Disclaimer: I write this story purely for entertainment purposes and claim no ownership of the Once Upon a Time storyline or the versions of the characters within said franchise.
Author's Notes: This story takes place after Season 2's "The Outsider" and during "In the Name of the Brother" but with a different twist. Yes this is my first Once Upon a Time story.
A Second Second Chance
"Henry, we were wrong. Regina didn't do it."
"I knew it! Maybe we should let her know."
Unfortunately, the Charmings were unable to locate Regina and got wrapped up in the accident at the border of town with Mr. Gold, Belle, and the stranger. As they waited, Mary Margaret wondered offhand how upset her former step-mother felt when accused of doing something entirely not her fault for once. She had seen her in the interrogation room and was forced to agree with Emma that Regina was surprised at Archie's death and because she was seeing him for help in resisting magic for Henry's sake, it must have hit a soft spot. If Regina had any soft spots left. Well, not many but Mary Margaret thought Regina could still create soft spots for the people in her life, Henry being the main example.
"Da da da dadada dadada," chimed the phone of the stranger, whose name had been discovered as Greg Mendell, pulling Mary Margaret from her consuming thoughts. They discussed the dangers of this woman not knowing how her beloved was faring in their hospital and Emma reminded the group that she could track the cellphone without the police's help. Then, of all things, Doctor Whale, hadn't gone into the O.R. to treat Mr. Mendell. Immediately the group was on edge, especially after finding his pager had been left in the building with his lab coat. Ruby grabbed the coat to catch Whale's scent and find him.
"Maybe he didn't even run," Mary Margaret suggested. "Maybe Cora grabbed him for some reason."
"I don't think so. He's been in a rough place since bringing Regina's fiance back to life," her husband explained.
"Daniel?"
"Back to life?" Emma added.
"Had his arm ripped off," David continued, but in reference to Whale.
"Cool," Leroy said with an undertone of disgust.
"Wait. Daniel came back?" Mary Margaret asked. Now she felt even more sorry for Regina.
Emma chimed in again, "Like some kind of Frankenstein?"
"That's Whale. The Doctor. And Daniel was his—"
"What went on here while we were gone?" Mary Margaret asked, pushing the point so she could get all the details.
Emma, mind more focused on saving the stranger cut in before any more questions were asked of her long-lost father. "Ruby, get going. Bring back Dr. Frankenstein. We're going to send this guy back home with bolts in his neck."
"She'll find him."
"Yeah but what kind of state is he going to be in?"
Everyone thought about that query for a moment before heading back to their positions in the lobby. Emma went to grab another cup of decaf coffee and Leroy decided to check out the vending machine. Snow and David sat together in a pair of adjoining chairs.
"Where...where is Daniel now?" Snow asked in a quiet voice.
"Regina killed him. To protect Henry. And the rest of us," David informed his wife. Snow nodded her head solemnly, eyes downcast. "Hey...what's the matter?"
"Nothing. I just...call me if anything changes here okay?" Snow avoided the question as she stood up and buttoned her jacket.
"Where are you going?"
"I'm going to go search for Regina again." David looked at her for a minute, deciding that there would be no changing her mind so he sighed and nodded his approval.
"I'll keep you up to date. Good luck. Be safe," he told her before giving her a quick kiss.
Snow exited the building, thinking of all the places they had previously searched for the former queen and all the places she could think of that the woman might be hiding in. Not her office, way too public and not her house unless she magicked a hidden section and didn't want to reveal herself. Snow doubted she would be in the library somewhere. Wait...what about her mausoleum? The young woman turned around and headed to the graveyard. Snow entered the building after a moment's hesitation, taking brief notice of the casket of Henry Senior. Of course. Regina named Henry after her father—the only person she still loved after Daniel. She winced slightly at the memory before shaking it off and pushing the casket aside to descend further.
Walking through the bottom of the mausoleum reminded her of Regina's castle: a mirror at every turn. Figuring it would better grab her attention if she was hiding with magic, Snow began calling out.
"Regina?" she heard her voice echo briefly. "I know...I'm the last person you want to talk to, but we know you didn't kill Archie," she allowed that bit of information hang in the air for a minute. "Archie told us your mother captured him and made it appear like you killed him instead. I came to te-" Snow's words fell away when she heard what sounded like a door unlatch and open behind her. She saw the wall with a mirror revealing light and headed toward it. Cautiously she opened the door further. "Regina?"
Regina stood across the room in front of a couch, arms crossed watching the woman carefully. "So now you believe me?" she said.
Snow almost struck back with a remark but swallowed it in. "Yes. Thanks to Belle we found Archie and he corroborated your story," she said smiling a little. She took a couple of steps further into the room.
Regina's mouth moved slightly as her gaze fell to the floor. "Well... thank you for telling me. I had no idea my mother made it over," she spoke almost through gritted teeth. She could still see the look on Henry's face when Emma told him about Archie's death and that Regina was the culprit. True, she was exonerated but at every turn she was being pushed further and further away from her son and it wasn't fair. She couldn't understand why he didn't love her as much anymore.
Snow slowly approached the woman, noticing how involved in her own thoughts she was. "Regina?" she asked, resting her hand on the Mayor's shoulder. "David told me that Whale brought Daniel back to life," she whispered softly, afraid that the mention of the event might send the woman into a tizzy.
All it did was cause the Mayor to sit down instead and rest her head in her hands. "Yes," was all she managed to say.
"I am...so sorry, Regina," Snow said emotion pouring from her voice as she sat beside the older woman, physical contact still in effect. "I can't imagine what that must have been like, but David told me you were protecting Henry."
"But I used magic. I broke the promise I made to him," she scoffed.
"With good reason. Daniel wasn't himself, unfortunately, and something had to be done or more bloodshed would have occurred," Snow tried explaining for Regina's sake. "We have something in common. We all do: you, me, David, Emma. We want to protect Henry. Why can't this one little fact join us together? We could have a fresh start. Especially to protect him from Cora." Regina's eyes focused on Snow at the mention of her mother. That much was true. Her mother could not get her hands on Henry for whatever plan she was concocted.
"I...I don't know. There's just too much hate there," Regina said looking away form Snow again, however, her voice held less of the anger she once carried when talking about her anger toward the princess.
"You don't know how to love very well." Regina looked up immediately. "You told Henry that when you let him go home with David. Let us help you love better, Regina. Despite our differences, I do still love you and I believe that you still carry a portion of that person who once saved me from a runaway horse."
"I'm afraid you're mistaken, Mary Margaret. She died all those years ago," Regina countered, but didn't say when Snow inadvertently gave Daniel's life to Cora. Of course, she realized that everything in her life happened for a reason, her mother's reason, so perhaps it was her mother she should be blaming,
Snow reached out and placed a hand on Regina's knee drawing the older woman's attention again. "Let me find her for you. That's what family's for."
"You consider me family after all I've done? After bringing us all here, after framing you for murder, after poisoning Henry?"
"Yes," was Snow's simple response a glow in her smile. Regina couldn't bring herself to look away from that face so pure, so innocent, so...Snow. She wanted to be good for Henry. She wanted him to have faith in her, to want to spend time with her. She was his mom. Yes, Emma was his mother, but Regina raised Henry from the time he was six weeks old.
"Alright," Regina finally conceded looking down at the hand on her knee. "I'll try to not waste this second chance from you again." Slowly she slipped her hand into Snow's and felt a slight squeeze instantly, bringing a ghost of a smile to her face.
"See. There's the Regina I remember. Regina, my hero. That smile right there."