A/N: This is a sequel to Inevitability of Fate and takes place in canon divergent AU in which Regina forgot she was the Evil Queen during the curse and fell in alove and married a school teacher named Mary Margaret. It begins minutes after Cora's death.

Cora Mills was dead in her daughter's arms, the last act of her cruel life to deliver the cruelest thing she'd ever said to her daughter, "You would have been enough."

Mary Margaret Mills had watched for days as Cora had deconstructed her wife piece by piece. What little acceptance they had gained for their marriage a month before was shattered when it appeared that Regina had murdered Archie in cold blood. Emma had been suspicious at first, but David saw it as confirmation of everything he'd been saying. And Snow had learned how many people were only tolerant of her decision to stay with Regina.

Cora had quickly determined that the bratty princess that her daughter had bizarrely decided to marry was the key to breaking her further. "You silly girl, you let a selfish princess turn you into a dyke?"

The next time Mary Margaret had seen Regina was the clock tower. While everyone else saw the Evil Queen she saw the bruises hidden by an expensive scarf on her neck and the dead expression behind her eyes. And she knew that the only way to protect her family from Cora was to kill her.

The fact that only Johanna had died was a miracle. The fact that Johanna had died was a tragedy. Still the only person who stayed to help Mary Margaret lift Regina up was Emma. Regina pushed them both away, not wanting to seem weak in front of the towns people that would never forgive her. She walked to her car under her own power and her wife followed quietly, ready to catch her or defend her whichever was necessary. It turned out to be catching her as the Queen only managed to walk ten feet out of Gold's shop before she collapsed.

Later at the hospital Dr. Whale would express admiration for how much torture the woman had obviously taken when they found the hundreds bruises and welts on her body from her mother's treatment.

Emma had stayed with her, "Like a china doll. They never touch the face."

Mary Margaret just nodded numbly.

"How are you doing?"

"I killed my wife's mother. Regina has never been the forgiving sort."

Emma shrugged, "You two seem to forgive each other for a lot."

Snow managed a little smile, "I know you think I'm crazy. I know everyone does."

Emma shook her head, "No… actually the last few days opened my eyes to a lot of things."

"She joined forces with her mother," Snow said simply. "I'm not even sure I understand that."

"When I was in the system I saw a lot of people with the kind of eyes Regina had these last few days. She tried to warn us that she didn't have the strength. I think we all were just so used to how strong she is all the time that we assumed she was exaggerating. I think we all own a bit of this mess… not just her…and not just you."

Snow didn't say anything but watched her wife sleep… soundly because of the drugs.

"How long are they going to keep her."

"Whale wants to run some cardiac tests…"

Emma's eyes flashed with annoyance. "No Whale wants to study how she survived that much pain. I overheard him talking to the creepy nurse from the psych ward. Don't worry, I'll make sure you can take her home without too much more poking and proding."

"Thank you…"

"It's what savior's do. Apparently."

Snow thought perhaps she should say something, but Emma smiled and walked from the room.

There was no party when Regina got out of the hospital two days later with pain medication that Snow was sure she wasn't going to take, and follow up appointments that she was unlikely to keep if her reaction to Whale's bedside manner was any indication.

"Do you want something to eat? We can stop by Granny's on the way home…"

"So I can have a little judgment with my meal?"

"Regina…"

"Or so you can try and make your friends like me again. Because that went so well the last time." Regina said bitterly.

"Emma told me she was taking Henry there."

Regina didn't respond to that, and looked out the window so that Snow couldn't see her eyes.

She needed a cane to walk very far. Cora's corrections had hurt her knee badly and apparently she wasn't strong enough yet to fix it with magic, but once she got to the top of the front steps she handed the cane to Snow and opened the door herself walking into the dinner like it was the audience chamber of her castle.

No one said a word, the entire room abnormally quiet except for a few sniffles from the corner with the dwarfs. Emma and Henry were eating dinner across the room but Regina took a seat where she could see him and Emma glanced over before urging him to say hello.

He seemed torn by something but shook his head and resolutely ignored her gaze.

Regina poked at her clam chowder and said nothing. When Henry and Emma finished eating he practically bolted out the door. Emma trailed after him exasperated and offered them an apologetic smile. "He'll come around."

The clouds and dark thoughts behind Regina's eyes were obvious to Snow and she reached over and squeezed her hand. "We'll fix this."

"There is nothing left to fix. Mother was right. I was too bad for too long and no one will ever see me as anything but the Evil Queen. Not even Henry."

"Your mother was wrong." Snow said firmly. "I love you, and have loved you since the day we met."

"I was never the woman you thought I was Snow."

Snow smiled. "The hero, the monster the mother, the wife, the mayor, the terror, the lover… ? You've been all those things to me Regina. But from now on the big question to decide is who do you want to be?"

Regina looked at her with half admiration and half exasperation, "You think it's that simple?"

"No. But I don't think it being hard makes it impossible. And if there is one thing I know about you Regina, is that you never met a challenge you didn't love."

Regina rolled her eyes, but Snow was actually sure she caught sight of something she hadn't seen in them for a very long time.

Hope.