Regina is consumed. Obsessed. She spends more time in the library Henry located within the Sorcerer's mansion than in her own home. The library contains every unwritten storybook and every unanswered question. Most importantly it contains her happy ending. Regina is sure of it. She sifts through each blank page of each empty book, willing the words to appear that will spell out her fate. Days pass but Regina is persistent. Sometimes Henry comes and helps, and other times Henry arrives just to beg her to come home. The rare times she walks the streets of Storybrooke, she ignores all hellos and those trying to initiate conversation. She is living in complete tunnel vision.
It has been about one week and Regina and Henry are sitting at the table in the tiny library, skimming each book for a clue. "Mom?" Regina looks up at Henry's exhausted face. "Can we please go now? We've been doing this all day long." Regina nods, contemplating his question. "And I'm getting hungry," Henry adds. Regina closes the book in her lap.
"I'm sorry, Henry. This has been a long day. Why don't you go off to Granny's and I'll meet you there in a bit. I just want to get through a few more books before we eat." Henry nods, gives his mother a quick hug, and heads toward the door. Regina and Henry had been doing so well recently. He moved back into her house. Well, their house. It was ridiculous that he had been living in that tiny loft, anyway. If she were Henry, she would have left after one day of Idiot 1 and Idiot 2 being their uncharming selves. No, she and Snow were doing better, too. Regina is honestly surprised Snow hadn't yet come banging through this library door, threatening her with another "hope" speech. And then there was—
A knock on the door lifts Regina from her reverie. "Regina!" Another knock. "Regina, open up, let's go." Regina lets out an audible sigh. Emma Swan. She would gladly have Snow, and hey, even David, come around and hit her over the head with happiness and love rather than deal with this right now. She doesn't know why she's so angry with Emma. Regina had, after all, let her in on Operation Mongoose. But that was a moment of weakness, Regina thinks, smoothing her skirt with both hands. She had been excited that Henry found this library and nothing more. Emma had simply been there. If it was an ogre with them that day, Regina tells herself, she would have said the same to him.
"Go where?" Regina finally answers, barely loud enough for Emma to hear.
"Umm, let's see?" Emma asks in mock confusion. "To Granny's, where our son has been waiting for you for over an hour now."
"I was just about to leave." Although she has no intention of leaving soon, she suddenly becomes guilty. Was this search for the author really getting in the way of her relationship with her son?
"Perfect. I guess I'll wait here for you then." Regina can almost feel Emma's smugness making its way through the door. Regina is not going to leave here because of Emma - Regina can't let Emma have the satisfaction. She is going to leave because of Henry and Henry alone.
"I really don't need company. Especially from you." Regina waits for a response, but none comes. Regina opens her mouth again, about to apologize for her harsh comment (she really is trying) but then—
"Fine," Emma yells, seemingly hurt by Regina's comment. Regina waits until the stomping of Emma's boots fade until she finally un-tenses. There is no way Emma would actually care what Regina has to say to her. Yes, maybe Emma did say something that one time about them being friends, but Regina decidedly chose not to believe her. No one ever wanted to be Regina's friend before, so why should things be different now.
On that note, Regina finally decides to leave the library. She is going to meet her son for dinner, have a lovely time, then head home and start this whole process again tomorrow. She does not care how long it takes; she is going to find her happy ending.
A few days go by and Henry has once again agreed to help in Regina's search. However, instead of planting themselves inside the tiny library, they decide to take advantage of the enormous house and work near one of the huge windows overlooking the water. Regina was anxious to make the move because, as she told Henry, what if that library contained a certain magic that the rest of the house did not. Henry had listed off about half a dozen reasons why this was not the case, but ultimately she agreed to move because she herself was getting sick of that stuffy little room.
They are sitting on the floor, open books spread all around them. Henry is hard at work but Regina is just staring out the window. All she can do, besides sift through these books, is think of the world beyond Storybrooke. "Mom? You OK? Hello. Earth to Mom." Henry begins waving his hand in front of Regina's face. She immediately snaps out of her trance.
"Sorry. Just was lost in thought."
"What are you thinking about?"
Regina turns to Henry with a smile on her face and cups her hand around his chin. "Operation Mongoose, of course!"
Henry lets out a short breath and moves his chin away from Regina's light touch. "Operation Mongoose is important but it's not everything. Why don't we take a break and do something that will make you actually happy."
"When did you become so wise?" Regina answers, slightly taken aback. She didn't want Henry to have to think about her happiness. He is a young boy and shouldn't have to worry about his mother. Then again, Henry was always wise beyond his years. Still, she could feel the strains of Operation Mongoose on the both of them.
"Since always." Henry grins back at her and jumps to his feet. "I'm gonna go clean up some stuff in the other room. I told Mom – Emma Mom – to meet me here in a little bit and then maybe we can all leave together." This was more of a statement than a question, and before Regina has time to respond, Henry is already around the corner and out of sight. Great. Another Emma intrusion. She had thought she was going to spend the afternoon alone with her son, but why should anything in her life go as planned. She shakes her head slowly.
A few minutes go by and she hears the clomping of boots headed in her direction. She immediately and instinctively tenses up, remembering her last interaction with Emma – or lack of an interaction, as it were. She hopes Emma won't hold that against her. She doesn't want her son to have an uncomfortable afternoon with both mothers upset at one another.
Emma reaches the door frame, and peers in. "Am I allowed to come in this time or…." Emma trails off and looks at Regina with large, albeit mocking, doe eyes. Regina rolls her eyes at this and motions forward.
"Yes, yes, come in. Make yourself at home." Regina then motions to the piles of books all around her. Hoping Emma would take this as a cue to keep standing by the door, Emma instead decides to sit down right next to her, in Henry's place. There is a moment of silence as Emma takes a book and begins looking through it. "And what do you think you're doing?" Regina asks.
"Operation Mongoose, of course. Henry mentioned you could use some extra help."
"He did, did he?" Regina straightens up, looking Emma straight in the eyes for the first time since she arrived. Regina knows she needs help and wants all the help she can get, but doesn't want anyone else to think she needs help. It's one of her many downfalls. Her stubbornness. Her independence. Both are good traits to have, and traits she would never give up, but too much of each can result in living a very lonely life. Too many times before had Regina turned away an ally, a friend, or a partner in crime. Everything she did she had to do alone. It wasn't until Henry entered her life that she found someone she could never could dream of tossing away. And it wasn't until Emma entered her life that she found someone she couldn't toss away no matter how hard she tried. And she had tried.
The staring contest between Emma and Regina had gone on for too long, and it is Regina who breaks first. Looking away, she mutters, "He's right, I suppose. There are a lot of books to go through."
Emma smiles at her words and then goes right back to flipping through the book in her lap. Regina goes back to doing the same, but can't help but watch Emma out of the corner of her eye. The way she so calmly and casually flips through the pages. The way she tucks loose strands of golden hair behind her ear every so often, only to have it fall back in her face. The way her brow furors in concentration. Maybe Emma does really care about Operation Mongoose after all. Maybe she does really care about Regina. No, Regina quickly thinks, rendering her silly ideas. Emma doesn't really like her all that much – she is just doing this for Henry. Regina couldn't be more sure.
After a few more moments, Emma catches Regina staring. And of course Regina looks away, embarrassed to have been caught. "Oh hey," Emma says, making Regina turn back around. "You have an eyelash." Emma's whole body moves closer to Regina, who can feel herself emanating more heat than usual. Emma then brings her two fingers up to Regina's cheek to remove the eyelash. All of a sudden, loud, running stomps can be heard rounding the corner. Both Emma and Regina jump as Henry enters the room.
"Ready to go?" Henry asks to both his mothers. Emma mutters something to Regina about her losing the eyelash and both women stand up in haste.
"Where are we off to, Kid? Granny's?" Emma puts her hand on Henry's shoulder as they start walking out.
"Maybe," Regina interjects, "or we could change it up and get some ice cream? You've both been extremely helpful today." Henry and Emma both stop, turn around, and break into the same wide grin. Henry cheers and Emma gives him a high five. Regina raises one eyebrow and continues walking. "Children." Everyone continues out of the house as Emma and Henry discuss flavors and Regina just watches on. Maybe Operation Mongoose didn't have to be so painful.
Or maybe it did. More days pass and still no luck. Yes, Henry added more "fun" to the process – with impromptu trips and activities. Regina had finally branched out and visited Snow and David who were beyond thrilled to see her. Too thrilled, even. Now she is almost glad to have the evening alone in the library, still forging ahead on Operation Mongoose. Henry is with the Charmings for the evening so she is quite certain no one will be barging in on her.
It is dark out, and to be honest, Regina is getting a bit bored. It's a bit mind numbing just scanning blank pages of all these storybooks, and even though she enjoys her solitude, it might be nice to just have someone else with her. Regina laughs aloud at the thought. Who would possibly want to spend time with her without some kind of ulterior motive? Maybe, Regina thinks, she can stop by Granny's or the Rabbit's Hole on the way home for a drink. That way she doesn't need to spend the entire day in complete solitude. Drinking alone but surrounded by strangers is a step up from her going straight home, right?
She settles on Granny's because it's familiar and knows she can be in and out pretty quickly. The bell jingles above her head as she steps through the door, and the first face she sees is that of Emma Swan sitting at the bar. Of course. Not knowing why, Regina tries to sneak away undetected, but Emma has heard the bell and spots Regina straight away. The two women smile at each other as Regina unwillingly approaches the bar to sit by Emma. At this point it would be rude to do anything else. And they had been getting along the past few days, especially during their trip to get ice cream with Henry. It seemed like the animosity between them was lessening at every meeting. But there is something else replacing that animosity that Regina can't put her finger on. Annoyance? No. Friendship? Maybe. Regina had never really had a friend, so this, she ponders, is what friendship must be like.
"Long night?" Emma asks, as Regina takes her jacket off, revealing a tight-fitting and low cut red sweater. Once Regina is finally settled, she turns her body to Emma and answers.
"Shouldn't I be asking you the same? Were the Charmings really that bad that you had to escape here?" Regina laughs to herself at this remark. Never a bad time to take a jab at the Charmings! However, Emma does not find this amusing and rolls her eyes.
"No. It's just that Henry's asleep. And then with the newborn, my parents practically have the same bedtime as Neal. So it was just me at, like, nine p.m. sitting alone. It was either Netflix or drinking. Hard choice but I chose to come down here." Just then, two shots of vodka appear before them.
"No Hook?" Regina asks a bit too quickly, following her comment with a shot.
"Let's talk about something else." Emma downs her drink and puts two fingers up for more. Trouble in paradise, Regina thinks but dares not say aloud. She wants to stay clear of the Hook subject herself. The two women take their second round of shots and Emma orders a third. "How is Operation Mongoose?" Regina groans at this. Now it's her turn to say-
"Let's talk about something else." They both break into a laugh and Regina starts to feel the alcohol kick in. Maybe she does want to talk about Operation Mongoose. When she talks about it with Henry, she always must remain positive. Seeing anything but hope on that boy's face kills her inside. With Emma, however, she can lay out the bare truth. "Actually, Operation Mongoose is going nowhere. I dread almost every day I have to sit in that haunting library."
"Why continue then? Not to sound too much like my mother, but only you can create your happy ending. No book can write that for you."
"That's what he wants you to believe."
"Who is he?
"I don't know. The author. He, she, it. Whatever. Until I figure out what I'm dealing with, I can't leave my fate… well… up to fate." Regina realizes she's beginning to let her guard down a little too much. She probably should have thought about that two shots ago. And with that, she takes her third one. Emma follows suit.
"I'm calling total B.S. on that." Emma effortlessly takes Regina's hand in hers. "You have a son who loves you, a beautiful house, so many people who care about you. You are so lucky. And you did all that yourself. No one else helped you with that."
"You're getting a little bit drunk now and you're just saying all these things because you're in a good place." This comes out a bit forceful and heated, but Regina does not move her hand from Emma's grasp.
"I am not!" Emma moves closer in to Regina. "You're perfect in every way. Who ever this author is – he is just jealous of you." Regina rolls her eyes and she notices the room is starting to spin. Three shots on an empty stomach may not have been the wisest move. "Stop doing that!" Emma moves even closer. "Life will work out for you."
All Regina can muster is a faint, "But how can you be sure?" Emma answers by leaning in even further. Regina feels Emma's warm lips against hers and for a short moment is flooded with happiness. Finally, a small voice says in the back of Regina's head. However, the moment is short lived. Regina pulls away immediately, horrified. Without saying anything she stumbles out of the bar leaving Emma alone once again.
A few days pass and all Regina can do is shuttle herself between her home and the library, making sure she sees nobody. She called Snow the morning after the… incident… to tell her she was not feeling well and could Henry stay with her and David for a few days. If Regina sees Henry, he'll know something is up with her, and she wouldn't dare tell him about what happened at Granny's. Never. She was never going to tell anyone and was certainly never going to see Emma again.
But even in the library when she is supposed to be focusing on Operation Mongoose, all she can do is pace back and forth, replaying that night over and over again in her head. Why had Emma done that? Emma hated her. It must have been some trick. What could Emma have wanted so badly that she had to resort to that? What kind of game was Emma playing? Regina's mind is buzzing and she can't shut it off. And it's beginning to make her angry.
Regina storms down Main Street, headed to the sheriff's office where she know Emma will be. There's nothing Regina loves more than a good, old-fashioned confrontation. She doesn't know what she'll say, but she just needs someone to yell at. She slams open the door and stomps inside to see Emma perched on the desk, reading the newspaper and eating a doughnut. Regina laughs to herself. So typical. But her silent laughter turns into more anger as she realizes how normal and fine Emma looks. I guess it's a usual occurrence for Miss Swan to prance around town doing whatever or whomever she likes.
Emma turns around and drops her doughnut on the desk. "Woah woah woah what's going on?" Emma slowly backs away as Regina walks full-force towards her.
"You."
"Me?" Emma bumps into the bars of the jail cell at the back of the station and has nowhere to go.
"You think you're the princess of this town don't you? The belle of the ball. Doing whatever you like and not thinking of the consequences."
"This again?" Emma sarcastically mumbles under her breath.
Regina ignores this comment. "You're supposed to hate me!"
"What? I don't hate you."
"Yes you do. You said so when you came to my vault with the intention of my hatred being the only thing to break apart your precious, yellow bracelets." This is the first time Regina has voiced her thoughts – to anyone, including her self – on what had transpired while she was under the Snow Queen's curse. Saying it now has unlocked something in her brain.
"Regina, calm down. I never said I hated you. But I knew you would definitely hate me once you reverted to your cursed self. And that 'true hatred' was the only thing to break the spell. And hey, it worked! So watch it next time you go around accusing people of hating you. Maybe you shouldn't do the hating in the first place." Emma takes a few breaths, trying to calm herself down, as Regina just stares at her.
There is silence for a few moments. Finally, Regina steadies her voice and says, "That's not how it works." Emma cocks her head in confusion. "The magic," Regina says again, this time a bit more slowly. "The magic that broke your bracelet. It was not broken by true hatred. True hatred cannot and will not break a curse."
"Then how did you break it?" Emma asks. But Regina thinks Emma already knows the answer as the corners of Emma's lips turn upwards. Regina stays silent and continues staring at Emma, waiting for her to answer her own question aloud. "Love?" Regina looks away, all traces of anger dissipating into shyness. "You were so angry. I never thought…."
Regina shrugs. "There's more to someone that just the outer layer. You more than anyone should know."
"I do," Emma says, leaning away from the jail bars and walking toward Regina, who is now resting on the desk Emma had been sitting on earlier. "Being closed off – I guess that's just what we're good at." Regina nods at this. "But sometimes you have to try something different, right?" Regina shrugs her shoulders as Emma walks closer to her. Once they are face-to-face, only an inch or two apart, Emma says it. "I love you, Regina. And I'm in love with you, too."
Regina cannot believe what is going on. She's waiting for someone to pinch her awake but no one does. Emma is staring at her with those huge eyes and when Regina answers Emma, she answers with her heart and soul. For the first time she believes the words that are coming out of her mouth. Believes that maybe she's not going to be alone. Truly believes that someone does love her. "I love you, too." Regina is just realizing that tears are running down her face. "And that second thing you said, too –" Regina begins to laugh and Emma immediately shuts her up by kissing her. This time nobody breaks away. Minutes, hours, infinity. Regina is finally letting this happen. She has finally found her happy ending. And it wasn't in any book and written by any mystical creature. Her happy ending had been in front of her the whole time.