My view on what took place following the reunion in the finale. If any of the characters seem OOC keep in mind that most of the characters have been off this half of the season.

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Disclaimer: Not mine.

True Love is Happiness

Will it ever end? I was finally happy for the first time since Daniel. I had my son and a man that I loved. Now it has been ruined. Again. By another Charming, of course. I was such a fool. How does the saying go, like mother, like daughter.

Devastated and unable to watch the happy reunion any longer, Regina left Granny's Diner. She slowly made her way down the sidewalk the way she and Robin had come just a short time before, the tears she had been holding back, sliding down her face like rain on a window. Of all the people for Emma and Hook to bring back from the past, it had to be Marion. It had to be the one person who could ruin everything. Was she not allowed one bit of happiness without it being ripped away?

Pausing, Regina leaned against the building next to her, suddenly blinded by her tears. Unaware of what she was doing, she slid to the ground and pulled her knees up to bury her face in them. Normally she would have waited until she was home to break down but tonight she could not keep it in.

"Regina?" a soft voice spoke as a hand was placed on her shoulder. Snow, of course. No one else cared enough to come after her except Henry and maybe…

"Oh, Regina."

Yep, Tinkerbell was here, too.

Now there was a presence on either side of her. If she were under control, she would have felt crowded and moved away. Instead, she responded to the gentle pressure and leaned against the comforting body of Snow White, her former nemesis and stepdaughter.

After several minutes, she regained control over her waterfall of tears and raised her head. She turned to face the mother. "Shouldn't you be with your family?"

Snow smiled. "I am. Part of it anyway. I had to check on you after I saw you leave."

"I'm fine. Go back to your family."

Without a word, Snow stared at the mayor with an eyebrow raised.

"I'm fine!" Regina insisted stubbornly.

"Regina, you are obviously not fine." Tinkerbell joined the conversation.

"Mind your own business, moth," she snapped, allowing her mask to slide into place.

"Regina." Snow grabbed her hand. "Don't hide. We are just trying to help."

"Just trying to help?" Regina exclaims incredulously, jumping to her feet. "That is all your family ever does and look what happens. Daniel died because you were just trying to help me, the wraith went after me and I was blamed for it because your family was trying to help by locking me up. And now…"

Her voice trailed off as fresh sobs tore through her body. Tinkerbell took her hand and finished the thought. "Now you think you lost Robin because Emma helped Marian." She and Snow had risen to their feet during Regina's rant.

"I did lose him," she whispered brokenly. "He has his wife and Roland's mother back. Not to mention, he will find out she was in my dungeon. Why would he have anything to do with me after that? The Evil Queen who had locked his wife up, at least this version of his wife."

"You two are soulmates. It will work out." Tinkerbell assured her.

"Besides," Snow rejoined the conversation. "He fell in love with Storybrooke's Regina Mills, the former Evil Queen. He's already seen past that and nothing can change that."

"He will not leave his wife." Regina argued. "Why should he? They are married and have a son together. I am just the woman he has been seeing for a few days."

"He loves you," Tinkerbell replied.

"How can he?" she questioned. "I spent most of our relationship without my heart. We never got along in the Enchanted Forest and I had my heart there. How can he love me here without my heart but not love me there with it?"

"Did you love him there?" Snow asked softly.

"No." Regina shook her head as she gave the quiet answer.

"So you fell in love with your thief here in Storybrooke?"

"Yes," she answered hesitantly, unsure of where the younger brunette was going with this conversation.

"You couldn't stand Robin in the Enchanted Forest when you had your heart but you fell in love with him here while Zelena had your heart," Snow repeated back to her carefully, afraid to upset her.

"Yes, we just covered all of that." Regina snapped, impatiently. "What is your point?"

"My point, Regina, is that same one I made the other day at your house. You feel with more than just your heart, you feel with your soul. Because of this, you love with your soul instead of just your heart." Snow reached out and grabbed her stepmother's hands, clutching them tightly. "True love is magic, remember? The most powerful magic of all because it creates…" she trailed off with the hope of Regina finishing the statement.

The former queen did not disappoint. A small smile ghosted across her lips as she breathed out quietly. "Happiness."

Snow nodded. "Were you happy with Robin?"

"Happier than I had been in a very long time."

"It's true love. You were able to love without your heart because you love with your soul and he loved you in return because you're soulmates."

"The two of you were meant to be," Tinkerbell said softly. "It will happen. Maybe not today or tomorrow but it will happen."

"Do you really believe that?" Regina whispered. She wanted to trust what they were saying, felt herself starting to believe but was afraid to give in.

"We do," Snow replied, seeing the fairy nod as well. She watched as the walls came down and hope filled Regina's eyes. She smiled, squeezing her stepmother's hands. Suddenly, she could not resist on little jab at the former queen. "After all, you and Robin will always find each other."