Henry, pulling a blanket over all three of them. Henry started the movie, and Regina watched with wide-eyed wonder, until she fell asleep against Emma halfway through.

Emma smiled and stroked at her soft, dark hair, absently.

"You like her like this, don't you?" Henry asked, munching on more popcorn.

"She's much nicer at this age, don't you think?" Emma smirked.

Henry shrugged. "She's always nice to me, anyway."

"Lucky you," Emma laughed, even though Regina hadn't been nearly as rude to her recently as she had in the past. "I'm kind of starting to think she won't kill me when this is over. Is that just wishful thinking?"

Henry laughed. "You might be alright, as long as you don't tease her about any of this stuff, afterwards."

"I can't promise I won't bring up her newfound desire to be the Mario Kart champion," Emma shrugged. "But I guess it's time to put her to bed."

Emma stood and lifted Regina. She was a little heavier at six than she was at five, which was to be expected, but also made Emma a little sad. She really did like her like this, and she was pretty sure she was going to miss this little girl when Regina returned to normal. She knew she would miss her a lot if Gold couldn't come up with an antidote before she hit the 'Evil Queen' phase, but Emma didn't want to think about that right now. Or ever.

She changed the sleeping princess into a nightgown, and tucked her into her bed, giving her a light kiss on the forehead, before heading back to the guest room to change for bed herself. She wasn't used to going to bed before Henry, but Regina tired her out, and she knew she would be up at the crack of dawn the next morning again.

Emma was barely asleep two hours when she was awoken to the sound of wailing coming from Regina's room. She tried to jump out of bed, catching her foot on the blanket in her hurry and landing on the floor with a thud, before shaking her leg free and getting up again. Regina's wailing was getting louder, and Emma took off down the hall to get to her.

Regina was sitting up in her bed, her hands over her face, screaming in hysterics. Emma thought she could make out the words "It hurts! It hurts!"

She flicked on the lights and ran to the girl, grabbing her by the shoulders. "Regina! Regina, what's wrong? What hurts?"

"Mama please!" Regina wailed, and Emma realized she was still dreaming. She shook her gently until she opened her eyes, and looked up at Emma.

"Emma?" Regina whispered, looking around the room, trying to figure out where she was. Her tears stopped in an instant, but she was now hiccupping and trying to catch her breath.

"It's okay, Baby, I'm right here," Emma said, pulling her up onto her lap and squeezing her close. "You were having a bad dream."

Regina nodded, still trying to catch her breath, and gripped the fabric on Emma's white tank top tightly.

"What were you dreaming about?" Emma asked, rubbing her back and rocking her gently.

"I dreamt…. About the time I fell off my horse," Regina said, quietly.

"On your birthday?"

Regina nodded, and sighed, releasing Emma shirt from her grasp, and opting to wrap her little arms around Emma's torso instead, allowing herself to get closer.

"It's okay now, Baby. It's all over, and you're safe. You're not hurt, okay?"

Regina nodded again. "You don't have to hold me. I'm not a baby," Regina said, though she made no attempt to move off of Emma's lap.

"I know you're not a baby, but sometimes it's nice to have someone hold you after a bad dream, isn't it?"

Regina seemed to think on that for a while, and Emma thought she might not even respond, until finally, "no one ever has, before."

Emma wanted to cry, thinking about all the hundreds of nightmares she had had to soothe for herself, when no one in the group home or various foster homes came running to her side. No one held her in the night, while she cried herself to sleep, and she always thought if she had her parents, things would be different. Apparently, having parents wasn't all it was cracked up to be, either.

She squeezed Regina tighter. "Do you want me to hold you until you fall back asleep."

Regina nodded again. "I… I think so."

Emma shifted so they could both settle underneath the covered, and Regina snuggled up against her. Emma stroked her hair as she closed her dark eyes, and it wasn't long before she was asleep again. Emma couldn't bring herself to stop watching her, thinking about the woman she knew she would grow back into.

She still couldn't fathom that this little girl could grow up to be the Evil Queen. She knew that Gold's manipulation had played a huge role in Regina's downfall, but she couldn't help but wondering what kind of things happened to her at this age, that made her so susceptible to it.

She wasn't sure she wanted to know.

All she wanted was to snuggle this little girl forever, the way she never had been when she was a child. The way neither of them had been.

When Emma fell back to sleep, she dreamed.

Emma looked around. She was six years old, in a group home again. Sleeping soundly in the bed beside her was a familiar dark haired little girl. Emma shook her awake.

"Regina! Why are you here?"

Regina smiled. "Emma, don't be silly."

"Regina! Come along, it's time to go home." Emma looked in the doorway and saw Cora standing there. She looked back and forth, panicking, between Cora and Regina.

"Yes, mother," Regina said, reluctantly. Emma watched in horror as the cut on Regina's lip began to bleed, but Regina didn't seem to notice as she got out of bed.

"No, wait!" Emma cried. "You can't take her away!"

Cora walked up to the bed and grabbed Emma by her little arm, pulling her right up in the air. "Very well, I'll take you instead!"

"No!" Emma shot up in bed, her heart racing and tears burning at her eyes.

"Emma?" Regina's little terrified voice came from beside her.

Emma closed her eyes and tried to force herself to calm down. She laid back down beside Regina and pulled her close again. "Sorry, Baby, I didn't mean to scare you. I just had a bad dream, too."

Regina snuggled in as close as she could. "Then I will hold you," she said, softly.

Emma smiled.

She definitely liked Regina like this.

Chapter Text

Emma awoke the next morning to see Regina tugging at her pajamas, which seemed a little tighter on her today than they had the night before. Emma frowned.

"Baby, how old are you?"

Regina jumped at the unexpected voice, and her large brown eyes caught Emma's for a moment, before she looked away. "Seven," she whispered.

Emma shook her head in disbelief. "It's happening faster," she mumbled.

"What is?" Regina's little voice was rife with panic.

"Nothing, baby, everything's fine," Emma insisted, waving her hands to magically stretch Regina's pajamas – again. Regina gasped and flinched at the feel of the magic around her, and Emma frowned again. She guessed that by seven, Regina has experienced more than her fair share of magic used on her – or, more likely against her – and she didn't like it.

"Baby," Emma said, softly, running her fingers through Regina's soft, dark hair, which was notably longer than it was yesterday. "You know I would never use my magic to hurt you, right."

Regina nodded, but she looked unsure. Emma got up and grabbed some clothes for Regina, which she stretched and placed on the bed. "Get dressed kid, and we'll go do something fun today, okay?"

Regina nodded again as Emma left the room. She looked at the peculiar clothes Emma had selected for her: purple pants of a thick-ish fabric she didn't recognize, which were somehow shimmery, and a lavender coloured long sleeve shirt with a picture of a small dog wearing a necklace and some sort of eye covering, both with were embossed with fake diamonds.

Regina sighed and out the clothing on. It still felt strange, but she trusted Emma's judgment that these things were appropriate to wear, even if she knew her mother would punish her severely for dressing like the peasants she saw in the town. She tried to remember what Emma told her: her mother wasn't here and she would never find out. Regina hoped that was true.

She made her way down the hall, passing the picture of the strange yet familiar dark haired woman again. Her eyes were so much like Mother's it made Regina cringe as she walked by. But she walked by anyway, head held high as she could. She was a guest in this home and she wasn't about to make a scene, no matter how much this picture disturbed her. She was raised to know better.

She found Emma in the kitchen, dressed in the only way Regina had ever really seen her: tight blue pants and a small white shirt.

"Hey, kid," Emma smiled, upon seeing Regina enter.

"Hi, Emma," Regina smiled back, before letting a perplexed look fall over her face. She looked down at her shirt and pointed at the dog's strange eye coverings. "What's the matter with this dog? Is he blind?"

Emma laughed. "No, baby, he's wearing sunglasses because he's cool," she shrugged.

"He's cold? I don't see how…"

"No, he's cool. It means… he's got style and everyone likes him," Emma said, still laughing. Regina just stared at her. She had no idea what any of that meant, but it seemed to make Emma happy, so she guessed it was alright.

"I see. And, uh, Emma," Regina stammered, momentarily forgetting her manners as she tried to figure out how to say what she wanted to say next. "Did you know that a 'kid' is a baby goat?"

Emma laughed out loud, surprising Regina again. She wasn't sure why that was funny. "Oh, kid," Emma said, shaking her head, "it does mean baby goat, but in this world, it also means child. I use it as a term of endearment."

"Why do I endear you?" Regina asked, seriously.

"Because you are just too adorable," Emma explained. "I think you would endear anyone."

"I don't think you're using that word right," Henry said, as he finally joined them in the kitchen.

"No, we are," Emma shrugged. "Don't tell me a seven year old has better grammar than you."

Regina blushed and looked away. She knew better than to boast about her intelligence, especially to someone older and especially to a male and a prince. Mother would never approve.

"So, what do you guys wanna do today?" Emma asked, as she handed oatmeal to Regina and cereal to Henry.

"Uh, I dunno, ask the princess," Henry teased, making Regina blush again. She was the child, she knew she shouldn't be deferred to for any decisions. This wasn't right, and yet… she kind of liked it.

"Ok, Regina, what do you want to do? What do you like to do for fun?"

"I like horses!" Regina blurted out, before she could remember proper dining room decorum. Emma didn't seem to mind though, as she was met with a smile.

"Storybrooke has stables, right Henry?" Emma asked, turning to her son.

Henry rolled his eyes. "Yes! You know there are stables. Stop pretending you don't know because you don't want to learn to ride," Henry sighed, sounding exasperated.

"Call your grandparents," Emma laughed, "see if they want to meet us at the stables. I'll call over there and see if they will let us use some horses… or rent them, or however stables work."

"I'll call the stable, you call grandma," Henry said, shaking his head. Regina's eyes darted back and forth between the two, and she wondered how Emma let Henry get away with talking to her with such a lack of respect. She supposed she shouldn't worry too much, since they were going to let her go see the horses, and perhaps even ride one. She could barely contain her grin as she finished her oatmeal and watched Emma and Henry make their respective calls on their strange communication devices. Regina didn't have time to even think about how odd they were since she was too busy thinking about horses.

Before she knew it, she was getting strapped into the seat of the… car… the strange metal carriage without horses that still seemed like it must be magic even though Emma swore it wasn't. It still made her nervous, but Regina had survived her last trip in a car and she was sure she would survive this one, too.

Regina breathed in the comfortable and calming smell of the stables the moment she was out of the car. For the very first time since she had arrived here, something actually seemed familiar and reminded her of home, and it was comforting. She quickly remembered herself as she saw Princess Snow White and Prince David approaching, and gave her curtsey, which was returned in kind by the older princess.

"Regina, can you ride your own horse, or do you need to ride with someone?" Snow asked, as she walked up.

"I can ride my own!" Regina beamed. "There was a new colt born this year, and I named him Rocinante, and he is to be mine when he is old enough to be ridden!"

Snow and Henry exchanged looks with each other but no one said a word, and Regina wasn't quite sure what that meant.

"Well, we got you to the stables, Emma," David said, playfully nudging his daughter, "am I finally gonna see you get on a horse?"

Emma laughed. "Not a chance!"

"You don't ride?" Regina asked, barely masking her surprise.

"No, kid," Emma smiled.

"But then why did you agree to come here?"

"Because you wanted to and I want you to have fun," Emma shrugged, as if the answer should be obvious, but it just confused Regina more. What kind of adult lets a child choose an activity, let alone an activity that they don't enjoy themselves? It didn't make any sense, but she didn't have time to think about that as Snow was ushering her into the stables.

"This one's good with kids," Regina heard the stable boy telling Snow, pointing to a fine looking grey mare. Kids. There was that word again. She guessed Emma was telling the truth about what that word meant.

"Well, this kid is good with horses," Snow replied, smiling at Regina. Regina wondered how she knew that, but she was right. Riding had always come naturally to her, and her instructor insisted she rode well beyond her age level.

Regina frowned as Snow strapped a tight helmet onto her head. "It's in case you fall," Snow explained, tapping on the helmet for emphasis. "It protects your head. This world is a little safer than the Enchanted Forest."

Regina tapped the helmet herself, amazed that she could hear the sound but not feel the tapping. It seemed like an intelligent contraption, and it might have been a good thing to have when she took that nasty fall, she thought.

Before long, the horses were tacked and Regina was up on the grey mare. She was a little smaller and more docile than the horses Regina was used to, but she didn't mind. She was just happy to be on a horse. Snow was on a larger white mare, and Henry was on a white steed with brown patches that he had proudly told Regina was his horse. Regina thought the steed was fine, but nothing compared to what she was sure Rocinante would grow into.

David stayed back with Emma, and Regina waved to them as she set off down the trails with Snow and Henry. The ride wasn't overly long, but during that time, Regina felt more at home than she had since she had arrived here. She was glad to know at least one thing from her world existed here, too, and it calmed her.

After a peaceful trot through the woods on the horse path, the trio made their way back towards the stables. Regina could see Emma beaming, and she wasn't sure why she was so happy. Emma waved at them, and Regina realized that watching them ride was what was making Emma smile.

Ahead of her, Regina could see some horse jumps set up. During the ride, Snow had told Regina that the mare she was on was a jumper, and Regina felt fairly confident in her own ability to jump, and she wanted to impress Emma. Before anyone could stop her, she kicked the horse to pick up her pace and led her to a small jump.

"Regina!" Emma cried out, startling the girl. Before she knew what was happening, Regina's magic reacted, shooting out from her fingers, and scaring the horse, who bucked wilding, throwing Regina off her back.

Regina's flew back, her helmeted head hitting a post behind her with a loud crack. Emma jumped the fence she was standing at and ran to her, while David went after the horse, preventing her from stomping Regina while she lay motionless on the ground.

"Regina!" Emma screamed, her hands on little shoulders. Regina's eyes were closed but she was breathing. Emma didn't dare move her, in case her neck or spine were injured.

"Why did you yell at her?" Snow cried, panicked, as she ran over to her daughter.

Emma looked up at her mother, and her eyes mirrored her own panic. "She scared me when she got that horse running!" Emma explained, shaking her head as she realized what she had done. "Regina," said, again, putting her hand lightly on the girl's cheek.

Emma felt a spark of magic when she touched her skin, and Regina's eyes fluttered open.

"What happened?" Regina asked, looking back and forth between Emma and Snow.

"You were thrown from your horse, honey," Snow explained, softly.

"It was my fault, baby," Emma said, sniffing back tears. "I distracted you."

Regina felt a small smile on her lips. "I just wanted you to see me jump. I wanted you to be proud of me."

"I am proud of you baby," Emma said, wiping back the few tears that had fallen.

"Easy, easy, honey," Snow cautioned, as Regina sat up slowly.

"I'm alright," Regina smiled, tapping the helmet again. "This was a good idea."

Once Regina was on her feet, Emma scooped her up into a tight hug, refusing to let her go as she carried her back to the front of the stables, David leading Regina's horse.

"Emma, I'm fine! I can walk!" Regina insisted, even though she wrapped her arms around Emma's neck and showed no intention of letting go.

"I know you can walk but I don't want to let you go right now. You fell and it's my fault," Emma said.

"Falling's a part of riding," Snow said, as she unstrapped the helmet from Regina's head. "I'm sure Regina's taken her fair share already, haven't you, honey?"

Regina grinned, and nodded. "Lots. You always have to remember to get right back on the horse," she said, seriously. Snow inhaled sharply at the words, remembering the first time she had met Regina, when she had told her that very thing.

"I still don't like seeing kids get hurt," Emma insisted, "especially not my little Princess."

"Emma," Snow said, shooting her a warning look. Emma looked at her, confused. "We'll talk later," Snow continued, looking at Regina for a moment, before heading back into the stable.

Emma knew that meant talk when Regina wasn't listening, but she couldn't figure out why.

What had she said wrong?

Chapter Text

Snow and David met Emma and the kids back at Regina's house after riding that day. When Snow walked in, she saw Emma crouching on the floor in front of Regina, who was sitting on the couch in the living room, as Emma held up fingers asking how many she could see.

"Emma, she's fine," Snow sighed, smiling a she shook her head. She set Neal's carseat down, as the baby continued to sleep, before continuing. "Kids fall off horses all the time. She had her helmet on, she's fine."

"I'm just worried about a concussion," Emma insisted.

"What's a con-con-cu…." Regina started to ask.

"See?" Emma cried, looking at her mother with wide, worried eyes, sure that Regina's inability to say the word meant she did, in fact, have a head injury.

"There were no concussions in the Enchanted Forest," Snow explained. "Well, actually, there were probably lots of concussions, but we didn't have a word for it."

"Concussion," Regina repeated, smiling now, "what's a concussion?"

"It's something that you don't need to worry about at the moment, and something Emma seriously needs to stop worrying about, because you don't have one," Snow said. "Why don't you go outside and play for a bit with Henry and David? I need to speak with Emma for a few minutes."

Regina looked at Emma expectantly, waiting for her approval. "It's fine, baby, go play and have fun. And be careful."

"I will," Regina promised, as she got up and followed Henry and David to the backyard. Emma watched them until they were outside, and turned back to her mother. "What?"

Snow sighed as she sat down on the couch, and patted the seat next to her, indicating that Emma should join her. "I'm worried about you," Snow said, as Emma sat.

"Me? Why?" Emma asked, confused.

"You're getting too attached to Regina like this," Snow explained, "she's not going to be little for long and I'm worried about what's going to happen when she's not anymore. You're going to be heartbroken."

Emma sighed. "I'm not getting too attached… and if I am, can you blame me? It's obvious she had a shitty childhood, and she's so sweet. I just want to make her feel happy and loved."

"I know you do, honey, and I'm proud of you for that, but you need to think about the long term, as well."

"Well, I kind of am, too. I mean, I need her to feel safe and loved with me, because Gold might not be able to turn this around before she hits her 'Evil Queen' stage, and I need as much of a chance to circumvent that as possible. I mean, I have magic, but I don't want to have to fight her."

"No, of course not," Snow agreed.

"Gold said that if she were the Evil Queen, she'd be his problem to deal with, but I'm not leaving her at his mercy either," Emma said, tentatively, knowing she was treading on uncomfortable ground with her mother.

"I agree, Emma," Snow nodded. "We don't have a lot of time left, really. You said she's seven now? The aging is happening quicker than I had expected."

"Me too," said Emma, "and I get where you're coming from in thinking I'm too attached, but I need her to be attached to us, too. It's the only way."

Snow let out a long exhale. "Well, let's go see what the princess is up to then, shall we?"

Emma knew she shouldn't have been surprised when she stepped outside and saw Henry teaching Regina how to sword fight with his wooden words. She smiled and shook her head.

"Emma!" Regina cried, "Henry's teaching me how to be a knight!"

"I see that," Emma laughed, taking in the image of Regina covered in dirt. Her backside was already dirty from her fall, earlier, but now she had dirt and grass stains on the knees of her pants, and dirt smeared with sweat on her cheeks and hands. Her dark curls were out of control and Emma knew she had quite a task ahead of her when she got the hairbrush out tonight.

But, none of that mattered more than the beaming smile on Regina's face. Emma pulled out her phone and started to make a video. Henry caught sight of her, and decided to take that opportunity to let Regina get a hit in, making a big display of grabbing at the 'wound' and spinning around a few times before crashing to the ground.

Regina looked up, unsure of what do it.

"Pin him, Regina!" Snow called out, clearly loving it.

Regina hesitated for a moment, and then stepped up to her victim, placing one little foot on his chest and bringing the tip of the sword to his throat.

"Surrender!" she cried, with all the force she could muster.

"Never!" Henry exclaimed, rolling valiantly away from her foot – which sent her toppling backwards – and grabbing his sword again, before jumping to this feet.

"Emma!" Regina shrieked, "Henry's not playing fair!"

Emma smirked. "Henry, she did stab you in the gut. At least act injured."

Henry sighed, and grabbed his stomach with one arm, groaning in mock pain. "I fight… to the death…."

"This is so morbid," Emma scoffed, as she continued to record.

David shrugged. "This was life in the Enchanted Forest. You would have loved it."

"I highly doubt that," Emma laughed. "I would miss electricity and indoor plumbing and, you know, not fighting to the death too much."

Before long, Henry let Regina get another good shot it, and this time he accepted his surrender.

"He is a prisoner of the White Kingdom now," Regina announcing, causing everyone to laugh.

"He is, is he?" David asked, walking up.

"Prince David," Regina gave a small bow, "I am a knight at your service."

"I'll be sure to show the prisoner no mercy," David smirked, causing Henry to roll his eyes.

Regina's eyes went wide. "No! It's just a game, I was kidding!" she cried, suddenly panicked. She didn't really want Henry to be taken captive by the prince!

David laughed. "I know, so was I. I'm not going to take my grandson prisoner. I wouldn't do any good anyway, there are no dungeons in this world."

Regina breathed a big sigh of relief. "Oh, thank goodness."

"Hey, kid," Emma said, walking up and putting a hand on Regina's shoulder. "How about we get you into a bath, and then we can think about having some lunch, okay?"

Upstairs, in Regina's en suite bathroom, the little princess was looking down at her clothing, a little distraught.

"What's wrong, sweetheart?" Emma asked.

Regina pointed to a hole in the knee of her pants. "I've ruined a lot of clothes since I got here," she explained. "I'm sorry."

"It's fine," Emma chuckled. "Kids ruin clothes. It goes with the territory. Not the end of the world. Now, since you're seven, do I still need to bathe you, or can you do it yourself?"

"I can do it myself, but I need help with my hair," Regina admitted, attempting to run a hand through the dark mass of curls, and getting it caught on a tangle. "Mother would never approve of it being this unruly."

"Well, lucky for us, your mother never needs to know," Emma smiled. "Let's brush it out first, it will make our lives easier." Emma grabbed the hairbrush and sat down on the closed toilet seat. Regina quickly hopped onto her lap.

"I like spending time with you best," Regina said, as Emma began to work through the tangles, as gently as she could.

Emma smiled. "I like spending time with you, too, and I'm glad you're having fun."

"So much fun," Regina agreed. "Does it make me bad if I sometimes think I don't ever want to go home?"

Emma sighed, and wrapped her arms around Regina for a hug. "No baby. It doesn't make you bad. I know home isn't always very fun for you, and that's why I want to make your time here fun. I want to leave you with some happy memories to keep in your heart forever."

"Does that mean I can stay a few more days?" Regina asked, hopefully.

Emma smiled, knowing she couldn't send the girl home, even if she wanted to. But she couldn't tell her that. "You can stay as long as you want," she said, before releasing her from her embrace and getting back to the mess of curls, which was only halfway brushed through.

"And your friend who owns this house? She won't mind?"

Emma laughed, momentarily having forgotten about that. "No, baby, she won't mind. I'm sure she'll be glad you were here, when she finds out."

Once Regina was clean and dressed in blue jeans and a sparkly white short sleeved shirt that said "DIVA" in dark purple letters, Emma took her by the hand to take her back down stairs, where she could smell her mother already had lunch underway.

"Perfect timing," Emma commented. "I don't know about you, kid, but I'm starving."

Regina giggled, and Emma hoped she'd be able to get that sound recorded, before this was all over. She didn't want to lose that sound – so pure, and innocent, and completely unjaded.

"Oh, good timing," Snow smiled, as they entered the room. Neal was finally awake and being bottle fed by David, while Snow was plating up food for lunch.

"My hunger senses were tingling," Emma said, grinning.

Henry rolled his eyes. "Prisoner's last meal," he commented, as he picked up his plate and led the way into the dining room.

Snow smiled at Regina across the table, once they were all sitting. "It'd be nice if we could keep doing things like this, when she's back," she said, turning to Emma.

"When who's back?" Regina asked.

"My friend," Emma said, quickly, shooting Snow a cautious glance.

"Oh," Regina nodded. "Do you think maybe I could come over then, too?"

Emma grinned. "Well, we wouldn't have it any other way," she insisted. She supposed it wasn't really a lie, since they weren't about to all eat lunch in Regina's dining room without Regina. She knew she wouldn't be able to keep this up forever – the idea that this little Regina and the woman who owned this house were two different people – especially when Regina reached an age where she had memories of Snow White, but for the time being, she didn't see the harm in letting this little one hold on to her innocence a little while longer. Lord knows she would have it ripped away from her soon enough, anyway.

"That will be lovely," Regina smiled. "I promise I will be on my best behaviour. I want your friend to like me."

"It would be impossible not to, princess," Emma smiled. And it was true. Little Regina was just too endearing for anyone not to love her.

Emma just wished she could hold on to that trait forever, because she knew they were going to need it, sooner rather than later.

But she didn't want to think about the Evil Queen right now. Regina was still only seven, which meant they had eleven more ages to get through before Regina would be eighteen and have her entire world crash down on her. Eleven more ages, but Emma had no idea how many days, since her re-aging had been unpredictable thus far, and Emma hoped they had enough time to truly win Regina's love and trust, because they were going to need that, more than anything.

Chapter Text

"Who's up for Mario Kart?" Henry asked, once lunch was finished. He quite clearly was directing the question at Regina, since Snow was tending to Neal and Emma and David had dishes underway in the kitchen.

"Me!" Regina cried, as if there was any other competition for the spot.

"Actually," Emma piped up, "I was thinking, once these dishes are done, perhaps we could all go down to the Waterfront Festival?"

"What's a Waterfront Festival?" Regina asked, scrunching up her nose in confusion.

"It's an event they put on here every summer," Henry explained. "You go down by the water and there's game and rides and competitions and stuff. It's fun."

Regina pouted, having no idea what any of this was, but Emma and Henry looked excited. She turned to Snow. "Is it something appropriate for princesses?" she asked.

Snow laughed. "It's appropriate for children, and you're a child, so it's fine," she assured her.

"I've never been to a festival before," Regina said, starting to grow excited about the idea. "What else do they have?"

"Face painting, and cotton candy and probably even candy apples," Henry rattled off, remembering back to the last festival he'd attended. "Music, booths selling things… lots of stuff."

Regina waited by the door excitedly as everyone got ready to go. Emma marveled at how she was starting to act more and more like a child and not like a princess, and she kind of liked it. It was about time, she figured. They didn't have much time with her left as a kid, and she wanted it to be more fun times than anxiety.

"Hold my hand," Emma instructed, once they had reached the festival. Snow and David had decided to stay back, since Neal was getting extremely fussy, so Emma was on her own watching Regina now, and she was determined to make sure nothing else went wrong today.

Regina pouted again. "I'm too old to hold a hand," she insisted.

"That may be, but there are a lot of people here, and I don't want to lose you in the crowd," Emma said, holding her hand out. "We're not going anywhere until you take my hand."

Regina sighed and decided to take Emma's hand, even if it was embarrassing. She wasn't a baby, and her mother had long been telling her to stop acting like one, but Emma seemed to want her to. But, she supposed as long as she was with Emma, she had to listen to her rules, and she really wanted to see what this festival was all about.

"Wow, Mom, you kind of sounded just like… well, Mom, just now," Henry commented, grinning at the memory of how Regina had made him hold her hand way longer than he had thought was necessary.

Emma just smirked as they made their way toward the crowd. The first booth they came to was the face painting booth.

"What are they doing?" Regina asked, in wonder, as she watched some children getting their faces painted.

"Face painting," Henry shrugged. "They can do whatever you want."

"Does it hurt?" Regina asked, as she watched one little girl wince when the paint touched her cheek.

"No," Henry laughed, "but sometimes the paint's cold. Do you want to get it done?"

"I… I don't know," Regina admitted, but Emma couldn't help but notice that her feet were locked in place and she couldn't stop staring at the pink and purple butterfly one little girl was getting painted on her face.

"It would be fun," Emma said, hoping that Regina would give in.

"Would you do it, too?" Regina asked, looking at Emma very seriously.

Henry laughed. "I bet she'd love to, wouldn't you, Mom?"

"Please, Emma? I don't want to go alone!" Regina insisted.

Emma sighed. "Yeah, sure kid. What should we get done?"

"I want us to have the same," Regina said, dragging Emma by her hand over to the poster board with all the options. "I like the butterfly."

"Butterfly, got it. Please, just not in pink."

"Maybe blue?" Regina suggested. "I like blue."

Minutes later, Emma and Regina were side by side inside the booth, getting their faces painted into matching glittery blue butterflies, as Henry laughed and took pictures. He wasn't sure how well his brunette mother would take all this when she returned to normal, but he was sure that once things had calmed down, she might actually like to see how much fun she had with Emma during her renewed childhood.

The lady at the booth held up a mirror for Regina to see herself once the butterfly was complete, and in an instant, her smile lit up her whole face.

"I love it!" she grinned excitedly, bouncing in her chair, "thank you!"

Emma smiled, as the woman working on her face finished the last touches. She was happy that Regina was having a good time, but part of her was also happy for herself as well. Things like festivals and face painting weren't things she experienced much in her own childhood, and she had missed this stage with Henry, so she was kind of enjoying her own second chance, in both regards.

"Well, well, Dearie." Emma cringed at the familiar and uninvited voice from behind her as she and Henry and Regina made their way to the next booth. "I like the new look."

Emma turned and offered Gold a forced smile, as Regina stepped a little closer to her, remembering Gold from the vault a few days ago.

"I see you've done wonders with this little one," he said, offering an almost genuine smile to Regina, which did little to put her at ease. "How old is she now?"

"Seven," Emma replied.

"I see," Gold nodded. "I should tell you, I haven't made any progress with you-know-what yet, but it appears we still have some time."

Emma rolled her eyes. "Well, perhaps you should get back to work then, because we may have less time than you think. It's happening quicker than I expected, and unpredictably," Emma explained, not wanting to let Regina know what they were discussing. "So, if there's nothing else, we'd like to carry on with our day."

"Be my guest," Gold said, motioning for the trio to carry on.

"What was he talking about?" Regina asked, nervously.

"Nothing, baby. Come on, let's go see what other fun things there are for us to do."

In the distance, Regina spotted a giant bouncy castle. "What's that?" she asked, her eyes wide.

"That, is the funnest thing ever," Henry grinned. "Wanna check it out?"

Regina grinned excited and nodded, pulling Emma toward the bouncy castle, even though she still wasn't quite sure what it actually was.

"Henry, I don't know if this is a good idea. She did fall earlier," Emma reminded him.

"It's just a bouncy castle," Henry insisted. "It's literally a house made of air. She won't get hurt."

"You better go in with her," Emma said.

Henry grinned. "That was the plan," she said, taking Regina's hand and leading her up to the mesh covering at the front entrance of the giant castle. "You have to take your shoes off."

Regina did as she was told, and followed Henry inside. Emma stood outside watching in awe as they bounced around. For something completely new and unfamiliar, Regina caught on quickly and soon was bouncing off walls and tumbling over with Henry, both of them laughing.

"You look like you wanna be in there."

Emma turned and smiled as Ruby approached. "I've actually never been in one," Emma admitted. "Another childhood rite of passage I missed out on."

"Me either," Ruby shrugged. "The Enchanted Forest was surprisingly lacking in inflatable castles."

Emma laughed. "Do you think they'd let us go in?"

Ruby raised an eyebrow. "Seriously?"

"Yeah, why not? There's hardly any kids in there right now."

Ruby grinned. "Let's go. What's the worst they're gonna do? Kick us out?"

The two women hurried over quickly and kicked off their shoes. Luckily for them, Sleepy was currently monitoring entrance to the bouncy castle, and he was off far away in dreamland at the moment. Emma figured she should be bothered by this, since he was responsible for the safety of the castle's occupants, but if it meant she got to go inside the castle, she figured she could let it slide.

"I like your face paint, by the way," Ruby commented, as they climbed inside.

"Regina picked it out," Emma explained.

"Mom!" Henry laughed, jumping across the bouncy floor to greet her. "You are not supposed to be in here!"

"Well, I am," Emma shrugged. "So what do I do now?"

"You jump!" Regina cried, jumping high in the air for emphasis.

"Yeah, mom, if Regina can do it, you can do it," Henry scoffed teasingly at her.

"Hold my hand," Emma called to Ruby, who grabbed her hand quickly. The two began jumping, unsteadily at first, but they both caught on quickly.

"Okay, this is actually awesome," Ruby laughed.

"Right? I want one of these. Do you think Regina would let me set one up in her backyard?" Emma grinned, as she watched Henry and showing Regina how to play bounce-basketball on the other side.

"Right now? Yeah! When she's back… she'll kill you."

"Hey!" Emma and Ruby spun around at Leroy's familiar voice. "No adults in the bounce castle!"

Emma put on a mock pout, but Leroy just cross his arms. "Come on, Sheriff, the rules are for everyone."

"Well, it was fun while it lasted," Ruby shrugged, as they made their way back out.

Ruby and Emma found a spot on a near-by bench to watch as Henry and Regina continued to play inside the bouncy castle.

"You love her like this, don't you?" Ruby asked, noting the smile on Emma's face as she watched the kids.

"Well, yeah, I mean, how can I not?" Emma asked, defensively. She wasn't sure why people thought it was so strange. The kid was easy to like.

Ruby shrugged. "Well, she's cute and all, but she's gonna grow back up to the Mayor," she pointed out. "She's not going to be so cute then. What are you gonna do?"

Emma chewed on her bottom lip for a moment, processing the question. She'd been thinking a lot about the Evil Queen, and about Regina being pissed when she returned to normal, but she really hadn't thought all that much about how she would actually handle it.

"I don't know, I mean… nothing's ever going to be the same between us, I guess," she said, thinking out loud. "I've learned things about Regina that I didn't know before. I've held her when she was scared or upset. She pretty much loves me right now… I don't know. I don't know what's going to happen."

Ruby nodded. "It's not going to be easy, but maybe it will be good for you? Both of you, I mean."

"How so?"

Ruby just smirked and shook her head. "If you don't know, I'm not going to tell you," she teased.

"Well, that's mature," Emma scoffed.

"So says the one with the butterfly on her face."

"Can we get cotton candy?" Henry asked, as he and Regina approached the women on the bench.

"No, I want a candy apple!" Regina insisted.

"Do you even know what a candy apple is?" Ruby laughed, taking in the look of Regina's wide, serious eyes, combined with the now-smeared glittery blue butterfly on her face, and disheveled dark curls falling around her face.

"No, but I like apples best," Regina insisted.

"Okay, come on, let's find the booth that sells them," Emma said, leading the way to the giant food booth. She purchased a red candy apple for Regina, and a bag of cotton candy each for herself and Henry. "You want anything, Rubes?"

"No," Ruby laughed. "I don't eat this crap."

Regina stared in wonder at the shiny apple on a stick, as Emma peeled back the wrapper for her.

"Here, let's get your hair out of the way before you get it stuck in the candy," Emma said, as she pulled a hair tie from her wrist and pulled Regina's long hair into a quick ponytail.

"What do you think?" Henry asked, as Regina licked the candy apple tentatively.

"It's really, uh, sweet," she said.

"There really is an apple inside, sweetheart," Emma reassured her.

Regina took a bite, getting some apple with the candy, and grinned. "I like this."

Emma smiled and shook her head. She was willing to bet money that Regina never ate a single candy apple in her real life.

"I'm glad," Emma smiled, before turning to Henry, who was already munching on his cotton candy. "Don't you dare eat that whole bag, kid. I don't want any more puke on me, got it?"

Henry grinned with a mouthful of blue cotton candy and gave Emma a thumbs up, that she could only hope meant that he intended to listen to her.

The little group spent the rest of the afternoon playing anything that caught Regina's eye, and had gotten dinner at one of the food booths that actually sold things that weren't deep fried, and they were about to head home when Regina stopped dead in her tracks, looking like she was about to cry.

"Baby, what's wrong?" Emma frowned, trying to see what had suddenly upset the child. She saw a mini rock-climbing wall, a catch the duckie game, and a little corral where children could ride real ponies around in a circle. "Oh! You want to ride the ponies?"

"No!" Regina cried. "They shouldn't do that! Ponies don't like being tied up like that!"

Emma took a closer look to see that the ponies were, in fact, shackled to a metal contraption that forced them to walk around and around in circles. She had never paid much attention to the pony rides at any other festival, but she had to agree, the ponies didn't look very happy about it.

"I'll you what, kid, my friend, the one who owns the house, she gets to make the laws in this town. When she comes back, I'm going to tell her about this pony ride, and she'll make it illegal. Does that sound good?"

"Do you think she'll really do it?" Regina asked, incredulously.

Emma smiled. "I have a feeling she has a soft spot for animals," she said, with a wink. She took Regina's hand and led her past the pony ride, and pretended not to notice when Regina stuck her tongue out at the man running it. Henry grinned widely at the sight.

"That was fun, Mom," Henry said, as they got back into the car. Regina had gotten over any fear she once had and hopped right into the backseat, doing her seat belt up herself.

"Yeah, it was," Emma agreed.

"What can we do tomorrow, Emma?" Regina piped up from the backseat. Emma glanced in the rear view mirror to see her brown eyes already half closed, and figured she'd be out by the time they reached the mansion.

"We'll see tomorrow, baby," Emma smiled.

And she was right. Regina was out cold by the time they got back, even though the sun hadn't set yet. She didn't even stir as Emma undid her seat belt and lifted her up, carrying her inside. Emma carried her up the stairs to her bedroom, and put her under the covers, still in her clothes, and with smeared face paint on her face. She figured she could change and wash her face tomorrow, no need to wake her now.

Emma sat with Regina for a few minutes, thinking how much she looked like a peaceful little angel when she slept. She wondered if she looked the same sleeping as an adult. She supposed she must have seen her sleeping in Neverland, but she didn't pay attention then.

She brushed some stray curls back from Regina's forehead and gave her a little kiss. "Good night, baby. Still be little tomorrow, okay?" she said, before finally leaving the room.

Chapter Text

" Good night, baby. Still be little tomorrow, okay?" she said, before finally leaving the room.

The next morning, when Emma awoke, she was surprised to see how brightly the sun was streaming in through the window. She groaned and glanced at the clock, noting it was just past ten. The found that odd, since Regina was always up with the crack of dawn, and she never let Emma sleep late.

There was no way she was still sleeping, was there?

Emma rolled out of bed and headed across the hall to check on her little princess, but only found an empty, fully made bed in Regina's room.

Panic started to set in as Emma dashed down the hall to look in Henry's room. He was still in bed, asleep, and there was no signs of little Regina anywhere. Emma walked slowly back into the hallway, her stomach in knots as her mind jumped to the only possible conclusion: Regina was back to her normal self.

Emma couldn't think of any other reason why she would have let her and Henry sleep so late. Though she felt like she might burst into tears at any moment, Emma was relieved at least that she hadn't been blasted awake by a fireball.

Maybe Regina wasn't too pissed.

Emma thought better of going down to greet the full grown mayor in her plaid shorts and tank top that she'd slept in, and went back into the guest room to change into skinny jeans and a clean white tank top.

She sighed, trying to mentally prepare herself to face Regina again. She couldn't put it off any longer. She had to face the music.

She crept down the stairs, on high alert for the sound of Regina's heels as she moved about the house, but she didn't hear anything but a soft whimpering sound, coming from the den. Was Regina crying?

Emma made her way over to the den and stepped inside, prepared for the moment of truth.

Sure enough, Regina was crying, but she was not full grown. In fact, she looked very much the same as she had the day before. Relief washed over Emma, but it only lasted a moment, as it was overtaken by worry as to why the child was crying.

"Regina? Sweetie, what's wrong?" Emma asked, as she walked over to the place where Regina was sitting on the couch. It didn't take long for Emma to notice what Regina was reading.

"This book!" Regina cried, holding up Henry's storybook in her hands, "It's dark magic!"

"No it's not," Emma sighed, taking the book from Regina's hands and setting it to the side as she sat down next to her on the couch.

"It is! It shows Snow White and Prince Charming and it also shows me, when I'm grown up! The book says I'm evil, the Evil Queen, just like that man said the day you first found me. Emma, I don't understand!"

Emma cringed. She had warned Henry to keep that book away from Regina, and she guessed Regina must have found it in his room when she went to wake him up this morning.

"Come here, sweetheart," Emma said, pulling Regina up into her lap. She noted that Regina was a little taller than she had been the day before, but Emma couldn't worry about that just now. "The book isn't dark magic, but yes, you are in it. I didn't want to tell you about this until you were older, but I guess I don't have much of a choice now."

"Tell me about what?" Regina asked, panic evident in those big, brown eyes.

"This book," Emma sighed, "tells the past."

Regina shook her head. "No, it can't. I'm a grown up in that book. It must be the future," Regina insisted.

"I know this is hard to understand, but just listen, okay? It's tells the past, baby, all the things in that book already happened. You already grew up and become an adult. You're under a spell that's making you a child again. That's why you are here. This is your house, sweetheart. The lady in the picture upstairs, she's you."

Regina swallowed hard, and shook her head slowly, but didn't say a word.

"I don't want you to be scared, okay Regina? Because I'm still going to take care of you, until the spell wears off, alright? You have nothing to worry about, I promise," Emma tried to reassure her, pulling her into a tight hug on her lap.

"How long will that take?" Regina asked, in a small voice.

"I don't know, baby. It wears off a little everyday. Every day you get bigger," Emma explained, pointing out how Regina's pant legs were a little shorter now. "How old are you today?"

"Eight," Regina replied. "Today's my birthday."

"It is? Well, I guess we'll have to have a party, won't we?" Emma asked, hoping it would cheer Regina up a bit.

"What's a party?"

Emma didn't know whether to laugh or cry. Either Regina didn't know what it was because they didn't have that word in the Enchanted Forest, else she'd never had a birthday party.

"It's when everyone comes over to tell you happy birthday and we play games and eat cake. You'll love it!" Emma promised.

"But Mother and Daddy won't be there," Regina noted, with a pout.

"No, sweetheart, they won't. But I'm sure they would be if they could," Emma offered, not knowing what else to say.

"They're dead, aren't they?"

The question took Emma by surprise, but the solemn look in Regina's eyes told her she just couldn't lie to her anymore. "Yes, baby. They are. I know you don't remember, but you will when the spell wears off, so I don't want you to worry about that right now, okay? It didn't happen until you were an adult."

Regina looked down at her hands as Emma held on to her tighter. She rested her head against Emma's shoulder and sighed. "I wish I never looked at that book."

"I know Sweetie," Emma agreed, running a hand through Regina's soft dark hair. "But it doesn't have to change anything. I promised myself I would make your time as a child fun for you, and that's still what I intend to do. So we're going to have a birthday party and it's going to be so much fun."

Regina nodded, but didn't look convinced.

"Can I tell you a secret?" Emma whispered.

Regina perked up a little. "Yes, please."

"I didn't have a great childhood, either. I didn't get to have birthday parties and do a lot of the fun stuff that other kids got to do. That makes this time with you even more extra special, because I can give you something I never had. I know you miss your parents, but baby, I promise you, you didn't really lose them as a kid. I know it's hard and I wish I had a way to make it better."

Regina smiled. "Hugs always make me feel better," she said, finally returning Emma's hug. "Do parties have bouncy houses?"

"I think your party does," Emma grinned. She was going to make this party epic, if it was the last thing she did.

Emma sent Regina to go riding with Mary Margaret and David again for the rest of the morning, so she and Henry could get down to business prepping for a last minute birthday party.

"Ok, let's talk guest list," Emma suggested. Regina didn't really know any of the children of Storybrooke, but Emma couldn't very well invite no one to her party, after she'd said people would come to wish her happy birthday.

"Uh, well, there's Tink," Henry suggested. "Ruby and Granny. Archie likes her. Uh, Kathryn, maybe? Honestly, I don't think she's going to care as long as there's a bouncy house."

"Yeah, you're probably right. I'll call the bakery and order a horse cake. We'll need to get her some gifts. And decorations. What else do parties have?"

"Mom, relax," Henry said, noting the already frazzled look in Emma's eyes. She was so far out of her element. "Let's just go into town and start getting stuff. It will all come together, don't worry."

And Henry was right. They'd stopped at the diner first to invite Ruby and Granny, and had lucked out that Tink was there as well, and very eager to help out. Granny offered to make food, Ruby insisted she'd take care of decorations and music, and Henry called Archie and Kathryn to invite them as well.

After a quick stop at the toy store to pick up some gifts, they headed back to the house, where Tink easily magicked a bouncy castle in the backyard. Emma wrapped gifts and Kathryn offered to stop and pick up the cake on her way over. Granny was busy in the kitchen and Ruby was hanging the last of the streamers and balloons when Regina returned home with Snow, David and baby Neal.

"How was riding?" Emma asked, excitedly, when Regina came running into the house

"Good! I jumped and I didn't fall!" Regina beamed.

"Good girl. I guess you do better when I'm not distracting you," Emma grinned.

Regina looked around, taking in the sights of the decorations around the house. "Is this my party?" she asked, her eyes filled with wonder.

"It will be," Emma replied. "Didn't Ruby do such a good job decorating?"

Regina nodded, and turned to look at Tink, quizzically.

"Tinker bell," Tink said, giving Regina a little curtsey. Emma guessed this sort of formality must have been commonplace in the Enchanted Forest, since everyone seemed to know to do it, except for her.

"She's your friend," Emma explained, "as an adult."

"She knows about the spell?" Ruby asked, looking at Emma in shock. Emma had told Henry and her parents about Regina finding the book this morning, and she had informed Tink in the backyard, but realized no one else knew she knew.

"Yeah, she found Henry's book," Emma answered, and noted the almost guilty look on Regina's young face. "But it's okay, because now she knows what's going on, and it doesn't change anything, does it, Regina?"

Regina smiled up at Emma and shook her head, no.

"Come on, let's get you ready for your party, princess," Emma said, holding out her hand for Regina to take. She led her upstairs to her bedroom, and showed her the pretty new purple dress she'd bought for her while they were out that morning. "Do you like it?"

"It's a dress!" Regina practically squealed, and Emma realized she'd gotten the girl way too used to wearing pants.

"That it is," Emma laughed.

"I love it! Thank you!" Regina said, practicing bouncing up and down as Emma handed her the dress to change into.

"Good," Emma smiled. "Put it on and come downstairs, okay? And we can start your party."

Before Emma could leave the room, Regina ran over and wrapped her arms around Emma's waist. "Thank you, Emma. No one's ever done anything like this for me before."

Emma could feel the tears stinging at her eyes, knowing exactly how it felt to have no one to do things for you to make you feel special. If there was one thing she hoped Regina would gain from this whole experience, she hoped it would be learning that she really was special. She couldn't undo the damage Cora had done to her daughter, but she hoped she could at least dull the pain, even just a little.

It wasn't long after Emma had rejoined the adults downstairs that Regina came bounding back into the room, in her pretty purple dress. By the time she came down, Kathryn had arrived with the cake, an Archie was just ringing the doorbell. Emma introduced Regina to Kathryn and Archie, and then suggested they should move the party outside.

Regina's eyes lit up when she saw the giant bouncy castle set up in the backyard. She grabbed Henry by the hand and dragged him across the yard to the bouncy castle, while Emma stood back at grinned.

"Oh my God, can I go in too?" Ruby asked, coming up behind Emma.

Emma laughed. "Go for it, there's no dwarves keeping watch here."

Ruby took off toward the bouncy castle, looking just about as excited as Regina had, and Emma raised an eyebrow as she watched David heading over, as well.

"What?" he asked, "We didn't have these in the Enchanted Forest."

Emma shook her head as David got inside as well.

"Think Regina would let me keep this here?" Emma asked, smirking at Tink.

"I think if we hit the Evil Queen days, maybe we can just throw her in there and let her bounce her anger out," Snow suggested, to Emma's complete surprise.

"Not a bad idea," Emma nodded in agreement.

"Do you have any ideas?" Tink asked, sounding more serious. "I mean, it looks like that's where she's headed. Have you thought about that?"

"Every day," Emma sighed. "But I'm not letting that put a damper on her birthday party. It's stuff like this that I hope is going to save us when that time comes."

After an afternoon of playing, and a wonderful dinner prepared by Granny, it was finally time for cake.

Emma couldn't tell who was more excited, herself or Regina, when she dimmed the lights and walked into the dining room with the beautiful horse cake, illuminated by eight candles.

Regina gasped as Emma put the cake down in front of her. "It's Rocinante!" she cried. "It looks just like him! But why is he on fire?"

"He's not, kid," Emma laughed. "Those are birthday candles. You make a wish and blow them all out."

Regina took a deep breath and looked very serious as she made her wish and blew out all the candles on one breath.

"Good job, kid," Emma congratulated. "Now let's have some cake. I don't believe you've had nearly enough sugar yet today."

"You're a bad influence," Snow teased, as Emma started cutting the cake.

Regina's eyes grew wide as Emma handed her the first piece of chocolate cake. It occurred to her that Regina, at this age, had never had cake before, and she was grateful that Henry had thought to take pictures throughout the day, including the look on Regina's face when she bit into her very first bite of cake.

After cake, Emma let Regina open her new gifts, and though the girl loved everything she received, she couldn't wait to get back into that bouncy castle. This time, she was joined again by Ruby and David, and also by Emma and Kathryn. Snow, Granny and Henry stayed out to chat with Archie, who, for his part, was amazed at how well everyone was dealing with this bizarre situation.

When Emma was bounced out, she slid back out of the bouncy castle to join her mother on the patio.

"I cannot believe you pulled all of this together in one morning," Snow marveled.

"I couldn't have done it without everyone's help," Emma admitted, smiling over at Granny.

"True, but still… I'm glad you did. Regina needs things like this," Snow acknowledged.

"She deserves things like this," Emma corrected. "She's a good kid, she didn't deserve Cora as a mother."

Once the party was over and everyone had gone home, and after her bath, Regina was in her pajamas and ready to crawl into bed. Emma could tell she was exhausted, but she looked happy. Emma laid down next to her over the covers.

"Did you have a good birthday, baby?"

Regina nodded enthusiastically. "Yes! It was perfect. Can we keep that bouncy castle forever and ever?"

Emma chuckled. "Is that what you wished for?"

Regina shook her head. "No. I was going to wish for my Mommy and Daddy to come, but I remembered how you said they didn't die till I was grown up, so they're not really gone."

Emma nodded, slowly. She supposed that made sense, in a way. Regina still had more memories of her parents at other ages. Either way, if it helped Regina cope, she wasn't going to tell her not to think that way.

"Can I tell you what I really wished for?" Regina asked, looking at Emma, hopefully.

"If you want to," Emma smiled. She didn't believe in the superstition around birthday wishes remaining secret, so she supposed there was no harm in Regina telling hers.

"I wish that I could stay with you forever," Regina said, smiling.

Emma's heart skipped a beat. She smiled and pulled Regina into her arms. "I wish the very same thing."

"Good night, Emma. I love you," Regina whispered.

Emma could feel the tears burning at the corners of her eyes. "I love you, too."

Chapter Text

"Emma?"

Emma groaned and rolled over as she felt someone shaking her by the shoulders. "Mmm, what?" she mumbled as she opened one eye to peer at the culprit. It was Regina, looking wide eyed and a little fearful.

"Hey, baby girl," Emma sighed sleepily, as she sat up. "What's wrong?"

"I had a bad dream," Regina whispered.

Emma shifted over and pulled back the covers on her bed, making space for Regina. "Come over here and tell me about it, baby," she said, holding her hand out to Regina. Regina wasted no time scurrying into the bed and snuggling up against Emma as Emma pulled the covers over her and wrapped and arm tightly around her.

"I dreamed I was the Evil Queen, like in the book," Regina began, shuddering at the memory. "I did so many bad things and everyone was afraid of me but I didn't care, I just kept doing bad things. I even killed people."

Emma winced, realizing this 'dream' probably wasn't really a dream at all. Regina wasn't really a child, she was under a spell, and Emma guessed her adult memories must still be locked away inside her brain, even if she didn't have access to them, consciously.

But she couldn't tell Regina that.

"It was just a dream, sweetheart. You're not evil or bad. You're my little princess," Emma assured her, as she stroked Regina's dark curls. Her hair was damp from sweat from the nightmare.

"But I won't be your princess forever," Regina reminded her. "You said that book is the past. I am evil and bad."

"You did bad things, Regina. But you are good. You have a good heart," Emma said, tapping on Regina's chest for emphasis. "You might have been a villain for a little while, but you became a hero after that."

Regina sighed as she snuggled in a little closer to Emma, still. "Doing good things doesn't erase bad things," she said. "I can't be a murderer and a hero."

"I've done bad things in my life, too, Regina," Emma said, when she couldn't think of a way to refute that statement.

"Did you ever kill someone?"

Emma chewed on her bottom lip, unsure of how to field this question. On one hand, she wanted to shield Regina from all bad things, but she guessed it was a little late for that now. This wasn't the kind of conversation she wanted to have with Regina at eight - or was she nine now? Emma wasn't even sure - but she couldn't exactly not have it, either.

"Yes," she said, finally.

She wasn't sure how Regina would take it, but to her surprised, Regina almost seemed relieved. "And are you a hero?"

Emma rolled that question around in her mind. It was something she asked herself a lot, and something she still wasn't sure she had an answer for. "Most people seem to think so," she said, at last.

"Not you?"

Emma looked down at Regina and grinned. "Are you really planning on having a deep, existential conversation at 2am?"

Regina scrunched up her nose. "What's existential?"

Emma laughed. "Well, I'm sure it's probably the wrong word for this situation, but it makes me sound smart, doesn't it?"

"You are smart."

"You too, kid. How old are you now, by the way?"

"Nine," Regina sighed. "Yesterday I was eight."

"Yes, you were. I'll tell you what, this conversation we're having, it's a conversation you and I really need to have, one day. But we need to have it when you are back to yourself. So, how about we agree to not worry about bad and evil things when you are still little, okay? Because you are not bad and you are not evil, and you are my princess. Got it?"

Regina smiled thinly and nodded. Instinctively, her fingers traced the scar on her lip, as Emma had seen her do countless times since she had been little. It was something Regina didn't do as an adult.

"Do you want to know what really happened to my lip?" Regina asked, as if she were reading Emma's mind.

Emma drew in a deep breath. "Sweetheart, that's another one that should wait until you're older. I don't want you to tell me something now, that you will regret later."

"Why would I regret telling you? Are we not friends?"

Emma couldn't help but laugh. "Well, I think we are. Not as close as we are right now, but I'm kind of hoping we'll stay this close, when you're back to normal."

"I hope so," Regina agreed. "You're the only person who is nice to me. You and your family, I mean."

"They're your family, too, Regina," Emma said, though she knew Regina didn't know about her true relationship to Henry. Regina didn't seem to pick up on it, as she seemed to be drifting off to sleep.

"Am I bad if I'm glad Mother isn't here?" Regina asked, sleepily. "I don't miss her."

"No, baby. She was bad. She had no right to treat you the way she did." Emma could feel her anger rising, and she knew that if Cora were to step through that door right now, she'd fireball her herself, on pure instinct.

"Daddy never saved me from her," Regina whispered. Her eyes were closed now, and Emma shifted them down so they were lying on the pillow. "He never tried to stop her."

"He couldn't stop her, sweetheart," Emma reminded her. She was sure Regina must know that, as an adult. After all, Henry Sr. was the thing she loved most, wasn't he?

"I know," Regina murmured. "But you would save me, wouldn't you?"

"Always," Emma promised, as she placed a kiss on Regina's forehead.

In the morning, when Emma woke up again, Regina was already up and out of the room. For a moment, Emma had forgotten she was even there, and then, like yesterday, panic set in again that she was back to herself. When she got up, however, she could hear Regina and Henry downstairs, laughing.

Emma rolled her eyes when she got downstairs, and found Henry and Regina playing Mario Kart, each with partially eaten pieces of chocolate cake on plates beside them.

"Cake for breakfast, kid? Seriously?" Emma groaned, looking pointedly at Henry.

Henry just shrugged, without looking up from the game. "Regina asked for it. And I thought we were supposed to be indulging her?"

"I never said indulge!" Emma insisted, as she grabbed the two plates of cake.

"Em-ma!" Regina whined. "I want that!"

Emma frowned. Where was that sweet little girl from yesterday? She tried to shrug it off, hoping that she hadn't created a monster with all the indulging she had already done with Regina.

"You can't have cake for breakfast," Emma sighed.

"You said you wanted me to be happy!" Regina snapped, throwing her controller down and glaring at Emma. Emma got a sudden flash to the last melt-down Regina had had during a game of Mario Kart, the first time a little bit of the spell wore off. The spell didn't seem to be having the same effect on her throughout the rest of her age progressions, and Emma had to assume this attitude was all nine-year-old Regina temper.

"Happy, yes. But that doesn't mean no rules. I'm in charge and I say no cake for breakfast," Emma said, turning to take the plates out of the room. To her surprise, Regina stomped behind her.

"This is my house!" Regina yelled, causing Emma to jump in surprise. "I'm a princess and you don't get to tell me what to do!"

Emma put the plates down on the counter and spun around quickly. Before she could even speak, Regina flinched, and put her hands over her face to shield herself.

"Regina," Emma gasped, realizing immediately Regina was bracing herself for a physical punishment - or perhaps a dose of magic to be shot at her. "Sweetheart, I'm not going to hurt you."

Regina peeked up over her hands, meeting Emma's eyes again, but not saying a word as her bottom lip began to tremble.

"Baby, what's gotten into you today? Something's bothering you."

Regina lowered her hands completely and threw herself at Emma as she began to sob. "I don't want to be the Evil Queen!" she cried.

Though Regina had gotten a fair bit taller, Emma could still pick her up like she weighed nothing, and she wasted no time scooping her up and holding her tight, as Regina wrapped her arms around Emma's neck and her legs around her waist, as though she were holding on for dear life.

Emma remembered what is was like to be scared and feel like nothing was in her control, and she remembered so many times where she'd lashed out just as Regina had now. The only difference was, she'd never had anyone to pick her up and hold her tight and remind her that everything was really going to be alright.

"I know, baby," Emma breathed into her ear, as she ran her fingers through Regina's hair again. "I know you're scared, but we can't change the past, we can only change the future."

"I don't know how to change the future," Regina said, as she sobbed lightly into Emma's shoulder.

"Well, that's why I'm here with you. I'm going to help you," Emma promised. "I told you I will always save you, and I will."

Regina squeezed her arms tighter around Emma's neck. "Mother says I'm much too old for hugs," Regina whispered in Emma's ear.

"How many times do I have to tell you your mother is wrong? You can never be too old for a hug," Emma reminded her.

"But Mother says-"

"No. No 'mother says'. Let's try 'Emma says' for a while, alright? Emma says you're a beautiful, intelligent, sweet little girl, who is never too old for hugs, and who will grow up to be a hero."

Emma rubbed Regina's back as her tears began to slow down. When she had calmed down enough, Regina whispered in Emma's ear again. "Regina says Emma's never allowed to leave her."

Emma smiled, as she swallowed back her own tears that were threatening to fall. "Emma says, I couldn't leave you if I tried."

Chapter Text

Thanks to PseudomonasAe for the swimming idea, and thanks to starbuckevilregal for the idea to introduce Regina to messy foods :) :)

Chapter Fifteen

"Hey Mom," Henry said, coming into the kitchen where Emma was busy cleaning up from the actual breakfast of toast and oatmeal she'd made for the kids, to make up for the chocolate cake they thought they were entitled to.

"Hey, kid, what's up?" Emma asked, as she dropped the dish rag back in the sink. Never in her life had she done this much housework, but knowing that Regina could potentially bounce back to herself at any moment, Emma was not about to be caught having her home be a disaster - even if the bouncy castle was still up in the backyard.

"My mom doesn't know how to swim," he replied, with a shrug.

"Oooh kay," Emma said, narrowing her eyes in confusion. "Last I checked there wasn't a pool in the living room. I think she'll be alright."

"No, I mean, she never learned how. She said that Cora would never let her near the lake water in the Enchanted Forest, and it never occurred to her to give herself that knowledge when she created the curse… swimming wasn't on her mind, I guess. But anyway, the point is, now she's too embarrassed to try to take lessons or anything."

Emma nodded slowly as she caught on. "So, you're thinking that I could teach her now, as a kid. She won't be embarrassed, and then she'll know how as an adult?"

Henry shrugged. "Seems like a good idea, doesn't it? She never has to know the reason why, as an adult, you know?"

"Yeah," Emma nodded, grinning. "But only if she wants to. I'm not going to force her, okay?"

"I'll go spring the idea on her," Henry said, beaming as he hurried back into the living room.

As it turned out, Regina was thrilled at the idea. Emma was quickly realizing that the little princess would likely be on board for anything she or Henry suggested at this point, so before long, she was loading them up in the car.

"We'll have to stop at the store and get you a swimsuit, Regina," Emma said, as they headed downtown. "Then we'll go to the public pool."

Regina just smiled and nodded enthusiastically in the mirror. Emma was sure that the words 'swimsuit' and 'pool' were both completely foreign to her, but as the child rattled on and on about the 'peasant children' who swam in the ponds, Emma could tell this was something that Regina had thought about a lot. She'd have to thank Henry for his genius later.

Regina hurried excitedly into the store the moment she was out of the car, and after a short deliberation, she finally settled on a dark purple racerback one-piece with white Hawaiian Hibiscus flower silhouettes down one side. Emma bought her the swimsuit, along with water wings, and they were on their way.

Once they were at the pool, Emma changed into her yellow tankini and helped Regina get herself into her swimsuit - which was completely foreign to the child - and pulled her dark hair up into a ponytail before heading outside to meet Henry at the pool. It was a warm day, but the pool wasn't crowded and Emma was grateful for that.

Emma spotted a rack of life jackets, and decided that was better to start with than the water wings, which she set aside for the moment as Henry headed off to the deep end to work on his dives.

"Alright, princess," Emma said, as Regina eyed the water a little nervously. "This is a life jacket. It floats, and this piece on the back here stops your head from going underwater, okay?"

Regina nodded as Emma helped her into the life jacket, and fastened it up snuggly. "But you won't leave me, right?" Regina asked, suddenly worried about this whole adventure.

"I would never leave you, you know that," Emma smiled, as she took Regina's hand and lead her over to the stairs in the shallow end. "Once you feel confident enough, we'll trade out the life jacket for the water wings, okay?"

Regina bit her lip and nodded, before adding, "or maybe I'll just keep this on."

"How about we play it by ear, okay, princess?" Emma laughed, as she tested the water with her toe. "It's pretty warm. Are you ready?"

Regina nodded as she tightened her death grip on Emma's hand, her other hand holding tight to the railing, as they began their descent. The water was just above Emma's waist, and she knew that even without the life jacket holding Regina up, the girl would be able to touch bottom with her shoulders still above the water.

But Regina didn't seem to realize this.

"Emma!" she shrieked, wrapping her arms around Emma's neck and her legs around her waist, effectively removing nearly her entire body from the water. "I don't like it!"

Emma wrapped an arm around Regina's back and put her other hand on the back of her head as the child trembled against her. "Regina, do you not like it, or are you afraid? If you're afraid, you can tell me."

"I'm afraid," Regina admitted.

"Look at me, honey," Emma said, removing her hand from Regina's hair so she could cup her face and bring her to look at her. "There's nothing to be afraid of. The water's not deep. You could stand on your feet and your head will still be above water. On top of that, you have on a life jacket and I'm right here. Nothing is going to happen to you, okay?"

Regina nodded, but made no attempt to remove herself from Emma's body as her lip began to tremble. Emma knew she was near tears, and she needed to fix this.

"How about this? I will hold on to you, and you put your feet down and touch the bottom, okay? Then if you still don't like it, I'll take you out, okay?"

"Okay," Regina agreed.

Emma moved both her hands under Regina's armpits to hold her up. "Okay, you have to let go, princess. But I won't let go, okay? You literally cannot drown, I won't let you."

Regina swallowed hard as she unwrapped her arms and legs from Emma, and slowly reached her feet down to the bottom. Her face lit up when her toes made contact. "I can touch the bottom!" she cried, grinning from ear to ear, though she was now gripping Emma's forearms tight with both hands, making sure Emma really didn't let her go.

"Told you so," Emma grinned.

Regina caught on rather quickly to swimming, and Emma guessed she really shouldn't be surprised. The kid was always eager to please, and she pushed herself hard. Emma guessed that must have been the effect that growing up with Cora as a mother could have on a child.

After about half an hour, Regina was sure she was ready to try it with just water wings, so they made a trade off, and before long, Regina was dog paddling without Emma even holding on to her.

"Wow," Henry commented, as he came into the shallow end. "She's catching on fast."

Emma smiled, beaming at Regina as if she were a mother proud of her precocious daughter. "I know. I'm glad, because it's not like we have a ton of time left to teach her new things, you know? She's a smart kid."

"Maybe this afternoon we can teach her to ride a bike," Henry suggested.

"One thing at a time, kid."

"Emma!" Regina giggled, from about four feet away. "Can I have these off now?"

"You're sure you're ready?" Emma asked, suddenly feeling nervous about Regina having no safety device at all, even if she could touch in this end.

"Yes! I'm ready!" Regina insisted, as her feet found the bottom of the pool and she pulled the water wings off on her own.

"Okay, baby girl," Emma said, grinning at her as the water wings floated away. "Swim to me."

Regina got herself into position, despite a little sputtering when her mouth hit the water, and soon she was on the move. She was anything but graceful, but she was swimming, and moments later, she was in Emma's arms again.

"I did it!" Regina beamed. "Are you proud of me?"

"More than you could ever know," Emma said, smiling.

"When can I do that?" Regina asking, pointing at some of the older kids who were jumping off the diving board.

Emma laughed and shook her head. "Not today. One day, I promise."

Regina made awkward laps around the pool for the next hour, and Emma even got her to swim where she couldn't touch, before she decided it was time to get the kids some lunch.

"I'm sure you've both worked up an appetite," Emma said, as she wrapped Regina up in a beach towel.

"Mom, they are having Sloppy Joe's at Granny's today. Ruby said it was a special promotion or something. Can we please go there?" Henry asked.

Emma rolled her eyes, knowing that Henry likely probably just wanted to see his pint-sized mother eating a Sloppy Joe - something Regina would never do in her right mind - but Emma hadn't had a Sloppy Joe in years and she kind of liked the idea.

"Yeah, kid," she agreed. "Go get changed and meet us at the car."

Regina's eyes went wide as she looked at the Sloppy Joe that Ruby had just set in front of her. She looked up again and watched Henry take his first bite of his own, ground beef and sauce dripping out all over the plate.

"Oh my goodness," Regina whispered, causing Henry and Emma both to laugh out loud. "This is very messy food. Mother would never…." her voice trailed off as she peeked at Emma, who was raising her eyebrow in reminder of their conversation earlier that morning. Regina sighed and shrugged. "What Mother doesn't know won't hurt her," she said, finally picking up her sandwich and taking a big, messy bite.

"What do you think?" Emma asked, noting the big grin on Regina's face.

"It's very good," Regina nodded, taking another bite.

Emma laughed again. "Henry, can we get that on film? Because there's no way she's going to admit to liking Sloppy Joe's when this spell wears off."

"No, I think I will like them," Regina said, nodding decisively.

"You hear that Ruby?" Emma called out, as Ruby was passing the table. "Regina loves Sloppy Joes. Perhaps you should consider making this a regular menu item?"

"Well, I guess as long as they have the Mayor's seal of approval," Ruby grinned, winking at Regina, "then I'd be more than happy to oblige. Glad you like them, Regina."

"What is a mayor?" Regina asked, leaning in to whisper her question to Emma once Ruby had walked away again.

"It's your job, baby. Well, your grown up job. It means you run the town."

"The whole town?" Regina asked, her eyes growing wide.

Emma couldn't help but laughed at how impressed Regina was, considering that she'd once run and entire Kingdom. But, that was something Emma didn't plan on bringing up right now. Regina's mind seemed to be far away from the Evil Queen, and she wanted to keep it that way.

"That's right. You have a fancy office and you get to tell everyone what to do."

"Well, then I'm going to tell everyone they have to come here and get Sloppy Joes," Regina said, nodding again. "And everyone will be very happy."

"I'm sure they will."

"Maybe you could even make it a holiday," Henry suggested, grinning from ear to ear. "Sloppy Joe Day. We can have fireworks and a parade."

Regina nodded again, as though she were considering what Henry was suggesting very seriously. "I don't know what you're talking about, but if you think it's a good idea, then that's what we will do."

"Mom, please get this in writing," Henry said, laughing as he looked at Emma again.

"Sloppy Joe Day will have a bouncy castle," Regina said, continuing the conversation by herself while Henry and Emma continued to laugh and shake their heads. "And we will celebrate it on my birthday every single year."

"Okay. Can my birthday be Grilled Cheese and Onion Ring Day?" Emma asked, trying to hold back another laugh.

"Yes," Regina nodded, and Emma couldn't hold back her laughter any longer. "What's funny, Emma? I'm being serious."

"I know," Emma agreed. "You're just too adorable for words. Please, don't ever change, okay?"

Regina smiled and nodded. "I won't. I promise."

Chapter Text

I'm back from hiatus! I was having some hardcore writer's block, and I had to take several days off from writing for my muse to return to me! But now I'm back and refreshed and ready to dive right back in!

Did you miss me?

Also, a big THANK YOU to swan-queen-is-magic on Tumblr for sending me some ideas and really helping me figure out where to take this story, in the long run! THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU!

Chapter Sixteen

"What are you doing?" Regina asked, as she stepped into Henry's room. Emma was on the phone with David, discussing some sheriff business, and Regina had grown bored of listening to the one-sided conversation rather quickly.

"Homework," Henry sighed, from where he was lying on his stomach on his bed, a binder and a math text open in front of him. "Are you bored?"

Regina nodded absently as she glanced around Henry's room. Her eyes fell momentarily on a framed photo of Henry and the dark-haired woman who she now knew was her - Henry's adoptive mother, according to Emma - but she quickly looked away. As much as she tried to accept that she was under a spell, it was still unsettling, to say the least.

Regina's curious eyes then landed on something else: on the edge of Henry's desk, sat a light brown teddy bear, sporting a dark blue hat with the letter B, and white pants and a white shirt embroidered with red lettering, reading Red Sox.

"You and I made him, at Build-a-Bear," Henry commented, noticing where Regina was looking.

Regina scrunched up her nose in confusion. "What's build a bear?"

"It's a store," Henry explained, closing his book and sitting up on his bed. Homework could wait, he figured. "You get to stuff your own bear, and then put clothes on it and name it and bring it home in a special box. You took me for my eighth birthday, to the one in Boston, and we made him."

"What's Boston?"

Henry laughed. "Another city. You didn't… Storybrooke doesn't have a Build-a-Bear, so we had to drive to Boston, because I wanted to go so badly, after I saw a commercial on TV. I have a booklet of the different bears."

Henry got up and pulled out the little flyer from behind his Red Sox bear, and handed it to Regina. It was a few years outdated, but he figured she'd get the idea.

"Do you think Emma would take us there?" Regina asked, excitedly. "I want to build a bear!"

"We can ask her," Henry said, before realizing that going to Boston would mean leaving Storybooke. "You wait here, and I'll go ask her, okay? You can check out my bear while I'm gone." Henry handed Regina the Red Sox bear, and hurried down the stairs to find Emma.

"Mom," Henry said, as he reached the living room, and found Emma just ending her call. "Regina wants to go to Build-a-Bear."

Emma raised an eyebrow and smirked at him. "Oh, she does? I wonder where she got the idea for that?"

"Well, from me. Well, really, from my bear, but that's not the point. There's no Build-a-Bear here," Henry replied.

"Okay, so then where is there a Build-a-Bear?" Emma asked. Truthfully, she didn't really, truly know what Build-a-Bear even was. She'd heard of it, and she knew when stores started popping up in the late nineties, other kids from her school would go their with their parents, but Emma had never had the opportunity, and as an adult, she'd never seen a reason to go there.

"There's one in Boston, but that's not the point. Boston made me think: what if we take her over the town line? The spell will break!"

Emma sighed, seeing the excitement in Henry's eyes. He really wanted Regina back to her old self, and she knew it. "Kid… the spell won't break. She just… wouldn't be under the spell outside of Storybrooke. She'd be right back to a kid again when we came back."

Henry frowned. "But, she'd be herself for a while, at least," he pointed out.

"Possibly, but I don't think it would be very fun for her to magically re-age, and then de-age again, but I wonder…" Emma's voice trailed off, as she started to think about what really might happen. "Let me talk to Gold, okay? I'll call him now."

"What did he say?" Henry asked, eagerly, as Emma reentered the living room after calling Gold.

"Well, Regina will definitely re-age if we take her over the town line, there's no way around that. But, he thinks the spell will continue to wear off, even in the time she's outside of Storybrooke. Basically, we could leave with a nine-year-old and return with a ten-year-old, depending on how long we're gone. Either way, at little girl upstairs can't go to Boston."

Henry nodded, looking defeated. "She's going to be heartbroken," he sighed.

"Well, we could do something else with her," Emma suggested.

Henry thought on that for a moment. "We could take her to the movies. Minions is still playing in town," Henry grinned.

"Minions? Seriously?"

Henry shrugged. "I showed her Despicable Me on Netflix when she was like… seven? She loved it."

"Fine. I'll check showtimes. You go give your pint-sized mother a rundown on what a movie theatre is."

Regina was bouncing in her seat waiting for the movie to start. Emma had splurged and bought them all the Minions combo, with collectable Minions cups, Skittles and popcorn. Regina had insisted they needed to sit in the very front row, but Emma had finally talked her into moving back to the fourth, so they didn't strain their necks quite as much.

Regina and Henry both watched in horror as Emma ripped open her pack of Skittles, and dumped it straight into her popcorn.

"Mom, what are you doing?" Henry gasped, clearly appalled.

"What? I like it like this. I call it Skittle-corn. It's sweet and salty and delicious," Emma insisted.

"I'll try that," Regina grinned, dumping her Skittles into her own popcorn, while Henry rolled his eyes.

"Great, when this spell wears off, she's going to be just like you," he commented, shaking his head.

"Oh, come on, kid, don't act like you wouldn't love that."

"Shh! It's starting!" Regina cried, as the lights began to dim and the previews came up on the screen. Throughout the entire movie, Regina sat in complete awe. Emma wasn't sure if she even blinked once, but the constant string of laughter from beside her told her that at least Regina was enjoying herself, and had hopefully forgotten all about going to Build-a-Bear.

"That was the best thing ever!" Regina exclaimed, as soon as the movie ended. "Can we come see it again tomorrow?"

"This movie? I think once is enough, kid," Emma laughed.

Regina pouted as she reluctantly stood up from her chair, not really ready to leave the theatre.

Emma sighed. "Okay, maybe before you grow back up, we'll come to another movie, okay? There's more than just the Minions, you know."

Regina's face lit up again in a big grin. "I want to see all of them! And I want to keep this cup forever and drink all my drinks from it. Is that okay?"

"If that's what you want," Emma agreed, "about the cup, I mean. Maybe not every single movie though."

"Okay," Regina said, accepting that at least she got to keep the cup forever, and the prospect of maybe another movie or two before this spell wore off.

"Now it's time to get home and get you both into bed, it's getting late, and Henry has school tomorrow."

"Thank you for giving me a special day today," Regina said, as Emma tucked her into bed, with Henry's Red Sox bear that he'd decided to let Regina borrow. "But I still want to go to Build-a-Bear one day."

"I know you do, Sweetheart, but we can't leave Storybrooke right now, because of the spell. But I promise you, we'll do all the fun things we can here, while you're still little, alright? And maybe, one day, we can all go to Build-a-Bear anyway. I've never been there either, you know."

Regina's eyes widened in surprise. "You haven't? Your mother never took you there?"

"No, I didn't know my parents when I was your age. I didn't meet them until I was an adult."

"Why?" Regina gasped.

"It's a long story, kid, and it's kind of a sad one. Trust me, as an adult, you already know, so let's not worry about it right now, okay?"

"Okay," Regina agreed, "but I'm sorry you didn't have your parents when you were a kid."

Emma bit her bottom lip to stop herself from crying. Of course, this Regina really had no idea the depth that those words had coming from her mouth, and Emma really had no interest in traumatizing her with knowledge of what the curse had forced her parents to do.

After all, she didn't really blame Regina, not fully, but still… she wondered what it would be like to hear those words from Regina in her adult body with her adult mind.

She guessed she'd probably never know.

Skittle-corn is something I actually always do at the movies… it happened accidentally the first time (I placed my open bag of Skittles on top of my popcorn and it spilled) and it was the best thing ever because it  IS  sweet and salty and delicious, for the record!

Also, anyone who has tumblr, I have a new one, dedicated to SQ and my writing, so feel free to find me! I'm rowark-sq … send me asks and/or prompts and tag me in stuff and I'll love you forever!

Chapter Text

Emma became worried when Regina wasn't down for breakfast by 7:30 that morning. Normally, the kid was up with the crack of dawn, sometimes before the crack of dawn, but when she'd slept later than Emma this morning, Emma had assumed that the spell was wearing her out and she needed some rest.

But as the morning progressed, Emma couldn't help but worry.

By 8am, she'd had enough waiting, and she went up to Regina's room to see what was going on. To her surprise, she found Regina's bed empty and unmade, and the room vacant.

"Regina?" she called out, glancing inside the open door to the en suite bathroom. There was no sign of her there, either.

"Regina?" she called again, stepping back into the hallway and looking around. She was sure Regina must be upstairs somewhere, as she would have noticed if she'd come down. She checked Henry's room, but there was no sign of her there, either.

She was about to go back downstairs, thinking maybe she somehow had missed the kid coming down, and maybe she would find her playing Mario Kart or something, but a timid "Emma?" coming from the guest bedroom that she'd been staying in stopped her in her tracks.

Emma pushed open the door and gasped when she saw Regina. The kid wasn't so much of a kid anymore. Regina had grown nearly a foot, and was standing there, donning a pair of Emma's yoga pants and a hoodie, in all her lanky, awkward teenage glory.

"None of my clothes fit me anymore," Regina said, softly, looking like she might cry.

"Oh, sweetie," Emma said, as she closed the distance between the two of them and wrapped Regina in a tight hug. She wasn't sure if it was teenage hormones or the shock of waking up this much older, but Regina was incredibly emotional and Emma couldn't resist the urge to hold her and try to make it all better. "Baby, how old are you today?"

Regina swallowed and seemed to think on that for a moment. "Fourteen?"

"Is that a question?"

Regina gave a small shrug, as she continued to hold on to Emma. "I don't know. I can't really remember if I had a fourteenth birthday or not. Everything is kind of … hazy."

Emma nodded. "That's a lot of memories to come back at one time," she acknowledged. "Five years overnight. You've never aged this quickly before. I think the spell is almost over. It's getting weaker."

"Why do you sound sad?" Regina asked, picking up on the hint of melancholy in Emma's voice. "Don't you want me to grow back up?"

"I do… but I don't," Emma confessed, as she pulled away from the hug to look into Regina's wide eyes. "I miss the adult you, but I miss you when you were little, too. And I'm sure I'll miss you like this."

Regina nodded. "That makes sense. And maybe you're a little worried for when I grow up to be evil?" she suggested.

"I'm not, because you won't," Emma insisted. "I won't let you. Now, it looks like we're going to have to go clothes shopping, won't we? Mine are a little big for you."

In spite of herself, Regina blushed, suddenly acutely aware of the fact that she was wearing Emma's clothes with no undergarments and Emma had just been hugging her and was still standing in close proximity to her, and it was giving Regina all sorts of unfamiliar feelings that she couldn't quite explain. So she simply said, "sorry."

"It's fine, Regina. You know I don't mind. We can't have you running around the town naked, can we?"

Regina blushed even redder and turned her eyes away from Emma, in disbelief that she had just said something so… crass.

"Can't you just… stretch my clothes, with magic, like you did before?" Regina asked, nervously. The thought of going out shopping in this new, awkward body was suddenly terrifying. It was different when Emma had taken her out as a kid. She hadn't been quite so self-conscious then.

Emma laughed and shook her head. "I don't think you want to keep going around in those clothes. They're really meant for kids. You need more age appropriate attire."

Regina raised an eyebrow as her flushed face returned to its normal shade, much to her relief. "Age appropriate?"

"Yeah. Jeans, t-shirts without glittery pictures of dogs wearing sunglasses, probably uh… a bra."

"What's a bra?"

Emma let out a sigh and bit her lip to keep herself from laughing at the sheer innocence of Regina's question. She thought back for a moment to the first night she arrived in Storybrooke. Never in a million years would she have thought she'd ever have to explain the concept of a bra to Henry's other mother - the Mayor herself.

If she'd thought Regina might kill her before, now she was sure of it.

"It's, uh, to keep the ladies in place," Emma said, motioning to her own chest for emphasis.

It took Regina a moment to process what Emma was implying, and when the realization set in, she turned an even deeper shade of red than she had the first time. "Oh dear," Regina whispered, and Emma couldn't hold her laugh back any longer.

"Don't worry about it, Regina. A girl's first experience with a bra is always awkward. You got to miss that the first time around, so you were due. Just be glad I'm taking you. When I needed my first training bra, I was in a home with only a foster father, and he had to take me. Imagine how awkward that was?"

"What happened?"

Emma laughed again. "Well, I'm not really sure who was more embarrassed, me or him. He practically pushed me into the store and told the woman working to 'take care of all that lady stuff'. At least she was nice, and helpful, because I was mortified."

After an abnormally quiet breakfast, Emma took Regina into town once Henry was off to school.

"Hey, you can even ride in the front seat now," Emma declared.

"I like this much better," Regina said, decidedly, once they were in the car and on their way. "It's nice to be able to see where we are going."

"I'm sure it is," Emma laughed.

"Um… Emma," Regina said, suddenly sounding unsure of herself.

"What is it, honey?"

"Are you worried… that the spell is wearing off and-"

"If you're about to end that sentence with anything in relation to you turning evil, don't," Emma said, effectively cutting Regina off mid-sentence. "Because, no, I'm not worried because, no, it's not going to happen. And even in the off chance that it does, I have a plan, so you don't need to worry. Got it?"

Regina nodded quickly, even if she still looked unsure. "Got it."

"Good. You trust me, right?"

Regina nodded again. "I think you're the only person I trust."

"Then trust me in this, okay? Look, we're here."

Regina looked nervously out the window at the unfamiliar store. Her nervousness only grew as they stepped inside and she saw undergarments, everywhere.

Emma tried to force herself not to smile as she watched Regina's face turning every shade of red. "Regina, it's fine. It's just a bra. It's no big deal, trust me. We'll be in and out before you know it."

Regina breathed a heavy sigh and nodded, following Emma into the store and trying her hardest not to look at anything.

"Oh, Regina, look at this one," Emma said grinning as she pulled something off the rack and showed to to Regina. It was a cute black and white striped bra with little apples on it and Emma had to admit it was perfect.

And Regina would kill her, but she didn't care. It was just too cute to resist.

"Okay, fine, let's get that one," Regina said in a hushed voice, trying her hardest not to attract any attention to herself.

Emma shook her head and grabbed a few pairs of panties that somewhat matched, guestimating Regina's size now, figuring that altering them with magic if they didn't fit was better than embarrassing the teen any further.

"Alright, hard part's over," Emma declared, once she'd paid for the undergarments and given Regina a crash course on how to wear this 'contraption', as Regina had worded it, and had her put it on in the changeroom before they left. "Feel better?"

Regina nodded. "Yes, actually. Less… exposed."

"Good. Now, let's go get you some new clothes. I never really had girl friends when I was your age, you know? I never had someone to go shopping with. This'll be fun."

Emma dragged Regina to several stores, having more fun that the teen was, but the trip was successful as she managed to get Regina some new clothes that they were both okay with.

"I never thought I'd see the day you wore jeans," Emma said, shaking her head and grinning as Regina emerged from the changeroom at the last store, donning a pair of light blue jeans and a red blouse.

"I wore jeans when I was… littler," Regina said, scrunching up her nose at the awkwardness of the sentence, and the fact that she was, indeed, years younger just the day before.

"Yeah, but that was different. You look more like… you, now. I never thought I'd see the adult you in jeans… teenage you might be the closest I ever get!"

Emma smiled as they headed back to the mansion. Gold had warned her to have fun with the teenage years, but she was starting to think that Gold didn't have a clue what he was talking about. Regina was so sweet and innocent, there was no way she was going to rebel against her, Emma was sure.

Chapter Text

Here's a little more Regina POV ;)

Regina fidgeted nervously with her corner of her napkin as she and Emma sat in their regular booth at Granny's diner, waiting for their food to arrive. For the first time since arriving in Storybrooke, Regina had gotten to order of off the real menu and not the kids menu, and while Emma seemed to think this was something to be proud of, it made Regina feel awkward.

Ever since she'd woken up that morning, in a completely different body, everything had felt awkward, and it wasn't just because of the sudden appearance of 'the ladies', as Emma referred to them. Slowly, as the day progressed, more and more of Regina's actual adolescent and preteen memories were returning to her, and things were starting to feel uncomfortable.

She remembered years of etiquette lessons, and her mother reminding her almost daily to act like a proper lady, for she was to be a queen one day. Regina knew enough to know at this point that she wouldbecome Queen one day, and though she tried to remind herself that these memories were from a different time, and the rules of the Enchanted Forest didn't apply here, she couldn't help but feel completely out of place with this woman who didn't seem to recognize the importance of 'being a lady' at all.

But this was Emma, the first person in Regina's life who ever seemed to actually care about what she wanted. Emma was the first person to think she was worthy of love and praise, and gave them to her freely, and unconditionally. With every fibre of her being, Regina wanted to ignore her mother's voice in her head and just trust Emma fully.

On the other hand, there was no ignoring Mother. She would be displeased with Regina's current attire or how she was wearing her hair or even how she was slouching in her seat at the diner waiting for the food that she knew Mother would never approve of. It was all so confusing and Regina just wanted to cry.

"Hey," Emma voice pulled Regina out of her thoughts. "What's wrong?"

Regina shrugged. "I'm not really sure," she admitted. And it was mostly true. "Everything just feels… different. And confusing."

Emma nodded and gave her a knowing smile. "Being a teenager can be rough. Probably even more rough since you didn't even get to transition into it. But it's not gonna be forever, and you've still got me, okay?"

Regina nodded as she spotted Ruby coming over with their food. The tall brunette was wearing tight black shorts that showed off her toned legs and a red crop top that left little to the imagination, and before she even realized what she was doing, Regina caught herself staring at the waitress's chest. She turned her eyes down quickly and felt the heat of the blush rushing to her cheeks.

For their parts, neither Emma or Ruby seemed to notice, as Ruby started chatting to Emma about her day as she placed their plates down on the table. Regina let her eyes creep up again as she watched the way Ruby held her self, and placed a hand on Emma's arm as she laughed at something Emma said, and how Ruby winked at Emma as she walked away from the table. Soon, Regina recognized another uncomfortable feeling washing over her: jealousy.

Emma shot Regina a confused look, but decided not to comment as she picked up her grilled cheese instead.

"Why does she talk to you like that?" Regina asked, quietly.

"Like what?"

"Like… she likes you," Regina clarified, prompting Emma to grin.

"Well, she does. We're friends," Emma said, with a shrug, as she bit into an onion ring.

"No, that's not what I mean," Regina insisted, slightly exasperated that her point wasn't getting across. "She talks to you and touches you like she wants to court you."

Emma nearly choked on her onion ring as she tried in vain not to laugh. "Regina… she doesn't want to… court me. She's just… flirty. That's just Ruby."

"Well, I don't like it," Regina said, scowling down at her plate.

"Oh yeah? And why's that?"

"It's entirely inappropriate," Regina explained. "It's no way for a lady to behave in public, and it's… well, it's inappropriate."

"Yeah, you said that already. And this isn't the Enchanted Forest. There's no rules on how a lady has to behave in public," Emma said, smiling as she shook her head. "Your mother really did a number on you."

"She did not!" Regina gasped. "She just… she wanted… I just don't like it."

Regina looked down at her plate again, but she could feel Emma's eyes on her. Truthfully, she wasn't entirely sure why the exchange she'd just witnessed was bothering her, but she already regretted bringing it up because she didn't want to talk about it anymore and embarrass herself. She wasn't even sure why it was embarrassing at all.

Regina sniffed as she wiped a tear of frustration from her cheek, and jumped slightly when she felt Emma's hand touch her free hand. She looked up again to meet Emma's concerned green eyes, and noted at the blonde wasn't laughing anymore and looked much more serious.

"Regina, listen… when you're fourteen, your hormones are out of control and it can be hard to understand your own feelings. I get it. I've been a teenager, too. But nothing Ruby did was inappropriate, alright?"

Regina nodded. "I'm sorry. I don't know what came over me."

Regina half listened as Emma told her there was nothing to apologize for, and while Regina disagreed, her mind was distracted by more memories coming back to her. She was starting to remember a boy her mother hired to work at the stables, with brown hair and blue eyes and a smile that made her heart flutter.

The same flutter she'd felt just now when Emma touched her hand.

Regina bit her lip and narrowed her eyes in confusion as she continued to stare at her untouched food which she was sure was getting cold by now. It didn't make sense that Emma had just made her feel, right now, the same way that Daniel had been making her feel since she first met him.

"Do you want me to get Ruby to bring a to-go box?" Emma asked, suddenly, causing Regina's eyes to snap up again.

Regina nodded. "Yes, please. I'm sorry Emma… these memories keep coming back to me and it's overwhelming."

"It's okay," Emma said, with a smile as she motioned for Ruby to come back over to the table. "Listen: I just got a text from Henry saying that he's going out for ice cream tonight with Grace, Ava and Nick, and he wants to know if you want to come along?"

"Will you come too?" Regina asked, hopefully.

"Trust me, Henry doesn't want his mom tagging along when he hangs out with his friends. But they're all about your age, so it could be fun. You must get sick of hanging out with me all the time," Emma chided.

"I don't, I swear," Regina insisted.

"Well, it's up to you. I know you've never really gone out without an adult before, so if you go, and you want to come home, you can just tell Henry and he'll call me to come get you, okay? But I think it would be fun."

Regina nodded slowly. "Maybe it will be fun. And maybe it would be nice to talk to other girls my age."

Emma smiled. "You'll have a great time. I'll text Henry and let him know."

Regina watched Emma on her phone as she transferred her uneaten food into the container Ruby had brought over. Saving food was something she'd never heard of before coming to this realm, but she was glad at least Emma's money wasn't going to waste, even if she had no appetite at the moment.

As nervous as she was at the prospect of being out without adult supervision, Regina hoped some times to talk to another girl her current age would help her figure out her confusing feelings at the moment. She'd never really had the opportunity to make friends in the Enchanted Forest, but what she had learned about boys and love she'd learned from the teenage children of the servants her mother employed in her home.

Her mother had always insisted that love was weakness, and that she should stay away from any boy who ever showed an interest in courting her, since her path in life was to marrying into royalty, and her mother wasn't about to let anyone stand in the path of that.

Regina couldn't help but wonder what ever happened to that stable boy. He was the first person she'd ever met who had elicited these strange feelings in her. She thought for sure, then, she knew what those feelings meant, but now Emma was causing those very same feelings in her all over again.

Now, she didn't have a clue what any of it meant.

To be continued….

Chapter Text

"Henry," Emma said, pulling Henry aside once as she was dropping him and Regina off at the ice cream parlour that evening. "Remember what I said, okay? Keep an eye on Regina and if she looks like she's getting uncomfortable, call me."

Henry rolled his eyes. "Mom, she'll be fine. We're just going for ice cream."

Emma nodded, and turned to wave goodbye to the kids. Regina seemed to be hitting it off with Ava almost instantly, and she was relieved. Maybe Regina would only have a friend for an evening, but she was sure that was something Regina had missed out on entirely when she was actually fourteen.

"Okay, I'll be back at nine to pick you three up," Emma reminded Henry, Grace and Regina. "And your dad is coming to get you two?"

Ava smiled sweetly and nodded. "Yep. He's coming at nine, too," she assured her.

"Okay," Emma said, casting one more worried glance at Regina, before reminding herself that Henry would watch out for her, and four out of five of the group had cellphones, with her number.

It would be fine.

Regina had mentioned on more than one occasion in the past that she didn't really like Henry hanging around with the twins, but for the life of her Emma couldn't figure out why. She guessed it must be because they were older, since they were being nothing but sweet this evening.

Or maybe she was still bitter about them setting Henry up for shoplifting when he was ten. Emma thought it was about time she got over that, since they were just kids then, struggling to get by without parents. A situation that Regina, herself, had landed them in in the first place.

As much as Emma enjoyed spending time with Regina, throughout her various ages, she was actually grateful for an evening to herself, to kick back and relax with a beer, in a kid free house.

In Regina's kid free house, to be exact. Which made it all the more enticing.

Inside the ice cream parlour, Regina marvelled at the sign on the wall, listing off dozens of flavours she'd never heard of before.

"My mom said you should stick to the sherbert," Henry reminded her, pointing out that section on the sign. They hadn't really attempted dairy again since Regina had been sick, and Emma didn't think tonight was the night to test it out. The last thing Regina needed, on top of all her awkwardness, was to get sick while she was out with a group of teenagers and Emma wasn't around.

Regina nodded. "Yes. I think I'll get strawberry," she said, decisively. It might have only been a frozen dessert flavour, but Regina really did like being able to make decisions for herself.

"That's my favourite kind," Ava said, stepping up beside Regina. "I'm gonna get the same. Who knew we were so much alike?"

Regina smiled a genuine smile as she began to relax. She'd been extremely nervous to come out without Emma, but now she was wondering why she'd even worried at all. It was only a few hours, after all, and Ava seemed really intent on trying to be her friend.

"We should get our own booth," Ava said, once everyone had ordered their ice creams.

"Why?" Regina asked, glancing over at the other kids, and realizing for the first time that there already seemed to be a rift in the group.

Ava shrugged. "Me and Grace don't really get along, and, I mean, I live with my brother every day. I get sick of him. You must get sick of Henry."

"I suppose," Regina said, tentatively. It wasn't true, but she was determined to try to fit in as best she could.

"Good. Then we can have girl talk, or whatever," Ava said, before turning back to the group. "Me and Regina are getting our own booth."

"Are you sure, Regina?" Henry asked, looking at his teenaged mother with concern that matched the way Emma looked at her from time to time.

Regina shrugged. "Yes. Of course. We want to have girl talk or… whatever."

"Okay," Henry said, though he didn't look thrilled with the arrangement. "Well, we'll be right over here."

Regina gave him a polite smile and nodded, before turning to follow Ava to a booth on the other side of the parlour.

"Ugh, she is so annoying," Ava said, the second they sat down.

"Grace?" Regina asked, to clarify.

"Yes! Oh my God, the way she follows Henry around like a lost little puppy. It's pathetic. Don't you think?"

Regina bit her lip. "Uh, I didn't really notice."

Ava shrugged. "Well, whatever. Who cares. Let's talk about something else."

"Like what?" Truthfully, Regina had hoped that she could have spent the first part of the evening just listening to everyone else talk, to try to adjust. She hadn't expected to be thrust headfirst into making conversation with a stranger.

"You," Ava said, with a grin. "Is it, like, totally weird to be a teenager today? Weren't you like a little kid yesterday?"

Regina nodded. "It's… strange. And confusing. Emma said that being a teenager isn't easy."

Ava let out a short laugh. "All adults say that. It's not that bad. It's like, you can sort of do whatever you want, but then when you get in trouble you can play the whole 'I didn't know better' card. My dad buys it every time. Especially when I cry."

Regina furrowed her brow in confusion. "I… couldn't do whatever I wanted when I was a teenager. I mean, before."

"Yeah. The whole 'princess in the Enchanted Forest' thing kinda screwed you over, I guess. Lucky me, I guess, that I was a woodcutter's daughter back then."

Regina's eyes lit up. "You lived in the Enchanted Forest," she acknowledged. Of course, she knew that everyone in this town had, at one point, but it was easy to forget that when she spent all her time with Emma and Henry.

"Oh yeah," Ava said, with a nod. "I met you there, a long time ago. You were a real piece of work, you know. Evil Queen and all."

Regina frowned at looked down at her sherbert.

"Hey, it's fine. Ancient history. I mean, you almost got me and my brother killed, but it all worked out," Ava said, with a shrug.

Regina continued to stare at her sherbert, suddenly wishing she could just disappear. She didn't want to hear about horrible things she'd done in the past, and suddenly, she just wanted to go home. But she wasn't sure how she was supposed to manage that when she couldn't call Emma herself and she'd agreed to sit in this booth with Ava.

"Regina, it's cool. Let's talk about something else," Ava suggested.

"Please," Regina agreed, with a nod.

Regina began to relax again as Ava rattled on about subjects that didn't hit so close to home, like school or how annoying her brother could be.

"It's almost nine," Ava acknowledged, glancing up at the clock. "We should get out of here."

"Get out of here?" Regina repeated, unsure of exactly what Ava meant.

"Yeah. Go someplace else before Emma comes to get you. Nine is way too early of a curfew. We can go someplace else," Ava said, with a shrug.

"But won't Emma be upset?"

"Is Emma your mother?" Ava challenged, smirking at Regina.

"No. My mother is dead."

"Then I guess you don't have a curfew at all, do you? You're not really fourteen, you know. Emma isn't the boss of you."

"I know, but she takes care of me," Regina reminded her.

Ava rolled her eyes. "You're fourteen, not four. You don't need her to take care of you. And, I mean, even if she gets mad, the worst she can do is ground you."

"Ground me?"

"Yeah, like tell you you can't go out or you can't watch TV or something."

"I don't really like TV," Regina stated.

"Then what's the issue?" Ava said, with a grin. "Come on. Henry said you're supposed to be experiencing your teenage years, or something. This is what teenagers do."

Regina glanced at Henry, who seemed enraptured by Grace, and wasn't really even paying attention to what was going on in her booth. She guessed Ava had a point. She was supposed to be experiencing life as a teen.

And she really didn't like TV anyway.

"Okay," Regina agreed, smiling and how exhilarating it felt to go against the rules, just a little. It was something she could never do in her previous life, because of her mother, but Emma would never harm her physically. She supposed she should just go for it.

"Come on, quiet, we'll sneak out the backdoor," Ava said, stifling a giggle.

Regina nodded and followed her quietly, into the back alley behind the ice cream parlour. "Shouldn't we at least tell everyone else?"

"No. They'll rat us out," Ava said, with a shrug.

"So where do we go now?" Regina asked, her eyes wide with anticipation.

Ava shrugged. "Wherever we want."

In the end, they ended up on a bench down by the docks.

"There's not really all that much to do here," Ava said, sounding bored as she threw a rock, which hit the side of a boat with a ping, and landed in the water with a small splash.

"Whose boat is that?" Regina asked.

Ava shrugged. "Who cares?" she asked, as she picked up another rock from the ground below, and threw that one at the boat, as well.

"I'm sure whoever owns the boat cares," Regina pointed out.

"Right," Ava said, shaking her head. "How on earth did you go from this to the Evil Queen?"

"I don't want to talk about that," Regina said, quietly, looking back out over the water.

"'Kay," Ava said, as if it didn't matter either way. "Let's talk about Henry then."

"Henry?"

"Yeah. Do you think he likes Grace?"

"... likes Grace?" Regina repeated.

"Is there an echo here?" Ava asked, with a laugh. "Yeah, does he like her? Like he wants to date her and be her boyfriend?"

"Oh," Regina said, surprised. The thought hadn't occurred to her. "I don't know. He hasn't said anything."

"Of course he hasn't said anything to you," Ava said, laughing again. "But it's kind of obvious, isn't it?"

Regina shrugged. "Emma said some people are just 'flirty'."

"Henry's not flirty," Ava replied, shaking her head. "He's just flirting with her."

"And that makes you mad?"

"Kinda. I mean, I liked him first. But he's a year younger than me, so maybe it would have never worked out," Ava said, with a sigh.

"How do you know you like him?" Regina asked, seriously.

"Um, I just do?"

"But how do you know?" Regina pressed. "What does it feel like?"

Ava shrugged. "I don't know, I just… like being around him. And I don't like when Grace is around him."

Regina nodded, and thought back to the diner, earlier, with Emma. She liked being around Emma, and she certainly didn't like when Ruby was 'being flirty' with her. By Ava's assessment, it sounded like the same thing.

Regina listened as Ava talked about the other boys in her class, and other boys she had 'crushes' on, though Regina didn't ask her to clarify what that word meant. The definition quickly became obvious. But she wasn't really paying attention as she stared out over the water, and her thoughts turned back to Emma at the diner this morning.

"What time is it?" Regina asked, realizing that it had been quite a while since they'd left the ice cream parlour, and it had been nearly nine then. Suddenly, she felt bad, as she was sure Emma would be worrying about her.

Ava shrugged. "Dunno. My phone's dead."

"Oh. Maybe we should head back," Regina suggested.

"If you want," Ava said, with a small sigh, and she got up to follow Regina when Regina stood to head back towards the ice cream parlour.

They didn't make it very far down the road before Regina saw Emma's yellow Bug peeling around the corner and come to a screeching halt.

"Regina!" Emma cried, as she got out of the Bug. "It's 10:30! Where the hell have you been?"

Regina stopped dead in her tracks. She'd never made Emma mad before, and she wasn't quite sure how to handle this. Emma had never raised her voice to her like this, but Mother had, on several occasions.

But Emma wasn't her mother. And Regina wasn't afraid of her.

"You can't speak to me like that," Regina said, cooly. "You're not my mother."

"Regina," Emma said, firmly, stepping over to the girl. "When I say I'm coming to get you at nine, that means you be where you are supposed to be, at nine. And you don't just take off without even telling anyone where you're going."

"You're not the boss of me," Regina stated, reiterating what Ava had told her earlier.

"Yes, for the time being, I am. You're only fourteen, Regina. You don't make the rules. And you," Emma said, turning her attention to Ava. "Your father is worried sick about you. Where's your phone?"

"Dead," Ava replied, with a shrug.

"Get in the car. Both of you," Emma said, shaking her head.

The car ride back to Ava's house was a silent one, until Ava said goodbye to Regina and dashed back toward her house, where her father was waiting in the doorway for her.

Regina watched Emma from the corner of her eye from the passenger seat, as Emma watched to make sure Ava made it back into her house and didn't take off again.

"Why are you so mad?" Regina asked, finally, as they headed back to the mansion. "We just went to the docks."

"And no one knew where you were," Emma said. "You could have been anywhere. You could have gotten into trouble or been hurt and no one could contact you. Regina, that's not okay."

"Well, I don't know what the rules in this realm are!" Regina insisted, crossing her arms in front of her.

"Don't give me that. You knew I was coming to get you at nine."

Regina pouted as she looked out the window again. "So, are you going to ground me?"

Emma glanced at Regina thoughtfully for a moment. "You know, what, yeah, you are grounded. I wasn't going to punish you at all, but I don't really think I deserved the disrespectful way you spoke to me tonight. You're grounded."

Regina didn't say another word as they pulled up in front of the house. She simply got out of the car and headed inside, before stomping up the stairs to her room.

"Where was she?" Henry asked, sounding relieved that his other mother was back and safe.

"Docks," Emma said, with a shrug. "And she's grounded."

Henry smirked. "From what?"

"I don't know. It was her idea. And now I know why she doesn't like you hanging around the twins."

"Just Ava," Henry acknowledged. "I should have known better than to let her and Ava go off together in the ice cream parlour. I should have made sure she sat with us."

"Yes, you should have," Emma agreed. "Should I ground you too? I'm kind of on a roll here."

"Nope," Henry said, quickly. "It's bedtime."

Emma shook her head as Henry darted off up the stairs, before heading through the house to turn off all the lights and lock the door, and head up to bed herself. She peeked in Regina's room, and found the girl already asleep in her bed. She guessed Regina wasn't angry enough to sit up and seethe all night.

Emma smiled at the ridiculousness that she'd just grounded Henry's other mother. Rumple had warned her that all teenagers rebel, and while this seemed a whole lot more like testing her limits, Emma still didn't want to risk losing what little control she had over this situation, now that Regina was so close to becoming an adult.

And with adulthood, came the Evil Queen.

She was only four years off of marrying the King, according to Snow's recount of the events, and for all Emma knew, she could wake up to the Evil Queen tomorrow morning.

As much as she missed Regina as a small child, there was never a time she wished she could stop the aging for a few days, more than today. She was sure some real bonding time with Regina at this age would help, and she regretted letting her go out this evening at all. She should have kept her home where she was safe.

It was too late for that now, she knew, as she climbed into bed herself.

She just had to hope Regina was still a teenager when she woke up the next morning.

Emma was startled awake shortly after midnight by someone shaking her shoulders roughly. She blinked her eyes open to see Regina hovering above her, looking panicked.

"Regina, what's wrong?" Emma asked, sitting up and rubbing her eyes, figuring the girl had had a nightmare or something.

"Am I still… grounded?" Regina asked, tentatively.

Emma sighed. "Well, it's been like two hours, so yes."

Regina looked like she might cry as she spoke again. "But I'm not fourteen anymore and I really need to talk to you."

"Regina, you can still talk to me when you're grounded. What's going on?"

"Something bad happened," Regina whispered.

"What happened, Regina?" Emma asked, now fully awake. "Are you hurt?"

Regina shook her head vehemently. "No. Something I remembered, from before. I don't know, it's all kind of hazy still, but I think I remember something bad happening, to Daniel."

Emma felt her heart skip a beat. "Regina, how old are you right now?"

"Eighteen."

Emma closed her eyes and sighed, before nodding and pulling the covers back, holding out her arms for Regina, who wasted no time climbing in beside her and cuddling up against her. This was the moment Emma had been dreading, the beginning of Regina's downfall, and she knew she'd have to be careful with how she played it from here on out.

"It's okay, Regina," Emma soothed, as she wrapped her arms around her, squeezing her close. "I know it seems like it just happened, but that was a long time ago, and everything's okay now. Remember that."

"Daniel's okay?" Regina asked, softly. She'd never mentioned Daniel to Emma, but she guessed that since Emma hadn't asked who she was talking about, she must already know who he is.

There was a pause before Emma answered. "No," she said, finally. "He's not. He died, Regina."

Regina nodded against Emma's chest. She'd had a feeling that was what she was going to say, even if the memory wasn't completely clear yet. She wasn't entirely sure what she remembered, but she remembered that it was devastating, to say the least. It seemed like a strong reaction for the death of a stable boy, even if she liked him, and she worried about how close she and Daniel had become in the years of memories that were sure to start flooding back to her soon.

"Why don't you just sleep here with me tonight?" Emma suggested, as she stroked Regina's hair. "And then, in the morning, whatever memories come back to you, we'll talk them through, alright?"

"Okay," Regina agreed, as she closed her eyes, silently hoping that no more memories came back at all.

And Emma stayed awake long after Regina drifted off again, silently wishing she had a way to bring Regina back to normal before morning ever came.

Chapter Text

Chapter Twenty

Emma barely slept that night, as she held Regina close, and watched her face as she frowned and pouted and even whimpered in her sleep. Emma couldn't tell if it was bad dreams or bad memories or a mix of both, but it was breaking her heart to know that the fun they'd been having was over now, and Regina was going to begin her descent to darkness, all over again.

Even though she'd known all along that this day would come, she somehow had managed to keep herself in denial. Now she was wishing she'd put more thought into how to deal with this situation, because she was sure winging it would end disastrously.

And now she had no other choice.

Emma managed to sleep a couple restless hours before Regina jolted awake, waking Emma in the process.

"Regina?" Emma asked, as she looked at Regina's ashen face and wide, fearful eyes.

"She ripped his heart out," Regina whispered, staring straight ahead of her. "She gave us her blessing and then she killed him."

"Oh, honey…" Emma said, not really sure how to comfort her. It had been easy when she was a child.

"How could she do that?" Regina asked, her eyes pleading with Emma. "How… oh God Emma, what's going to happen to me?"

"Nothing, honey. Nothing's going to happen to you because that was the past, remember?"

Despite nodding along with Emma's words of reassurance, Regina was still starting to hyperventilate.

"Regina, sweetie, breathe," Emma instructed, as she pulled her close again and started rubbing her back. "Just breathe, honey."

Regina shook her head vehemently against Emma's chest. "I can't! She's… Emma, she's going to make me marry the King!"

Emma cringed as she heard the pure panic in the girl's voice. She knew Regina had been young when she'd married the King, but she'd never really been able to wrap her head around how young she'd really been. She was really nothing more than a child, and though she was older than Emma had been when she'd gone to jail and given birth to Henry, Emma knew she'd been forced to grow up long before any of that had happened.

Regina, on the other hand, had been living a relatively sheltered life where she'd been denied any sort of independence or freedom.

Emma bit her lip, squeezing Regina tighter. She wondered if Regina remembered yet how Cora knew where to find her and Daniel that night, but she guessed by the fact that she was still terrified and not yet angry, she didn't yet remember Snow telling her secret.

But even that was just a matter of time.

Even so, Emma couldn't think about that right now. The Evil Queen was the least of her worries at the moment, as she realized doing something to stop Regina's current suffering was far more important. Holding her while she cried wasn't enough. Regina had already lived through this once, and Emma couldn't help but think it was truly unfair that she had to live through it again. It was too cruel. She had to do something.

And she got an idea.

"Hey, look at me," she said, cupping Regina's face in her hands so she could look in her eyes. "I have a plan that's gonna take all this hurt away, okay? Get dressed and I'll get Henry up, alright?"

Regina looked like she didn't quite believe her, but she got up anyway, wiping the tears from her eyes as she did so. Emma jumped out of bed and went to wake Henry, telling him to hurry up and get dressed. It was still fairly early in the morning, but Emma wanted to get going and get her plan into action as soon as possible.

"Please let this work," she muttered to herself as she headed back to her room to get herself dressed.

"Where are we going?" Regina asked, quietly, as she surveyed the unfamiliar road Emma was driving down. Her face was still red and puffy from crying, but her tears had ceased, at least for the moment. Emma remembered Little Regina informing her that it was improper for a princess to display her emotions publicly, and she had to wonder how much of a grieving period Regina was allowed when Daniel had actually died.

"We're leaving Storybrooke," Henry observed, before Emma had a chance to answer. "But, mom?"

Emma nodded at the unanswered question lingering in the air. The first time Henry had suggested taking Regina over the town line, Emma had refused. She couldn't imagine aging from eight to an adult and then back again would be physically pleasant for Regina, but now she was nearly in her adult body, and Emma couldn't think of any other way to take her away from the anguish she was suffering right now.

She really didn't need to live it twice.

"I know, kid," Emma said, finally, before turning to Regina. "When we cross the town line, the spell is going to temporarily wear off. My hope is, that when we return, you're a little older. You've lived this heartache once. You don't need to go through it again."

Regina looked confused, but nodded. She didn't really understand, but she'd come to trust that Emma always had her best interests in mind.

"Okay, here goes nothing," Emma muttered, as the car crossed the orange line. She slammed on the brakes immediately when they crossed and turned to look at Regina.

And she was Regina.

"Emma?" Regina asked, confused, and Emma couldn't help the small smile on her face as she knew - shorter hair, harder features - dressed in jeans and a red zip-up hoodie. "What the hell… where are we? And what am I wearing?"

It was Henry who laughed first, and Emma cast a glance at him in the rearview mirror.

"Mom, you don't remember?" Henry asked.

Regina shook her head. "Remember what?"

Emma sighed, putting the Bug into park, and began relaying the entire story to Regina, who just stared at her, with wide eyes.

"You really don't remember any of this?" Henry asked again, sounding a little disappointed. "You always remember when you… age up?"

"She was always still under the spell, then, Henry," Emma pointed out. "Now, she's not."

"Well, if taking me over the town line breaks this 'spell', why in the hell did you wait so long?" Regina demanded.

Emma could tell she wasn't really angry, more frustrated to learn that she'd lost a chunk of time and memory, so she kept her voice even when she replied. "Because, it's only temporary. You'll… age back down, when we go back to Storybrooke."

"So then why do this at all?"

Emma bit her lip as she studied Regina for a moment. "Because… this morning you woke up at eighteen and… this was the only way I knew to take that pain away."

Regina swallowed hard and nodded. "So, what now? We just sit in your car in the middle of the road?"

"No," Emma said, smirking as she shook her head. "I was thinking we'd take a drive to Boston."

"Are we going to Build-a-Bear?" Henry asked, excitedly, causing Emma to actually laugh. He suddenly sounded more like five than thirteen.

"Build-a-Bear?" Regina repeated, raising an eyebrow at Emma.

Emma shrugged. "You said you wanted to go."

"I've been there before," Regina said, dismissively.

"Right," Emma nodded, a little deflated. Of course she'd been there before. She was the one who took Henry, but that hadn't occurred to Emma at the time.

"I still want to go," Henry insisted.

Emma raised an eyebrow at Regina. "He still wants to go."

Regina sighed and leaned back against the seat. "Alright, let's go," she said, sounding annoyed.

They drove in silence for an excruciatingly long time, and after Henry fell asleep in the backseat, Emma wished she'd thought of someplace closer than Boston for their little trip. Occasionally, she'd steal glances at Regina, who looked less annoyed and more pensive, as she stared out the window.

Emma wondered, when the spell wore off for real if Regina would remember everything. They'd become so close, and Emma wasn't sure she'd be able to take it if Regina didn't share those memories when she was actually back to herself.

After several more minutes of silence Regina turned to Emma. "Did you… did you feed me grilled cheese?"

Emma couldn't help the giant grin that crept across her lips. "You liked it."

"I most certainly did not," Regina insisted, defensively. "You fed me so much dairy I was literally sick."

"Yeah, I know," Emma said, cringing a little at the memory. "I didn't know you were lactose intolerant."

"I'm not, post-curse," Regina replied. "But we didn't have pasteurized milk in the Enchanted Forest."

"Right. I didn't know that."

"You didn't know that something that was invented in this realm didn't exist there? Emma-"

"Hey," Emma cut her off. "I tried my best, okay? It was rocky at the start but I think I got better."

Regina pursed her lips and looked out the window again. "Well, that's as far as I remember," she said, after another long silence.

Emma continued to smile as they drove into the city. At least Regina was remembering.

"Pizza right out of the box," Regina muttered as Emma neared the mall.

"Can you drop it? Seriously?" Emma asked, though she couldn't stifle her grin. "I have a picture of you that day, by the way. You looked cute with pizza sauce all over your face."

Regina rolled her eyes, and turned to wake Henry as Emma pulled into the parking lot of the mall. "Henry, honey, we're here."

"That was fast," Henry commented as he stretched out.

"You slept the entire way, kid."

Regina sighed as they got out of the car. "I cannot believe we are going to Build-a-Bear; two adults and a teenager." She cast a glance at Emma and Henry, who both looked like giddy five-year-olds at this point, and decided not to comment any further as they made their way towards the mall entrance.

"Mom, look! They have Marvel bears," Henry pointed out to Emma as they approached the store window. "Look, Captain America."

"Oh my God, I am so making one of those," Emma insisted, as they stepped in the store.

Regina cocked her head to one side and watched as Emma's eyes danced over all the bears and accessories on the wall. She stepped up beside her as Henry turned to look at something else. "You've never been here before, have you?" Regina asked, quietly.

Emma shook her head.

Regina rolled her eyes, but smiled. She watched with mild amusement as Emma and Henry went about building their bear. They looked like two overgrown children, which struck her as ironic since she'd literally just been a child herself.

She found herself distracted as more memories of her apparent second childhood returned to her. She remembered playing the Mario Kart with Henry and actually enjoying it. She smiled fondly at the memory of sitting on Emma's lap as Emma taught her how to play.

The more she thought about it, the more memories of Emma hugging her and cuddling her came back, and she stared across the store at the blonde - who was currently completely oblivious to her - and wondered perhaps if her magical mishap hadn't ruined her spell after all. It wasn't her intention to return to a child, but perhaps…

"Mom!" Henry said, excitedly, holding up the finished Captain America bear in front of Regina. "What do you think?"

"He's perfect, Henry," Regina replied with a smile.

Once Emma had paid for the bear and he'd been all boxed up, ready to go home, Regina turned to her. "So, what's next?"

"Not eager to go home?" Emma asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Not particularly," Regina admitted. She might not remember this morning at eighteen, but she wasn't overly excited at the prospect of going back to that time in her life, either. She agreed with Emma - skipping the second round was for the best.

"The new Captain America movie is playing here," Henry suggested, nodding toward the direction of the cinema in the mall.

"Captain America?" Regina groaned. "Really?"

Henry shrugged. "It's in 3D," he said, as if that were a deciding factor. She guessed it actually was, since Emma grinned and slowly started heading toward the cinema.

"Well, it would appear I'm outnumbered," she said with a sigh.

"Hey, I sat through the Minions movie with you," Emma informed her.

"Thankfully, I don't recall."

"Well, you still owe me," Emma said with a shrug.

When they got to the cinema, and Emma bought their tickets, and after Henry had convinced her - easily - to get the biggest tub of popcorn available and an oversized bag of Skittles, they headed into the theatre and found seats near the middle.

"Do I actually have to wear these?" Regina asked, examining the 3D glasses in her hand with obvious distaste.

"You looked at pizza the same way, and you loved that," Emma reminded her.

"I did not," Regina shot back.

Emma smirked and pulled out her phone, finding the picture of Regina covered in pizza sauce with contented grin on her face, and handed it to her.

Regina's mouth dropped open as she stared at the image of herself at five. "I've never… I've never seen a photograph of myself as a child," she said.

"Me either," Emma said with as shrug. "You lived in a realm without cameras and I lived a life without parents to take pictures."

Regina turned to stare at Emma, while Emma put on her glasses and stared at the screen in front of her. She wasn't used to Emma being open like that, and she guessed a fair bit had changed between them due to this mishap.

At least, she hoped it had.

"Emma," Regina started, only to be shushed by Henry, who pointed at the screen. Sure enough, the trailers had started, and Henry hated to miss those.

Regina sighed and leaned back in her seat. She had no interest in this movie, but she was here so she might as well try to enjoy it. She found, to her dismay, the screen was nearly impossible to look at without the glasses, so she begrudgingly put them on, pretending she didn't see the way Emma was smirking beside her.

She was grateful that when the movie nearly reached the halfway point, the popcorn tub was empty, and quickly offered to go back up for a refill. She dropped the empty tub on a table and quickly sat down in a chair, breathing heavy as more memories came back to her: Snow taking her horseback riding, Emma teaching her to swim, a birthday party with a bouncy castle…

Emma calling her sweetheart and telling her she was beautiful, despite the fresh and angry red injury on her lip.

You're a good kid, regardless of what your mother might think.

Emma's words resounded in Regina's head, and she placed her palm on her chest, taking deep breaths and trying to calm her rapid heartbeat. It was all too much, all too overwhelming, but still she was glad she was here, getting bombarded with good memories, rather than eighteen years old, in Storybrooke, getting bombarded with horrible memories.

She even remembered finding Henry's Red Sox Build-a-Bear and falling in love with him, and she wondered how long Emma had kept this little plan hidden away, just in case.

"There you are," Emma's voice caused Regina's eyes to flick up, surprised. "You okay?"

"I'm fine," Regina insisted. She had caught her breath but her heart was still racing, her hand still flat on her chest.

"You've been gone for twenty five minutes," Emma pointed out, as she pulled up a chair next to her at the little round table.

Regina glanced up at the large clock on the wall above her and realized Emma was indeed correct. It had seemed like almost no time had passed. "I just… had a bit of a headache from those glasses," she insisted.

Emma raised an eyebrow, unconvinced. "Really? Then why are you holding your chest like that?"

"Why are you asking me so many questions?" Regina snapped back.

"I… uh, sorry," Emma muttered, clearly hurt.

"No, Emma, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to snap at you. This is just a lot to take in at once."

"Yeah, I bet. I guess that's the price you pay for vanity," Emma said, her playful smirk returning.

"I beg your pardon?"

"Gold told me what that potion was for. 'Magical botox', he called it. Not that you needed it, by the way."

Regina couldn't help but notice how Emma's cheeks flushed slightly as she complimented her. "Well, thank you, but that wasn't what I was trying to do."

"Oh yeah? What were you trying to do then?"

"I… I'll tell you if it works," Regina offered. "I'll know soon enough, I think."

"What? Regina that's not fair," Emma cried.

"How is that not fair? And by the way, Gold lied to you. He knew exactly what I was doing, because he's the one I got the potion from in the first place."

"Wait, what? Regina, don't tell me you wanted to turn back into a child! I mean, a heads up would have been nice, you know."

Regina rolled her eyes. "No, that wasn't my intention. I spilled the potion. But, I think it might still work, when all of this is over. And I suppose, if it does, I'll have Gold to thank, as much as I would hate that."

"Regina, come on, just tell me. How embarrassing can it possibly be?"

"I told you, I'll tell you if it works."

"I think you owe me an explanation either way. I mean, it's only fair, considering I've been taking such good care of you and all."

Emma braced herself, waiting for a sarcastic comeback about her parenting skills from Regina, but Regina just smiled.

"Actually, you're right, you have… as strange as this is to say, you have been taking good care of me. And I thank you for that. But I'm still not telling you."

"Fine," Emma sighed.

"Did you get a kick out of making me spend so much time with your mother?" Regina asked, a playful twinkle in her eyes that reminded Emma very much of the younger version of the brunette.

"Oh, you loved her," Emma said, with a laugh. "And, I mean, I kind of wanted you to… you know, because…"

"Because you're afraid when I hit the Evil Queen years that I'll try to kill her all over again?"

Emma bit her lip and nodded. "I mean, I keep saying that I'm not worried but how can I not be?"

"You're right to be worried," Regina agreed. "What's your plan?"

Emma shrugged. "I mean, we could stay in Boston for a while, and just hope that you're back to your bitchy mayoral days when we get back… or that the spell is off of you completely."

Regina furrowed her brow together in thought. "I don't want to do that."

"What? Why? I mean, no offense Regina, but didn't that time suck for you, too?"

"Yes," Regina answered, with a quick nod. "But I think I need a second shot at that time, just as much as I needed this second chance."

"Okay…" Emma said, tentatively. "Then tell me what to do when you go all psycho bitch and start roasting people? Because I don't want to have to fight you."

"I don't want that either. I just think… when I was the Evil Queen, I thought that no one could ever love me, and that belief can destroy a person. My mother did everything she could to reinforce it, but you… in the short time you had with me as a child, you managed to undo some of that damage and convince me that my mother was wrong. I need you to do that for me again."

Emma drew in a deep breath as she stared into Regina's pleading eyes. "Okay. So you need me to convince you that you are loved? You think that will work?"

Regina shrugged. "I think it's worth a shot. I'm not going to remember this conversation when we go back over the townline, Emma, so really, the course of action you take is ultimately up to you. If you decide to drag me back over and release the spell again, I won't hold it against you. Emma, even if you want to make me stay here right now, I wouldn't hold that against you. I'm just asking for you to give me a chance to do better."

Emma offered a small smile as she nodded. "I think you can do better, Regina. And, hey, if that doesn't work, and you turn right back into that little ball of rage, there's still a bouncy castle in your backyard. That always cheers you up."

"I want that thing gone, Emma," Regina said, firmly.

Emma smirked again. "No you don't."

"Emma."

"You're not going to remember this when we go back anyway," Emma said, with a shrug. "Come on, let's go watch the end of the movie. And then we'll go home."

Regina wanted to protest the bouncy castle more, but ultimately, she decided it wasn't worth it. When this was all over, she could get rid of it herself. For now, she had to hold on to hope that this plan was going to work.

And she hoped that Emma wouldn't give up on her if - or when - things got bad.

To be continued.

Chapter Text

Emma couldn't tell who was more nervous to cross back over the town line into Storybrooke - herself or Regina - but as the line on the road appeared in the distance, she knew it was time. Regina would go back under the spell, and if they were lucky, she would cross the town line just a little older than she had been when they left this morning.

It occurred to Emma a little too late that there was a distinct possibility that too much time had passed and that the heart-broken Regina of this morning might already have been replaced with a very angry budding Evil Queen with control over her own magic.

But, it was a risk they were going to have to take, and she hoped that Regina was right - all she needed was some love and reassurance to get through this phase of the spell.

As the line approached, Emma turned to Regina. "Ready?"

Regina simply nodded, and turned to look at Henry in the back seat. "I'll see you soon, Henry. I love you."

"I love you, too," Henry replied, forcing a smile, but Emma didn't miss the way he hugged the bear they'd just built a little tighter, and she knew he was just as nervous as they were, and putting on a brave face for both of their sakes.

"I'm ready, Emma."

Emma nodded. "Okay. It's gonna be okay, trust me."

"Just drive. I… I do trust you."

Emma took a deep breath and stared intently on the road ahead as they crossed over the line. She could feel the magic in the car the moment they crossed over, and she stopped immediately, and turned to look at Regina again, with apprehension.

Regina's hair was long again, and she stared out the windshield for a moment, blinking as she adjusted to the sudden change, before turning back to face Emma.

"Did we already go? Did it work?"

"You tell me. Where are you right now? What do you remember?"

Regina furrowed her brow as she tried to recall - Emma knew the memories came to her a little hazy at first - then she let out a little gasp. "I married the King," she said. "I… oh God, I pushed my mother through a looking glass. Emma!"

"It's okay. That was all a long time ago, remember? The King's gone, and you're safe here."

"Look," Henry piped up from the back seat, leaning forward to show Regina the bear they'd built. "You can't remember right now, but we went to Build-a-Bear!"

Regina smiled as she took the bear from Henry. "You remembered!"

"Of course I remembered, Ki-" Emma stopped herself, realizing that 'Kid' really wasn't going to work for Regina anymore. "It was important to you, of course I remembered."

Regina hugged the bear against her. "Thank you. He's just a nice as Henry's bear."

Emma smiled and shook her head as she started driving back toward the mansion, realizing that Regina had every intention of adopting this teddy bear as her own. She supposed Henry wouldn't mind - he was a teenager afterall - but she couldn't help but smirk imagining how Regina would take it once the spell was completely broken.

For the most part, the evening seemed to go well enough, better than Emma had expected, really, as the three of them shared a quiet dinner and settled in on the couch to watch some TV and relax. It wasn't until later, after Henry had gone to bed, that Regina spoke up.

"It really was her fault, you know."

"What?" Emma asked, confused.

"Snow's. I told her not to tell and she couldn't listen. Daniel would still be alive if it weren't for her."

Emma drew in a deep breath and grabbed the remote to turn off the TV, before turning to Regina. "Regina… she was just a kid. She thought she was helping. She didn't know any better."

"I knew how to listen to adults by the age of ten. She grew up thinking actions didn't have consequences because they never did for her. I paid the price. Daniel paid the price. And it's not fair."

Despite the unconcealed anger in Regina's voice, Emma could see the distinct look of pain and heartbreak in her eyes, and she knew that Regina was teetering on a ledge right now. In the past, she's toppled over into the darkness, and as much as that worried her now, Emma had made a promise to help her do better this time, and she intended to keep it.

Emma kept her voice steady as she responded, despite the anxiety she was already starting to feel. This wasn't a hypothetical situation anymore: Regina was in the verge of descending into her Evil Queen days all over again, and Emma knew her mother's life would be at risk.

"Regina, that was-"

"Don't you dare tell me that was a long time ago!" Regina snapped, cutting her off. "You keep saying that but for me, it might as well be happening right now!"

"You're right," Emma agreed, nodding slowly. "And I know it feels fresh and raw, but it's not happening now. Do you know what happened when we crossed the town line today?"

Regina shook her head in confusion. "You know I don't remember any of that. What does that have to do with anything?"

"You and I, we talked about what would happen when you started reliving this time in your life. You're not there yet, but it's only a matter of time before you turn… well, before you succumb to the darkness. But Reigna, you asked me to give you a chance to do better. I know it hurts right now, but you've been through all of this before, and years and years of life after, and when you looked back today, you wanted a chance to do better."

"And how do I do that?"

"Well… I think you just need to try to focus on all the good things. Your memories of the Enchanted Forest feel real and new, but you have memories with me that are real and new, too. You're safe here, Regina, with your family - all the people who love you and care about you."

Regina blinked a couple times, before nodding. "I think maybe I need a distraction. I need to not think about the past right now."

"Yes, a distraction. That's a good idea."

Regina turned to Emma with a look of expectation in her eyes. "Tell me a story."

"A… story?" Emma repeated, slightly confused. She'd read Regina a few stories when she was a child, but surely that's not what she meant?

Regina nodded again. "Yes… yes, tell me… tell me the story of how you and I met. Not when you found me in my mother's vault, but when we met the first time. As adults. The time I don't remember."

"Okay," Emma agreed, relaxing a little. "Well, I suppose to tell this story, I'm going to have to tell you the truth about Henry."

Regina's interest was clearly piqued as she leaned a little closer to Emma. "Henry?"

Emma nodded. "Yes. There's something we haven't told you yet. It's not a secret or anything, it's just that you were little and I wanted to just focus on letting you be little. But there's a reason he has the same name as your father. He's named after him."

"But there's no way you could have ever known my father… is there?"

Emma shook her head. "No. But I'm not the one who named him. You are."

Regina narrowed her eyes in confusion. "Why on earth would I have named your son?"

"Because… he's your son, too."

Regina bristled at the revelation, her mouth gaping in surprise for just a moment, before she regained her composure like the young Queen she was. "How…" Regina shook her head, trying to process. "We're not… not… are we?"

Emma smiled, flushing slightly as she realized that Regina thought she was insinuating they were a couple. "No. I had Henry very young, and I gave him up for adoption. You adopted him."

"Oh." Regina replied. "I suppose that makes more sense."

"Yeah," Emma agreed, but she couldn't help but note the hint of disappointment in Regina's voice, and she wondered what that was about. "You cast the Dark Curse and no one knew who they really were. Henry figured it out and he found me when he was ten, and he brought me back to Storybrooke to break it. That's how we met."

"Surely you must have hated me then."

"Well, it took some time for us to become friends, but… we did. We are."

"Are we?" Regina asked, seriously. "Were we, before any of this happened?"

"Yeah, we were. We are. You're not alone here, Regina. Not anymore. You have family and friends who love you, and who you love."

"I cannot imagine a world in which I love Snow White."

Emma smirked and shook her head. "Have I lied to you yet?"

"No. Let's not talk about Snow White. I wanted distraction… tell me more about our situation with Henry. We raise him together? Do you live here?"

"No, I live at the loft with my parents," Emma replied with a shrug. "Though I've kind of gotten used to all the extra space here, to be honest. It's gonna be so cramped to go back there with them and Neal again."

"Yes, I can imagine."

"And as for Henry, he sort of splits his time between here and there, between you and me. We've created a sort of functioning little family, I guess."

"You love him a lot."

"Of course I do."

"But you gave him up?"

Emma swallowed and nodded. "I was young, like I said. Seventeen. I couldn't give him a good life. But you could. And you did."

"I can't imagine I'm a good mother."

"No, you are. The best, really. You know, when I first discovered you in the vault, right after you'd just de-aged yourself to five, I was panicking. I didn't have a clue what to do and the first couple days were a disaster because I was in way over my head, and I kept thinking how if the situation were reversed, you'd have handled it perfectly."

Regina scoffed. "I highly doubt that. I've never done anything right in my life."

"You have. You just don't remember. But the rest of us do."

Regina let out a sigh and leaned back against the back of the couch. "This is all so much. But I must say, I am much happier to be sitting here with you, than locked in my room in Leopold's castle."

"He locked you up?"

Regina nodded as she stared straight ahead. "He wouldn't punish his daughter for her misdeeds, but he thought nothing of punishing his wife, it seems. I begged my parents not to make me marry him, but it was so important to my mother that I become Queen. Emma," Regina turned and looked at Emma with an intensity she wasn't expecting, "you are handling this perfectly. It hasn't been a disaster, any of it. If you had been there, then, I have no doubt you would have saved me."

"I would have done everything I could."

Without warning, Regina leaned toward Emma, pressing against her, her head falling onto Emma's shoulder. Instinctively, Emma wrapped her arms around the other woman and hugged her close. It was a strange sensation - hugging Regina in her adult body - but it only took Emma a few moments to adjust. Afterall, Regina had slept next to her last night, and though she was slowly slipping out of the spell and back into the woman she was, Emma knew their relationship would be forever changed by all of this. "I would protect you from anything," Emma murmured into Regina's hair.

Regina nodded against her shoulder. "I know. I believe you. My father, he loves me, but he can't protect me. He couldn't - not from my mother. I never had friends. I never had anyone who cared about until Daniel, and he couldn't save me either. And I couldn't save him. But you, Emma. You're different. You could have saved me."

Emma squeezed Regina a little tighter. "I would have helped you save yourself. That's what I'm going to do now. I promise."

"I don't want to become evil. I don't want power. All I've ever wanted is love."

"I know. And you have it now. You'll see."

Regina sighed. "I hope you're right."

Chapter Text

Emma blinked against the sun streaming in through the window. It had been late when she and Regina had finally said good night and retired to their bedrooms for the evening, so it didn't surprise her that she'd slept so late this morning. She figured it must be close to eleven, and though she honestly thought she might be able to drift off for a few more hours, she knew she had a young Queen in the house who was probably wide awake, and hopefully not plotting any murders.

Emma stretched and got out of bed, and made her way over to the dresser where she'd started keeping her clothes. It had only been a few weeks, but she'd all but moved into Regina's spare room, and though she was anxious for the spell to be over and Regina to return to normal, it was bittersweet to think that her time living here was almost up. Though she had no doubt this experience would change their relationship forever, she also wasn't naive enough to expect Regina to let her stay indefinitely when she didn't need her anymore.

Sighing, Emma threw on a pair of skinny jeans and a white tank top over her black bra, ran her fingers through her hair, and set off down the stairs to start her day.

"Henry?" she called, finding the main floor of the house conspicuously empty. "Regina?"

Emma frowned when no one answered, and she made her way toward the kitchen, where she found a hastily scribbled note on the kitchen table.

Mom,

Headed down to the docks with Grace. Didn't want to wake you. Have my phone with me.

Henry.

Emma placed the note back down on the table. That explained one absence, and truth be told, she was kind of glad Henry had gone out, just in case Regina wasn't her best self this morning. The less Henry saw of the Evil Queen, the better, Emma decided.

But that still left one person missing.

"Regina!" Emma called out again.

"Must you holler like a common peasant? I'm right here."

Emma startled at Regina's voice right behind her, and spun around quickly. She hadn't even heard her walk up.

When she saw her, however, her jaw literally dropped. Regina was every bit how Emma remembered her when she'd met her after accidentally falling into the portal to the past. Regina's long hair was piled up high on her head, in a gaudy, ornate style that seemed to defy gravity. Her make up was dark, smokey and alluring. And her dress was red velvet, tight on her waist, and so low cut her breasts almost spilled out the top. The skirt was wide, and open in the front, revealing her tight leather pants and thigh high black boots.

"Close your mouth, dear," Regina drawled.

Emma blinked, taking a moment to come to her senses. For a moment, she'd forgotten where she was and what she was doing here. But it came back quickly - Regina was under a spell and she was supposed to be helping her, even if the Evil Queen had a way of making her knees weak.

"You're…" Emma started, not sure what to say.

"I'm what, dear? Evil?" Regina suggested, a nearly maniacal gleam in her eyes.

"I wasn't going to say that?"

Regina scoffed. "Why not? It's the truth. I know you've been doing everything to try to avoid this very moment, but you knew it was coming, didn't you? No matter how much you coddled me, this is my destiny."

That was enough to snap Emma back to her senses. "No it's not. It's just a phase."

Regina let out a small laugh. "Not many would call mass murder a phase."

"It is for you," Emma countered. "Because this is not the Regina I know. You're just reliving a part of your life that's already over. You've already moved on."

Regina gave an unamused shrug. "Perhaps I'll do better this time."

Emma nodded, a small smile reaching the corners of her mouth. "Yes! Exactly. You said you wanted to be better, and I promised I'd help you. Regina, I-"

Regina held up a hand to stop her. "I didn't say 'be better'. I said 'do better'. As in, perhaps this time, I will be successful."

"Successful…" Emma repeated, already knowing where Regina was going with this.

"Yes. At killing your mother."

"I'm not going to let that happen," Emma said, crossing her arms defiantly against her chest.

"And how do you plan to stop me? When I have full control of my magic once again?" Regina made a fireball in her hand for emphasis, but Emma stood her ground.

"I have magic too, Regina. And I'm just as powerful as you are."

Regina leaned in close to Emma's face, a challenging look in her eye. "Prove it."

Emma faltered for a moment, her mind racing with what she was supposed to do now. Her thoughts immediately went to forcing Regina across the town line again, and waiting this whole thing out, but she'd promised her to try, and she didn't feel that they'd reached that point yet. Afterall, Regina hadn't really done anything to warrant it yet.

Then it hit her: the bouncy castle. She'd joked about making Regina bounce out her anger, and while she didn't truly expect that would happen, she hoped that it would disorient her enough to let Emma get the upper hand.

With a quick motion of her hand, Emma poofed them both into the bouncy castle in the backyard. The movement was enough to extinguish the flame in Regina's hand, and the momentary look of panic and confusion on Regina's face as she tried to balance herself on the unsteady ground told Emma she'd made the right choice.

"This is your plan?" Regina demanded, though her voice was an octave higher than usual and her arms were outstretched on either side as she tried to stay upright.

"What? You love this thing," Emma reminded her, as she took a big jump closer to Regina. She was glad that she hadn't bothered to put socks or shoes on this morning, as her bare feet allowed her enough traction to stay up while Regina toppled over backwards.

"Perhaps when I was a stupid child and didn't know any better," Regina retorted as she fumbled her way back up onto her knees.

"You were never stupid, Regina," Emma said, but Regina wasn't paying attention as she wobbly made her way back up onto her feet.

"Well, Emma, if this is your great plan to thwart me, your mother will be dead by noon," Regina said with a cackle.

"I wouldn't bet on that," Emma said, jumping again and causing Regina to fall backward, yet again. This time, she kept bouncing, not letting Regina get a chance to find her footing.

"Stop jumping!" Regina demanded, but Emma persisted. Scowling, Regina formed a new fireball in her hand, and hurled it past Emma. It hit the far wall of the bouncy castle, immediately burning a hole right through it. Emma heard the telltale sound of air escaping at an alarming rate, and she knew it wouldn't be long before the bouncy castle completely deflated.

"You're gonna regret that," Emma said, continuing to bounce while there was still enough air to do so. "You love this thing."

"I said stop jumping," Regina repeated, reaching out to swipe at Emma's ankle. She caught it, and cause Emma to topple forward, landing on top of her.

Emma propped herself up on her forearms, and for a moment she just stared down at Regina. She had her pinned, even if it wasn't her plan, and she stared down into her eyes. Behind all that anger, Emma could still see the scared young Queen from yesterday, and the young girl who needed love so badly. All those parts of Regina were still there, and Emma knew she was still hurting.

"Get off of me before I rip your heart out," Regina spat.

"You wanna kill me? Do it," Emma challenged her.

Regina raised an eyebrow. "You think I won't?"

"I know you won't."

"You sound awfully sure of yourself."

Emma felt her hands hit the hard ground as the last of the bouncy castle deflated around them, and still, she didn't break her eye contact with Regina. "If you were going to kill me, you wouldn't have missed with that fireball. But you won't do it - you can't - because no matter how angry you are right now, you haven't forgotten yesterday or the days before that. You haven't forgot that I've been here, taking care of you, holding you, comforting you, and showing you all the love you should have gotten the first time around. And you won't kill me, because you love me, too."

"I don't love you," Regina snapped, pushing Emma's shoulders and rolling them both so Emma's back was on the ground and she was on top. "And you don't love me. You've just been doing what you had to do to ensure I wouldn't kill your mother when the time came. You thought hugs would be enough to cool my rage. You had no idea who you were dealing with."

"I know exactly who you are, Regina. Probably better than anyone." Emma pushed her back, and pulled herself up to a sitting position. She could already tell that Regina had cooled down quite a bit from earlier, no matter what she was saying. "And yeah, obviously I didn't want you to kill my mother, but if that's all it was about, I could have just dropped you off to Gold and let him deal with you, but I didn't, did I?"

"Why didn't you?" Regina asked, and for the first time today Emma heard a hint of the Regina she'd come to know.

"Because I care about you," Emma said, as if it should have been obvious. "I wasn't lying yesterday when I said we were friends before this spell. I know the conflict going on inside your head can't be easy right now, but I'm not your enemy, Regina."

"I'm lost here, Emma," Regina said, her voice cracking. "You don't know what it's like for me. My revenge, my anger… it's all I have. What am I without it?"

"Just Regina," Emma said. "That's all you need to be. Just Regina is good enough."

Regina bit her lip and shook her head. "That's never been good enough."

"For who? Your mother? She's dead. The King? He's dead, too. They don't matter."

"Yes they do!" Regina snapped, the fire back in her eyes. "If they don't matter then what they did to me doesn't matter."

Emma swallowed. "You're right. I'm sorry. What I mean is… they're gone. They can't hurt you anymore. That doesn't discount the damage they did, but you're safe here, Regina. You are."

Regina stared down at her hands, which were playing absently at the edges of her skirt, as she continued to shake her head. "And what am I supposed to do? I can't just… let go. I can't just stop feeling angry. I'm so torn, Emma."

Emma inched her way closer to Regina, and reached out to take one of her hands in her own. "But you can let go," she said, giving Regina's hand a squeeze. "You can chose to believe me when I say, I do love you, Regina, and so does Henry. And you love him too, so much. You wouldn't want him to see you like this."

Regina swallowed as a tear trailed down her cheek and fell, landing on Emma's hand. Emma squeezed her hand again. "I love you too, Emma," Regina said finally, her voice a forced whisper, as if it pained her to admit that weakness out loud.

"I know you do," Emma agreed. "Now help me clean up this mess before Henry gets home."

Regina smirked and waved her hand, and in an instant, all remnants of the bouncy castle had disappeared from the lawn.

"That works, too," Emma said, looking around. "Now, shall we have lunch and perhaps try to act like civilized people for the rest of the day."

"I make no promises," Regina said, as she rose to her feet, and held out a hand to help Emma up. The gesture was simple enough, but Emma couldn't help but think they'd made a major breakthrough just now. She wasn't sure how far into Regina's Evil Queen years they were at the moment, and she wasn't entirely sure they were in the clear just yet, but she could already see the change that was occurring, and it made her wonder what Regina had really been up to when casting her spell.

Either way, Emma was sure they'd only just scratched the surface of Regina's pain, and there was a lot more that needed to come out and be dealt with, but she'd take this small victory for what it was. If nothing else, her mother would survive another day, and she had another opportunity to grow closer to Regina. She knew time was running out and soon enough the spell would be over, and she wanted to do what she could now to stop Regina from returning to distancing herself.

They'd already come too far for that...

Chapter Text

Emma watched Regina as she picked at the waffles with syrup Emma had made for her. Technically, it was lunchtime, but Emma had missed breakfast and she felt like giving Regina something sweet might temper some of the rage she could still see fizzling under the surface.

"These are good," Regina commented without looking up, though she'd really barely eaten a thing.

"Thanks," Emma replied, still keeping her gaze fixed on Regina. She'd been trying to watch her face, but it was so damn hard to focus when she was dressed like that. Of any version of Regina she'd met thus far along this journey, this was the one she had the hardest time reconciling with the woman she knew. Despite all the anger she'd personally experienced from the mayor over the years, somewhere deep inside Emma had always known Regina was hurting. The Evil Queen, however, hid it so well with all the theatrics and outrageous outfits.

"What are you staring at?"

Regina's voice was enough to make Emma snap out of it, and her eyes shot back up to Regina's face.

"Uh-nothing," Emma stammered.

Regina narrowed her eyes, but didn't respond.

"Uh, Regina," Emma started, once she'd come back to her senses, "you know… you don't have to dress like that here."

"Like what? You don't like my dress?"

"No, it's, uh… nice. But, this isn't the Enchanted Forest and it's a little… much, you know?"

Regina put her fork down in a deliberate manner, and clenched her jaw. "No, I don't know, Emma. Tell me what's wrong with what I'm wearing."

"It's just, like… you know you can wear whatever you want here. You don't have to keep up that whole… Queen persona thing, you know?" Emma purposely left out the E-word, though she was sure Regina would follow what she was saying.

"Persona?"

"Yeah, like, I know who you are underneath it all. You don't have to hide. That's all I'm saying."

"It's not a persona, Emma," Regina said, through gritted teeth. "I am the Queen. For once, I'm not hiding."

"I mean-"

Regina cut her off. "My entire life, I've been told how to dress and how to act, first by my mother and then by my husband. This is the first time I've ever been able to make choices for myself, and now you're trying to tell me how I should dress?"

"No, Regina-"

"You're unbelievable," Regina scoffed. "In one breath, you try to insist how 'loved' I am and how safe I am here, and in the next, you try to do the same thing everyone else has always done. I should have known better than to trust anyone in Leopold's bloodline."

That comment hit home, and Emma swallowed hard. "I'm sorry, Regina," she managed. "I didn't mean… I mean, I thought…"

Regina closed her eyes for a moment, and Emma could almost see the tension visibly leaving her face, and it occurred to her just how much Regina was struggling at the moment. On one hand, she had a whole batch of new, good memories in which she adored Emma, and on the other, she had a lifetime's worth of terrible memories battling for dominance, and Emma couldn't imagine how hard that must be.

Regina opened her eyes again, and looked at Emma with intensity. "I didn't mean that," she said, finally. "You're nothing like him."

Emma nodded. "Okay."

"You cannot imagine how I suffered at his hand, and I know you'd never do the same," Regina continued, and Emma could tell she was choosing her words very carefully, trying to convey her point without revealing anything.

"I'd never intentionally hurt you, Regina. Sometimes I just don't… think things through before I say them out loud."

Regina raised an eyebrow but didn't comment on that, as she looked down at her waffles again. "Though," she continued, "this corset makes it nearly impossible to eat."

Emma let out a small laugh, that was more a release of the anxiety she'd been holding in than of actual mirth.

Regina's eyes flashed up again. "I'd never wear something as-" she motioned in Emma's direction "-as…" Regina sighed, seeming unable to find the word she was looking for. "I can see your bra right under your shirt."

"Regina," Emma deadpanned. "You're practically falling out of your dress. You're hardly one to talk."

At that, Regina let out a small laugh. "Yes, well…" she waved a hand over herself, and a familiar swirl of purple magic enveloped her for a moment. When it dissipated, she was wearing a long black velvet dress, and her hair hung loosely around her shoulders. The dress was still very regal, but not nearly as tight as the one she'd just had on. "Compromise."

"This look won't terrify our son when he gets home," Emma said, winking at Regina.

Regina smiled, and picked up her fork again. "These really are very good," she said, as she began to actually eat rather than pick at her food.

"Yeah, I bet the food in this realm is a lot better than the food in the Enchanted Forest. At least what I've tried."

Regina gave a non-committal shrug. "I certainly never had breakfast at lunchtime," she agreed. "And I can't say I miss those ridiculously extravagant dinner parties the King used to host."

"Not your thing?" Emma asked.

Regina shrugged again. "They weren't really for me," she said. "I was expected to attend, but not take part, exactly."

Emma frowned, thinking how isolated Regina must have felt all those years. She almost wished she could have slowed this spell down just a little, and been able to spend some time with her as she relived those years, to offer some comfort and companionship when Regina had needed it the most. Perhaps they could have avoided the Evil Queen entirely the second time around, if she'd gotten the chance.

Then again, perhaps it wasn't too late for that, either.

"You can tell me about it, if you want," Emma suggested. "About what your life was like then… what it's like now… talking about it can help."

Regina stiffened and shook her head. "No," she said, quietly.

"But you've always been able to tell me everything," Emma pressed. "I mean, since the spell, at least."

Regina raised an eyebrow. "I've barely told you anything."

Emma opened her mouth to counter that, when she realized it was true. She'd been there for every experience Regina had had since falling under the spell, but she really didn't know much more about her real past now than she had before any of this had happened. She'd picked up tiny snippets here and there, but not much more than that. Why hadn't she asked more questions when Regina was younger and much more open?

Though, she already knew the answer to that. If she'd pressed Regina as a child or even teenage Regina for information, she'd have felt like she was betraying the Regina that was under the spell. Perhaps there were things she just didn't want her to know, and it would have been wrong to learn them this way, she supposed. Still, she hated that Regina carried around so much pain without letting anyone in… without letting her in.

"My story up until this point isn't worth knowing anyway," Regina said, offhandedly.

"What do you mean?"

"It wasn't my story," Regina explained. "It was a series of decisions made for me. You think I'm scary because I'm powerful. Your mother did too - she's the one who first declared me 'evil'."

"I don't think you're scary," Emma said. "I'm not afraid of you… I mean, under different circumstances I might have been, but not now."

Regina nodded. "I still feel that same impulse for revenge that I felt back then," she confessed, "but I also feel compelled to preserve the goodness that you bring out in me. I didn't think… honestly I didn't think I had any left."

"You do. And Regina, what happened to you before all of this, it still matters. It still matters because it still hurts you. But I won't make you talk about it if you're not ready. Just… know I'm willing to listen, whenever you are."

Regina looked down at her nearly empty plate, and Emma could tell by her face that she was thinking, working through something inside her head.

After what felt like an eternity, Regina began to speak. "When I was a child, I fell off a horse on my birthday."

Emma furrowed her brow, not really sure where Regina was headed with this, though she knew exactly what she was talking about. "Right," Emma said, when Regina seemed to hesitate about continuing. "When you turned six, it's how you got your-"

"My scar," Regina cut her off. "Yes. What you don't know, is that my mother forbade me to go riding that day. She said I needed to look perfect for the party they were hosting, as there would be royal families from all over attending that evening, and they might find me a potential suitor. Can you imagine that? I was six."

Emma swallowed hard but didn't say anything, as her stomach was already twisting up at the thought.

"Of course, being a child, I didn't care about parties and suitors, and while I was certainly afraid of my mother, I thought she would be distracted enough with preparations to not notice if I disappeared for a short time. I just wanted to ride my horse." Regina paused again, taking in a deep breath before continuing. "I was much too small to go to the stables alone, so I convinced my father to take me. I didn't know then how afraid he was of my mother, but he loved me and he just wanted me to be happy, so he took me anyway."

Emma bit her lip to keep herself from interrupting with a thousand questions that were popping into her head right now, and she let Regina continue.

"The horse I rode as a very young child was very placid, but that morning, I wasn't even on him five minutes before he bucked wildly and threw me off. I landed face first on the ground, and I hit a particularly sharp rock." Regina traced the faint line of her scar with her index finger, cringing at the memory. "My mother could have easily healed me in moments, but when my father carried me back to the house, she refused. She wanted me to learn a lesson."

"About obedience?" Emma asked, completely bewildered at the thought that Cora had had the ability to heal her tiny daughter, and had refused.

"About control," Regina corrected. "I quickly learned that when I disobeyed her, bad things happened, but they weren't accidents."

"What do you mean?" Emma asked, though she felt sick to her stomach because she was sure she already knew the answer.

"She made the horse throw me off. She used her magic. And then she made me live with the consequences of defying her, right there on my face, so I wouldn't forget. She owned me Emma, until the day she sold me to the King."

"Regina, I… I'm so sorry."

"I know. And I just want you to understand, there's a reason I am the way I am. And while you sit there and wonder how on earth a mother could do something so horrible to her child, I want you to also remember that I suffered greatly at the hands of your family as well, and if I don't want to tell you all the details, please remember that I'm protecting you just as much as I'm protecting myself."

"I get that Regina, I really do, but… I don't know how to help you right now if I don't know what's tormenting you."

Regina looked at her solemnly. "I'm not sure I can be helped."

Chapter Text