Chapter 1

Storybrooke was safe. Everyone was going to live. Emma got to her feet and looked up in time to see Henry being dragged away. She ran after the kidnappers. Unthinkingly, she thrust her arms forward, causing Tamara and Greg to fly some distance ahead.

"Henry!" She freed him from the zip tie and held him tightly. "Thank God you're okay." Regina was already taking care of those fiends with her magic. Emma didn't care about that. She just wanted her son safe. Then she remembered Neal. Neal was dead. Tears leaked from her eyes.

"Mom, what's wrong?"

"Honey, your dad…he fell into a portal…he had gotten shot. He's gone."

"No, it's not fair!" Regina watched the pair grieve for a man she hadn't known.

"You really loved him," the mayor said curiously. It wasn't a question.

"Yes," Emma whispered.

"I'm sorry," she said genuinely. "I…know what it's like to lose someone." She glanced at Mary Margaret, who instantly looked incredibly guilty. She had no time to think about revenge or even her past battles with the whole town. Her only concern was Henry. Since he seemed to be okay, despite just losing his father, her work here was done.

"Henry, do you want to stay with me tonight?"

"No thanks. Emma needs me. I'll come by in a few days." She nodded and turned away, fighting tears. She had been so damn weak lately, so…emotional. Things were less complicated when she felt nothing but the exhilarating anger pulsing through her veins. It cleared her head and anchored her to her life's purpose: destroy Snow White. But now that the curse had failed, Emma had her son, and everyone hated her, there was nothing left in her to try anymore. The Evil Queen was dead. Only Regina Mills remained. She stood alone in the street as people walked around without giving her so much as a glance. She was nothing to them. They would celebrate her death. The wind picked up. She followed its source.

"Regina!" Ruby called, chasing after her. She walked faster. None of them needed her. "Hey, Regina, I need to talk to you!"

"What is it?" she asked impatiently. "I haven't got all day." The truth was, she did, but she didn't want to spend her time with the wolf. It was then that Regina realized this woman looked at her with no hate, at least any she could detect. That alone was enough to keep her interested in whatever that needed to be said.

"Madame Mayor, there's some trouble over in the library with Belle and Hook."

"Hook is back? Why, Ruby?" Nothing happened in this town without her noticing, which meant Captain Hook had his own agenda.

"He's pursuing her, and it looks suspicious. I caught sight of them arguing while headed over to Granny's."

"This concerns me how?"

"Um, well, funny you should ask that…" Before Ruby got the chance to finish, Rumplestiltskin was striding towards them with his ever-present cane. Regina was growing annoyed. She wanted to tend to her apple tree before having a nice dinner alone, like she almost always did lately since Emma's return from the Enchanted Forest.

"What do you want, Gold?"

"I believe what Ruby meant to say was Henry was in the line of fire. Hook got him in the head and he's unconscious. Emma is a little busy attending to business with her parents, so she's unavailable. It looks like it's your turn to be his mother."

"You want to help me?" she asked in disbelief. "Why?"

"Well he's my grandson," he reminded her. "Besides, if you want the people in this town to start caring about you, it's your job to care about them first. After all, you are the mayor."

"Nobody wants my help, Rumplestiltskin," she sneered. "I'm only going in there for Henry. He's the only one who believes in me." She strode off towards the library. The anger felt far too good to be abandoned for frivolous wishes. Love is a weakness, as her mother taught her years ago. She entered the library and found Hook standing over her son. Belle was nowhere to be seen. Out of frustration, she conjured up a fireball and tossed it in the pirate's direction. He easily side stepped it and smirked with that typical swagger of his.

"Whoa, love, calm down a little," Hook said in surrender. "I wasn't aiming for him, I swear!"

"I don't care who you were aiming for," she forced out through the threat of tears. She hoped he didn't notice her poorly concealed emotions. "He's my son, you don't touch him! Now stand aside or I will make sure I hit my target next time." Hook rolled his eyes at her, but obeyed this time. Regina knelt down and examined her unconscious son. Other than a big bruise on his forehead, he appeared to be uninjured. He woke up looking confused. Hook had disappeared, what a typical coward.

"Henry, are you alright?"

"My head hurts. Is Belle okay?"

"I wouldn't know. She's not here, Henry." He tried to sit up, but Regina held him back. "Settle down. You could have a concussion. I should have the doctors take a look at your head." She didn't get the chance to do anything, though, for at that moment there was a painful cry from down the street. It was a noise she was familiar with, but she didn't know whose scream it was this time.

"What was that?" Henry asked. Regina was conflicted. Check out the noise and actually be an acceptable person for once, or stay with Henry and be a good mother? She held her breath and waited for any other signs of trouble, but there was nothing to clue her in on what was happening. Seconds soon turned into minutes. She felt restless for a reason she couldn't fathom. Her body moved without her conscious consent; she was already running out of the library to investigate the fresh crisis. For a moment, she wondered if she had stepped into an alternate reality. The sight of Emma having a breakdown half a block down from where the queen currently stood was foreign. This was so startling and unlike the blonde that she couldn't help but get closer. Before she was able to stop herself, she was kneeling in front of Emma and waiting for her to calm down enough to speak.

"What are you doing here?" Emma demanded through her tears. "I thought you'd be halfway out of Storybrooke with Henry by now. He clearly doesn't want me around now that I lied to him about his father and he lost him all so suddenly." Regina didn't have a reply to this. Instead, she simply helped Emma to her feet. She seemed to have regained some of her composure more out of embarrassment than actual comfort. She'd take what she could get in any case.

"Why don't you join me for dinner?" she found herself asking. Emma stared at her in disbelief for a moment.

"Is there any poisoned apples this time?" Regina looked away in shame. The "savior" was no different from anyone else. "I'm sorry, that was rude," Emma apologized. "You're different now, I can see that. I just didn't realize we were friends."

"You're not the only one who's lost a lover," she reminded grimly, pretending the comment didn't affect her. This friendship thing was already cracking at the clumsily sewn seams. The only question was if she willing to prevent what little remained from falling into nothingness.

"I really…am sorry."

"Save it, and get inside," Regina replied; all her usual sarcasm and bitterness was gone from her worn face. She let Emma enter the house first. The woman's hand brushed slightly against her own. It was warm. She felt an unnatural chill when that brief but accidental contact ceased its presence. She shook it off and let the door shut behind them both. Henry would be fine. She was certain of that. Mary Margaret would probably find him and watch over him for now. It wasn't like he hadn't run off on his own before. Sure, she was worried, but whatever was on Emma's mind was completely taking over any harbored anxiety. She felt anchored, this time by curiosity. She wasn't about to float away like a balloon.

"So, tell me about this Neal," she said conversationally as she poured them both a glass of wine. "What was he like?"

"Not much to tell, except that he was a thief, and I never should have trusted him," Emma responded. "Is that white or red?" she asked, referring to the wine.

"Emma, you should know by now that red is my favorite color," Regina teased lightly as she handed her the glass. "That's why my apples are red, and I like to think of their poison as red, too."

"You know, red is supposedly a romantic color," Emma chuckled. "I read it somewhere. It really…pops, and draws attention to people. It can even be hypnotizing."

"Indeed." Regina felt like the room had gotten warm suddenly. "I should check the thermostat." There was definitely something wrong with her. Emma raised an eyebrow in suspicion. She hadn't tried the wine yet.

"Relax; I don't plan on trying anything. It just feels a little…warm in here." She smiled tightly and approached the thermostat. It was a cool 72o, so there was no way the house should feel this hot. She sighed shakily and went on to make dinner. She was probably stressing herself out, worrying over Henry so much.

In Neverland…

At the same time the events in Storybrooke occur:

"Those fools," Pan said irritably to one of the Lost Boys. "I should've had Henry by now." He paced around the camp. "I will have my revenge! A unique kind of revenge, this won't be any ordinary vengeance. Bring it to me, now, before I lose my patience!" He held the bottle in his hands a moment later, sighing in satisfaction. "I've been working on this for years. I think that it's finally ready. Who's ready to take a little field trip over to Storybrooke, the land where Henry now lives?"

"I will," someone in the shadows spoke up.

"Good," Peter Pan chuckled. "I always knew I could count on you. Here, I need you to take this, and the bottle. Make a portal and toss the dust into the air. Head straight back here when you're done Do you understand?"

"Yes, sir, release the dust and come right back, it's simple enough."

"Of course you do, you always do. Now hurry up. We wouldn't want to keep the fun waiting, would we, Felix?" He laughed wildly as his most loyal companion took off to a safe place for making the portal. It wasn't long before he returned, satisfied with his handiwork.

"Well, Felix?"

"It is done, Pan. The Red Plague will infect everyone. Starting with Regina."

"Fantastic. Now the real fun begins."