Note: This is the first piece of fiction I have written in years. I am wordy to a fault. Feedback is appreciated, but not necessary.

The brisk wind was relentless in Cambridge, Massachusetts. It was a Tuesday morning, and while Regina Mills would normally be occupied with ensuring the municipal integrity of the small town of Storybrooke, Maine, today, she was in another state, walking from her car to a coffee shop. Though the wind was vicious, Regina wasn't fazed by it. She had endured worse—far worse. As she made her way from her Mercedes to the shop, she scanned the parking lot, looking for a familiar, silver BMW. Though she does not see it, she continues her path and gracefully enters the shop; she scans the patrons for a certain blonde, but her efforts are in vain. So she simply approaches the barista and orders a medium cappuccino.

Regina is given a number, and she takes a seat. While she knows her early-week trip is supposed to be a break, she pulls her phone from her bag and quickly opens her email, scans the subject lines, and exits before she can give herself time to respond. She opens her messaging app, sends a quick text. And then another. Then she opens the camera, quickly checks her surrounding for onlookers, and snaps a selfie-perfection on the first attempt. Until she noticed a man in the background of the photo who apparently chose that moment to lower his newspaper to scratch his chest and alter his countenance. But deciding that she was over analyzing, she selected the share option, chose the messenger app, added a quick "wish you were here" and hit send.

Regina glances up from her phone when her number is called, and as she makes her way back to the table a familiar face greets her from the door. The two smile, but before further pleasantries can be exchanged, the barista excitedly yells "KATHRYN! Want your usual?"

Kathryn replied a simple, "Sure that will be great," before turning to her friend and greeting her with a hug and a quick kiss on the cheek. "Regina, you look great. You're glowing! And you look, just…" Unable to find the right word, Kathryn pulled her friend back in for a hug. "It has been a while! Forgive me, but I can't help but think this is bad news. . . " Before Kathryn could continue, the barista spoke up.

"Kat! Here ya go!"

Regina made her way back to the table, and Kathryn, upon receiving her drink, joined her. Before Kathryn could speak, Regina began, "I know our last meeting was less than ideal; that is my fault, and I sincerely apologize, but it was absolutely necessary that you were made aware of the state of the 'affairs.' I am glad, that we have moved past everything."

After the curse was broken, Kathryn regained her memories, found Fredrick, and fled Storybrooke. While there were rumors of her making appearances at events such as Neal's naming party, Regina had not specifically sought her out after the curse was broken because, honestly, when had she had time? Between trying to fetch Mary Margaret and Emma from the Enchanted Forest, battling the dark influences of her mother, protecting the curse's fail-safe, saving Henry from Neverland, dealing with the Snow Queen, and then Zelena… Not to mention Emma's Dark One nonsense. And purgatory—Let us not forget that adventure. Kathryn, though they were friends for twenty eight years during the curse, had been the least of her worries.

But after all of that, the town appointed a council—the Royal Council—which decided that the people of the Enchanted Forest should no longer have to live in Storybook against their will. So even though the drama seemed to be behind them, there was work to be done. The Council decided that Gold and Belle needed to form a committee to assist the Council with research and development of a portal similar to that of the Sorcerer's. Emma, David, and Robin began an official registration of everyone's Enchanted Forest identity. Mary Margaret and Regina took on the diplomatic responsibilities. After forming committees and developing plans, the Royal Council finalized the operation, and found that moving any and all willing parties back to the Enchanted Forest would take approximately three years.

After two weeks, Robin, David and Emma compiled their list, took it to 'headquarters' or Regina's mayoral office, and turned it over to Regina and Mary Margaret. Regina, who was reading over Mary Margaret's shoulder looked up. "Now Emma, you're sure everyone is on here?"

"Yes, even those who, unfortunately, are dead."

"Very well. I trust you." Regina smiled at Emma, somewhat proud of her for considering details for once, and glanced back down at the list. Her eyes began skimming the page quickly up and down, searching for something; her brows shifted into a questioning scowl. Deciding that Mary Margaret was taking too much time to look over the list, she jerked it away and flipped through the remaining pages.

"What is it Regina, who's not there?" Regina cut her eyes at Emma, who was moving beside Regina to look at the list with her.

"Kathryn. Princess Abigail." Regina's voice dropped to barely above a whisper. "She left town after Mary Margaret was framed for murdering her or after the curse broke. I'm not exactly sure when. She was the closest thing I thing I had to a friend during those awful years of the curse. And I was so preoccupied with killing you that I . . . forgot her. Forgot about her. Until now." Regina propped against the front of her desk and let her posture slide. A tense silence filled the room.

Unsure of what to say or do, Emma reached and put her hand on Regina's back. She watched her friend and softly whispered, "Regina, you are not that person any more. So don't let your mind go down that road. And don't worry about Kathryn. I'm on it." Emma squeezed Regina's shoulder then left the room. She was followed only by the stares of Robin, David, Mary Margaret, and Regina.

As always, Emma delivered. Kathryn Nolan was discovered to be living in Cambridge, Massachusetts, and was, as she planned, attending law school. Although Emma's initial impulse was to go to Cambridge and convince Kathryn to come to Storybrooke, she knew that Kathryn would have no memories of neither her nor Regina. Never mind be willing to get into a car with her and come to an all but imaginary town. No this plan needed more finesse, so Emma took her findings to Regina.

Emma stood at the door to 108 Mifflin street. She had knocked twice with no answer. She pulled out her phone and scrolled through her contacts. Kid—Send. The phone rang three times before Henry answered. "Ma?"

"Hey kid. Are you home?"

"Yeah. What's up?"

"Can you come let me in? I've been outside the front door for going on ten minutes. I'm starting to feel a little awkward." Emma could hear Henry's foot steps hurrying down the stairs through the phone. She waited for a 'Henry do NOT run in the house!' to come from the background, but it never came. Instead, her phone beeped indicating that Henry had ended the call. She slipped her phone back into her jacket pocket just as the door was opening. "If I had to wait another five minutes, I was going to break down the door. I was beginning to get worried." Emma crossed the threshold in the the Mills's foyer.

"Oh. I was playing a game online and had on my headset. I must not have heard you."

"And what about your mom? Is she here?" Emma's eyes scanned the area behind Henry for any signs of life from her friend. Henry glanced behind him and lowered his voice.

"She's not been herself today. She is not taking the news well." Henry gave Emma a look that she could only assume she was supposed to understand. But she was clueless. "Want something to drink, Ma?"

"Sure. And fill me in, what news?"

"You haven't heard?"

"No. I've been hard at it trying to track down Kathryn Nolan for your Mom. I've maybe slept four hours the past few nights let alone had time for socializing."

"You and Ma are so much alike. When you have something to do, you're full speed ahead until you're finished. Would you like me to make you coffee?" Henry pointed to the Keurig.

"No thanks, Kid. Water is fine." Henry opened the fridge, grabbed a bottle, and tossed it to Emma who eyed it suspiciously. Young Artesian Water. What does young artesian water even mean? Thinking it wise not to scoff at the pretentious water, Emma turned her attention back to Henry. The two pulled up bar stools side by side. Turning her body slightly inward to face her son, Emma asked, "So what is the news?"

Henry eyed the door to the kitchen before answering barely above a whisper: "Robin and Zelena eloped today."

"What the… Are you serious right now? He and your mom only JUST ended things like… a week and a half ago!"

"A week and two days ago, if we are being technical. And I am dead serious. Robin asked Mom to watch the kids for a couple of hours. Roland hasn't done well with their break up, so Mom couldn't say no even if it meant keeping Spawn too."

"Spawn?"

"Of Satan…" Emma laughed. Zelena and Robin's daughter fit the title to a T. "So she was expecting Robin to come back and pick the kids up around two o'clock, and we he did, Zelena was with him. You can imagine how the rest went down—Zelena's boastful hubris kicked in."

"And Regina's Evil Queen kicked in? Right?" Emma interrupted.

"Actually. Not at all. Like, at all, at all. Her face never faltered. She congratulated them, told them when Spawn was last fed and changed. Then she hugged and kissed Roland goodbye, and said she would see her favorite nephew—she added the extra emphasis to that word—again soon."

"And just like that they left? So where is your mom?"

"Well, she left, she said something about taking flowers to the mausoleum. She was gone for about three hours. She came home, ran a bath, and now we are here." As if on cue, Regina walked through the kitchen door. She walked in with her usual, regal demeanor. Her disposition contrasted sharply with her attire. She was in her silky robe that fell a little bit above her knees, and Emma was pretty sure that robe cost more than her signature leather jacket. Regina was without make up, and the ends of her hair were wet.

"Henry. Why didn't you tell me we had company?" Regina made an attempt to show a little modesty. But then she figured the damage is done, and it is only Emma, who she saw in her underwear only after knowing her a few short hours. This moment was probably not the last they would see each other in less than regular daily attire, and at that moment, Regina found comfort in the thought.

Yes, Emma was a thorn in the side, especially during her Dark One days. But Emma was a thorn in the side that Regina had grown accustomed to having. She was part of the Mills' family structure. Though Regina would never breathe a word of it to Emma or Henry, Emma was the final straw between herself and Robin, who didn't see it fair that Emma spent so much time with Regina and Henry while the mother of his child, Zelena, was often cast out. Though in retrospect, there may have been more to it since Robin had wasted no time marrying Zelena after their final discussion of parenting roles. But now was not the time to continue thinking about that—so Regina reached up and applied pressure to the area between the bridge of her nose and her brow and counted backward from five.

"Well, I am going to go back upstairs to my game. I think Emma really wanted to see you anyway, Mom."

"No need to rush off, Kid. But I'll come see you and say goodbye before I leave." Emma fist bumped Henry on his way out of the kitchen.

"So, Emma. You wanted to see me?" Regina asked as she made her way over to her wine rack and selected a bottle. She reached into a cabinet and got down two glasses. Emma made a conscious effort to avert her eyes from the skin on the back of Regina's legs that was newly revealed from beneath the robe as the brunette reached for the wine glasses. But Emma had failed miserably, enjoying the sneak peak of the area just below Regina's bottom. Emma regained her composure as Regina retrieved her corkscrew from a drawer and went to work. She didn't bother to ask Emma if she wanted wine; she knew Emma would decline—Emma was visibly tired, but she poured it anyway. Regina handed both glasses to Emma. "Go to the den, I will meet you there. I'll only be a minute."

Emma did as she was told. She went to the den, and without being asked, opened a drawer of an end table, pulled out two coasters, and placed the wine glasses on the coasters. Even though the wine was room temperature and there was no chance of leaving condensation rings, Emma watched Regina enough times to know that the coasters were a must.

While Emma continued to wait, she pulled out her phone, opened Pages, and opened the file on Kathryn that she created and saved to iCloud. She began reviewing the facts, and rehearsing in her mind how she would present her plan to Regina. She heard the sounds of Regina's footsteps approaching, and she looked up to see Regina walking toward her with the bottle of wine she opened in the kitchen. Emma's gaze was greeted by dark-wash jeans, a black t-shirt, and flats. Regina's casual wear always baffled Emma. If the roles had been reversed, Emma dared say that she would not have made the effort to change into jeans and shirt: joggers and a camisole it would most likely be.

But for Regina, this was letting her guard down. No make up on her face. Hair now pulled back in a loose ponytail. Honestly, Emma had no clue that Regina even owned jeans and a t-shirt until after she had been around for almost two years. Only recently had anyone besides Henry seen her like this.

Regina sat the bottle of wine down on the table between the two glasses and sat at the opposite end of the couch from Emma. She crossed her legs elegantly and angled herself toward the blonde. "Look, Emma, if you're here about—"

Emma cut Regina off before she could go any further "Kathryn. I am here about Kathryn." When Kathryn's name fell off of Emma's lips instead of Robin or Zelena's, Regina's eye brows shot up in surprise. As soon as they did, though, they fell back into a different expression one of interest. Regina relaxed. "I honestly didn't even know about—the other—until Henry told me. If you want to talk about that, you know I'll listen. But I am here about Kathryn." When Regina first met Emma, and even when she really started letting her into her life, Regina was made uncomfortable by Emma's thoughtfulness and level of care. To be completely honest, it scared the daylights out of her. Sometimes it still does.

Initially, on hearing Emma's words, the only word that Regina could form was "Emma." But rather than letting that fall from her lips, she reached for her wine glass and took a sip. After that one sip, the mayor was all business. "Then let's switch gears for now. What do you know?"

"Kathryn is a law student at Harvard. She's living in Cambridge and appears to be engaged to a man possibly named Royce." Emma said the name Royce with a bit of questioning in her tone but continued, "She recently adopted a golden retriever, and she is training for a half marathon coming up at the end of the year."

"Well done Emma. Have you attempted to make contact with her?"

"No. I thought that might not be a good idea considering she probably has no memory of this place. And to be honest, having been in her position—twice— this place sounds ridiculous."

Regina laughed. "For once, you're not being an idiot. What do you suggest we do?"

"Well, what I suggest we do, might require some help. And we may not be able to do it until we actually get the portal open. I'm not sure. But when Killian came to New York to bring me and Henry back, he gave me a potion. The same one that Leroy used on Mr. Clark. And that Gold used on Belle—"

Emma was cut off, "Let's get to the point, this vial's contents are depleted."

"Right. And the last time we tried to recreate the potion—"

Regina cut Emma off again, "It was destroyed by my sister."

"Right. So where does that leave us?"

"Well, it leaves us further along than where we began. There are different kinds of memory potions. The one I made before is the quickest, but I used the last of some of the ingredients in the brew that Zelena sabotaged. I know of one that takes 18 weeks. I will have to reference a book, but I believe that I will have everything I need for it."

"Want to check?" Emma raised her brow in question.

"Sure. I'll only be a few moments." Regina took another sip of wine, sat her glass down and disappeared in a cloud of smoke. Emma, against her better judgement, took two long sips of her wine; she knew that she was running on little sleep. The wine would only exacerbate her exhaustion. But she didn't let the fact that Regina brought the bottle to the den go unnoticed. She had planned on talking and unloading. Emma planned to listen. She planned to entertain Regina, if that was what she wanted. Judging by the scene in front of her, she knew that may not, in fact, be what Regina wanted, but it was what Regina needed.

After several minutes passed, Emma went up the stairs to Henry's room. She knocked quietly to get his attention before entering. She heard him speak into his headset, "Give me a minute guys. Parent present. I'm gonna keep playing but I need to mute the mic. I can still hear you though." Then he reached up, pushed a button on the headset. "You think Mom's okay?"

"She will be Henry. We haven't talked about that. I really just came to talk to her about Kathryn. With the plan to go back to the Enchanted Forest, we are having to account for everyone. We found Kathryn, but I needed your mom's help to track her down."

"Oh. Okay."

"Yeah. I think your mom wants to talk though."

"About Robin?"

"Yeah. She assumed that's why I came over."

"Oh."

"Look, if she does talk to me, don't ask a lot of questions. I don't want to lie to you or withhold any truths, but I need to maintain her confidence. She needs that right now."

"Yeah. I get that. Kind of like when I talk to you about girls and stuff."

"Right. But don't worry about her. She's going to be fine."

"I trust you."

"Okay. Get back to your recon there."

"Alright." Henry pressed the button on his headset again, and as Emma turned away she heard him say, "I heard all of that you dick. Besides it was Emma." While Emma knew she should probably scold him for his language, she figured he got enough of that from Regina. Which in turn meant his buddies gave him a hard time about his good-boy image. If calling his buddies 'dicks' was the worst thing that he says or does, he was going to turn out just fine.

When Emma returned to the den, she found that she was still alone. So she sat back down. Sipped her wine, and checked her phone. She saw that she received a text from Regina while she was talking to Henry. I had to go to the Lair. I think Mal may have the book I am looking for. Emma chuckled. Not just because of Regina's use of her term for Mal and Lily's home, but Emma also chuckled because Regina's texts are something that had taken some getting used to. Always perfectly punctuated, always grammatically sound, and never any 'colloquial nonsense.' No, there was never any mistaking Regina's texts.

Knowing Mal, and her tendencies to retain Regina for longer than necessary, Emma slid her boots off, tucked her legs underneath her and relaxed into the pillows on the sofa. This was not something she had done before, so she hoped it was in accordance with Regina's rules… And that thought is where Emma drifted off. She was awakened forty minutes after receiving the text from Regina by the feeling of a blanket being laid over her body. The room was dark, but she could make out the shadowed figure putting the blanket over her, ensuring her feet were adequately covered. Her sleep-addled brain could only register one thought, 'not Henry.'

"I am sorry Emma, I didn't mean to wake you. You looked tired earlier. I thought I would just let you sleep."

Emma tried to open her tired eyes, but was unable to for more than a second. She mumbled in her sleepy voice, "It's okay. Did you find what you needed? Want to finish our talk?"

"Yes I did. Just get some sleep sleep for now. We can talk over breakfast. I put any items you may need in the half-bath down here." Regina leaned down to pick up the wine glasses and bottle, but as she did, she couldn't resist pushing a stray lock of blonde hair off of Emma's forehead.

"Thanks R'gina," Emma muttered as she drifted back to sleep.