Henry was on the bus to Maine. Once he arrived his mom, Regina, would pick him up and together they would be starting a whole new operation. Henry had been thinking of code names the whole journey but he couldn't quite think of something that would fit. Really it was almost like operation cobra all over again except Henry didn't really think his mom, Regina, was evil anymore and Emma was going to be much harder to convince this time around. Henry felt slightly guilty when he thought of his mom, Emma, back home in New York. Which really wasn't home but again, that was not going to be easy to explain. As the bus pulled up Henry ran straight towards his mom who was leaning against the car waiting for him.
"Mom! I thought I would never see you again." He muffled into her jacket as he almost tackled her to the ground with his hug. Regina held on tight she couldn't quite believe she had her son back in her arms.
"Well dear, to be fair you only remembered me a few days ago." Henry looked up and saw tears in his moms eyes.
"Yeah well… I knew something was missing, I just didn't know what it was till then."
They spoke the whole way home to Storybrooke. Henry recalled drinking his hot chocolate and how everything came back to him after he finished the last drop. There was nothing left for Emma and he assumed that whoever had cast a spell or used a potion had been trying to give Emma her memories back. It would have been a damn sight easier to have Emma remember and get back to Storybrooke than it was going to be for Henry.
"I only have this weekend mom, we have to come up with a plan to get me back here with Emma and make sure she remembers."
"Yes Henry, I know. Although The memories I gave you both were robust. There aren't really any loopholes here. There are no long lost relatives, you weren't adopted… The only thing I can think of is her parents."
"Yeah I can't imagine Emma reacting all that well if Gran and Gramps sprung up and said hi you see how we're pretty much the same age? Well surprise we're your parents!" Regina and Henry both giggled until the severity of the situation sunk in.
"will we manage mom? I don't want to have to stay in New York without you now that I remember." Henry looked crestfallen, "and I don't think I could stay here without Emma either."
"Don't worry dear, I can assure you that this little curse will not get the better of us. We'll get Emma back here and then we'll remember why we're back here in the first place." Regina was glad for that second that Henry had not inherited his birth mothers lie detecting skills, because at that point she had no idea how to sort everything out.
Henry was overjoyed to be back in Storybrooke and with his Gran and Gramps. He hadn't left David and snows side since he and Regina had arrived at the apartment.
"So Emma thinks you are away on a study weekend with school?" Snow asked, rubbing her pregnant tummy.
"Yeah so I have to go back tomorrow. You guys really can't remember why you're back?" Henry was sticking into his sandwich with gusto as Regina looked on.
"That's about the jist of it kid. No idea if we made it back or not… But we must have for… Well you know" David awkwardly gestured towards Snow who blushed red. Henry thankfully seemed oblivious of his grandparents embarrassment.
"And no one knows how I remember all of a sudden? No ideas who cast the spell or put a potion in the drink that day?" Every one shook their head.
"Mom, if Emma was to come back here could you undo the memories that you gave her? Could you make her remember?" Regina sighed.
"I've been thinking about this since you called Henry. I think a potion is the only way. The spell I used was all about false memories, I don't think there's anything I could do to bring memories back. I even hoped I could maybe replace the false memories with actual memories of the past but when I was reading, everything implied that as long at the spell was active it couldn't be changed or altered."
Snow placed a hand on Regina's shoulder and Henry couldn't help but smile at the uncomfortable grimace on his moms face.
"We need to get Emma here. I think mom was on the right lines in the car on the way here. The only 'in' that we have is Emma's parents." He pointed to Snow and David.
"And unfortunately as Henry pointed out in the car, there is no way for us to explain to
Emma that her long lost parents are living in a town close to where she was found by the side of the road and just happen to be almost the same age." Everyone was silent.
"How comfortable are you all with lying?" Regina suddenly asked. Everyone looked concerned.
"Calm down, the Evil Queen isn't about to appear." Regina gripped her hands tightly as she continued. "I just meant… It's not really the right thing to do, but we could get her here with a little white lie?"
"What sort of a lie?" Asked David moving even closer to Snow.
"How would you feel… About being sisters for a while Mary Margaret?"
Snow looked throughly confused.
"How would being your sister get Emma to Storybrooke Regina?"
Henry again stifled a grin as his mom did her signature eye roll and sighed.
"Not me for crying out loud.. Contact her. Explain that you knew your parents had another child and you knew she was abandoned. You've spent years trying to track her down and now you think you finally have. Invite her to town to get to know each other as sisters before your new arrival gets here. I'm sure being who you are you can come up with a suitable sob story that will tug at the heart strings of Miss Swan.."
"B…but none of that is true Regina. What if she sees right through me?"
"As much as it pains me to tell you this… I'm sure you will not fail. You have an uncanny knack of getting things to go your way. It infuriates me."
Snow let out a breath.
"Okay, I'll write a letter tonight. Come back tomorrow and we'll send it."
"Mom can I stay with you tonight? I know I was living here before but, I'd just like to be with you tonight is that ok?" Regina smiled a genuine smile.
"Of course, your room is just how you left it. Let's go, we'll see your grandparents tomorrow."
"Breakfast at granny's?" David suggested as he opened the door for them to leave.
"Yeah Gramps! That sound great. See you there. We can discuss Operation Octopus."
"Operation octopus?" David asked ruffling Henry's hair "where'd you think up that code name?"
"Well… We have a lot to fix and do and the octopus has a lot of legs. It was either that or centipede but they are gross." Everybody laughed at Henry's screwed up face.
Snow called Regina back before she could head for the door. David and Henry were still chatting animatedly about animals with lots of limbs.
"You know Regina I never thought I would see you helping to get Emma back here and into our lives. This must be hard for you." Snow had that annoying soppy mothering look on her face which almost made Regina roll her eyes again.
"I'm doing this for Henry. He needs his mother as much as I am loathed to admit it."
"Still, it's nice to have you on the same side Regina, who knows we might even make a good team." At this remark Regina did roll her eyes.
"Just because I'm not the 'evil queen' now doesn't mean I've gone soft dear." And with that Regina and Henry left the apartment.
"So… You still think the evil queen is in love with our daughter?" Asked David as he sat next to Snow on the couch.
"Yes I do David. I thought it before the day at the town line when she left and now I am almost positive."
"Well then, Henry was right. Operation Octopus does have a lot of legs. Let's just hope the whole thing doesn't blow up in our faces."