I saw the previews for the new season and got inspired. This fic grew out of a Regina/Rumpel dialogue that's been buzzing in my head since Belle arrived on Rumpel's door step. Plus Regina and Rumpelstiltskin they are my favorite characters. Every moment Lana Parrilla and Robert Carlyle are on-screen together is pure gold.

This takes place right before the restoration magic. Please read and review. It's not beta-ed so there are probably mistakes. Thanks for reading!

Prologue

Regina felt relief as she looked out the window at the purple cloud rolling through town. Less than an hour ago, she had been in a hospital room crying as her son lay lifeless upon the bed. The former Queen had never felt more powerless than when and Mother Superior pronounced Henry dead. In just moments, her world had ended. She could not breathe as she watched the nurse's unhook him from machines. He looked so small and pale.

This was not supposed to happen, Henry was not supposed to die. She thought as she watched Emma approach Henry's bed. For her part, Regina could not move as she looked on in disbelief.

It felt like only yesterday she had held him for the first time in her arms. He was so small when the social worker placed him in her arms, that she was afraid she may break him. Yet, Henry simply yawned sleepily and snuggled closer to Regina before falling asleep. She remembered marvelling at how content he was in her arms. It was as if he instinctively trusted her to take care of him. It was then she knew she could and would never let any harm come to her little boy.

Sobbing, Regina turned away from the sight of Henry's lifeless body and into the arms of Dr. Whale. The usually ever-present stoicism failing, as she simply could not bear the sight of the child she had raised, loved, and protected for the last ten years. Only one thought tore at her sanity. It's all my fault.

"I love you, Henry." Sheriff Swan's tear filled voice carried throughout the small room as the woman leaned over Henry's body to place a small kiss upon his cooling forehead.

The world seemed to freeze momentarily as her lips connected with Henry's skin. As if time itself was holding its breath before restarting with a sigh of relief that felt like a physical force expanding throughout the room. After that, everything happened so fast. Henry's gasp in the room was sudden heard and he opened his eyes with a smile. Regina stared in awe as Henry inhaled deeply.

"I love you, too. You saved me." There was pure adoration in his eyes as he spoke to Emma. A look that had not been aimed at Regina in the last few years.

"You did it." Regina found herself stating in obvious disbelief. Not knowing exactly what Emma had truly done. It was obvious that true love's kiss had broken the spell over Henry but Regina felt the magic in the room. It was not until she began to notice the small crowd beginning to gather in her son's room that Regina realized something else extraordinary had just occurred. Emma seemed to notice the shift as well.

"Henry… What's going on?" she asked extremely bewildered.

Regina could only think of one word as she realized the full extent of the magic Emma had just unleashed. "No…"

"The curse. I think you broke it." In seven words, Henry smiling face had just confirmed Regina's worst nightmare.

"That was true love's kiss." Mother Superior, or more appropriately now that the curse is broken, the Reul Ghorm, approached Henry and Emma.

Feeling a tingle of fear she had not felt in years, Regina's stomach twisted in knots at the ramifications of the curse being broken."No, no…"

Regina saw the Reul Ghorm turn towards her with a slight smirk on her face and confidence that was not often seen in her Storybrooke counterpart.

"If I were you, Your Majesty, I'd find a place to hide."

The Evil Queen felt the instantaneous fight or flight reflex race down her spine yet her eyes focused on her son. Although she knew she should run away, she felt her body move as if on autopilot to his bed side. She could not leave him. He was the most important person in her life.

"Henry… No matter what you think, no matter what anyone tells you, I do love you."

Before that moment, Regina thought she knew pain. When daniel died at her mother's hands, she thought she could never feel anything worse. Then she thought she had lost Henry and the pain in her heart was unbearable. Those experiences were nothing compared to the blank look she received from her son as she told him she loved him. The rejection was painfully acute. In his eyes, she did not see the love that the boy had generously bestowed on Emma just moments before, only indifference. The evil queen now knew just what it must feel like to have someone reach into her chest and ripped out her own heart. That pain was the only thing that gave her the strength to flee the room.

For once in her life, Regina did not have a plan. She has no more tricks up her sleeve, no slight of hand, no quick fix to make it all better. Things were about to change. The balance of power is tipped insurmountably against her and her days are now officially numbered. However, where she would once fight tooth and nail for an advantage, she found that she simply did not have the energy to care. The void in her heart that had once been filled with her son, was now a gaping hole displaying her rotten core for the world to see. Henry had been her reason for living the past ten years. Now, the uncertainty of knowing if she will ever see him again, hold him again, is eating her alive. Regina suddenly felt extremely drained both physical and mental. The strain of the day finally taking it's toll on her frazzled emotions.

Feeling defeated, Regina found herself wandering, almost blindly, into Henry's room. The need to feel close to him was more persistent than ever. She sat on his bed and picked up his pillow just to breath in the scent of him. In the hospital, she had wanted nothing more than to scoop her son into her arms and run. Yet, Regina begrudgingly knew in her heart that he would be safer with Emma. The people of Storybrooke now had their memories back and will surely be out for her blood soon enough. Regina did not want Henry getting hurt in the process of their vengeance.

Gut wrenching sobs escaped unrestrained into the little boy's room. She could hear her mother's voice loud and clear. Love is weakness, Regina. It feels real now. At the start, it always does. But, it's an illusion. It fades. And then, you're left with nothing. Nevertheless, Regina knew the love she felt for Henry, her son, would never fade.

Buried in despair, Regina felt the shift before she saw the purple cloud gathering outside. Bewildered, she was not sure how or why Rumpelstiltskin unleashed the cloud, only that he must be the source. His actions had singlehandedly turned the tide in her favor and she felt...relieved. The once feared Evil Queen nearly cried with relief as she rested her forehead against the cool glass of her son's bedroom window, a smile playing on her features. Relief was the only emotion Regina could feel as she spotted that purple cloud rolling through town. This cloud represented hope, a way to get her Henry back, a way to maintain control in the face of inevitable chaos to come. That purple cloud represented power.