Strangers
This was all too much for Emma. The son she had given up for adoption ten years ago had shown up on her doorstep claiming to live in a town full of fairy tale characters. As they walked up the path to the Mayor's house – because Henry was apparently the Mayor's kid, how crazy was that? – Emma found herself wondering if this was all just a really vivid dream.
"I don't have parents," Henry insisted. "Just a mom, and she's evil!"
But the woman who came running down the steps of the mansion to embrace her son didn't seem evil to Emma. She just seemed relieved to have her son back and – as Henry stormed off into the house claiming that he had found his "real mom" – shocked and hurt.
"You're Henry's birth mother?"
"Hi," said Emma awkwardly. This was a conversation she had never planned to have.
"How would you like a glass of the best apple cider you've ever tasted?"
Peace Offering
A knock on the door startled Regina, making her flinch and sending the apple cider she was pouring all over the counter instead of into the glass. Grabbing a towel to soak up the mess, she stalked toward the door, wondering who would dare to disturb the Evil Queen. When she opened the door, the woman waiting for her on the porch took her by surprise.
"Ms. Swan."
"Hi."
"Are you here for a reason, or did you just come to annoy me?" Regina snapped.
Emma smiled awkwardly.
"Actually, I wanted to say thank you."
"What?" Regina blurted out, genuinely surprised.
"Henry told us what you did," said Emma. "If you hadn't gotten rid of that curse on the well, Mary Margaret and I would never have gotten through alive. So I guess that means we owe you."
Regina shrugged.
"I didn't do it for you," she admitted. "I did it for Henry."
"I know. But you still did it. And, listen, we're going to have a welcome home party at Granny's tomorrow night. If you wanted to come, you'd be welcome to."
"Would I?" asked Regina, raising an eyebrow skeptically. "I don't think many people in this town would be happy to see me there."
"Well, screw them," said Emma, crossing her arms. "You saved us, and I'm inviting you."
Emma turned to leave, but Regina called out after her: "Emma, wait. I was just about to pour myself some apple cider, if you'd like to stay."
Emma looked at Regina for a long moment, probably wondering whether the cider was poisoned.
"It's not," said Regina.
"Not what?"
"Poisoned. Henry would never forgive me if I killed you."
Emma laughed as if it was a joke, but Regina had been completely serious.
"All right then. I could use a drink."
"Our Son"
Regina sat a little ways away from the camp, leaning against the trunk of a tree. She was sipping on some kind of drink as she watched their latest recruit, Tinkerbell, from across the little clearing. Emma caught herself staring, wondering how anyone could possibly look so regal sitting in the dirt in the middle of the jungle. But then again, it was Regina. She was many things, but Emma had never seen her fail to act like a Queen. Emma could also tell, though, that Regina was hurting. She knew her well enough to see the pain written into the lines of her face and the movements of her body.
Emma sat down beside her, careful not to startle the other woman.
"What is that you're drinking?" Emma asked.
Regina laughed. "What do you think?"
Emma took a long sniff and recognized the familiar scent.
"Apple cider. Of course. How'd you get that out here?"
Regina smiled and waved her hand, and another glass of cider appeared on the ground in front of Emma. She picked it up carefully and took a sip, savoring the flavor.
They sat in silence for a moment before Emma spoke again.
"Tell me about Tinkerbell," she said. "What did you really do to her?"
Regina shook her head.
"I'm not going to judge you," said Emma. "I already know what you used to be like, and …"
"I know," said Regina. "But I don't want to talk about Tinkerbell. It was a long time ago, and it doesn't matter now anyway. All that matters is Henry."
Emma nodded. She felt the same way.
"We're going to save him, Regina," she said. "You know that, right?"
Regina didn't meet her eyes.
"Your mother is rubbing off on you," she said darkly. "I don't want a hope speech. I want our son back."
Emma smiled and put a hand on Regina's arm. Our son. It was a new idea for both of them, but in the past days it had become more and more the truth. Out here in the jungles of Neverland, it didn't matter that they had once been enemies. They weren't the Savior and the Evil Queen here. They were just two mothers fighting to save their son.
Memories
Emma paused. A bottle of apple cider caught her eye, and for some strange reason, she felt a sense of déjà vu. But that was crazy. Apple cider meant nothing to her. Still, she put the bottle in her cart. She had just caught a particularly evasive bail-jumper, and it wouldn't hurt to treat herself. Later, as she drank a glass of it, alone in her apartment after Henry was asleep, Emma couldn't shake the sense that something was missing. The cider tasted wrong somehow.
Far away, in the Enchanted Forest, Regina sat at her window, dressed in an elaborate black gown, drinking a glass of apple cider. Her thoughts lingered on Henry, as they always did, but as the familiar taste burned in her throat, she found herself also thinking of Henry's other mom. The memory of a blonde in a leather jacket sat beside her, drinking apple cider.
Magic Lessons
After a day of magic lessons, Emma and Regina sat together in the crypt, a bottle of apple cider and two glasses between them. Emma glanced around furtively, as if expecting something to jump out at her from the shadows.
"You know this place is kind of creepy, right?"
Regina lifted her glass to her lips and took a long sip of cider. Potions and dark artifacts were arranged on the shelves around them. From the room she hadn't let Emma near, Regina could hear the faint echo of dozens of hearts beating. Creepy was an understatement.
"Well, I am the Evil Queen, dear," she replied.
Emma shrugged and took a swig of her drink, still looking a bit nervous despite the half-smile on her lips.
"You won't go dark, you know," said Regina, guessing what Emma was worried about. "You have the most powerful light magic of anyone I've ever met. As long as you hold onto that, you'll be fine."
Emma nodded, relief visible in her eyes. Regina might have once drawn pleasure from the idea of corrupting the Savior, but now it seemed repulsive to her. She knew all too well what it was like to go dark, and to her surprise, she realized it wasn't something she wanted to happen to the woman sitting across from her.
Happy Endings
Regina sat behind her desk in the Mayor's office, staring intently at the storybook. Emma would have been scared out of her wits if Regina had glowered at her that way, but the book just sat there, lifeless and unresponsive. In frustration, Regina slammed it shut.
"Hey, careful with that," Emma said. "You wanna take a break?"
Regina looked up at her with desperation in her eyes.
"I can't take a break!" her voice rose in pitch as she spoke. "If I don't figure out a way to find this author and change his mind, I'll never get my happy ending!"
Emma sat down across from Regina and poured them each a glass of apple cider. She passed one to Regina, ignoring the little flutter in her heart as their hands touched.
"You will have your happy ending," she said. "I made you a promise, Regina, and I'm going to keep it."
Together
Regina opened the door to find a woman in a red leather jacket standing on her porch. For a moment, she was taken back to the first time they had met, two strangers who had no idea the impact they would have on each other's lives, standing on this very same porch.
"Hey," said Emma. "What did you want to talk about that you couldn't say over the phone?"
"Why don't you come inside?" said Regina, beckoning.
Emma grinned and followed her into the house. She collapsed onto the sofa while Regina poured them each a glass of apple cider.
"No poison?" Emma joked.
Regina shook her head. "Of course not."
She sat down next to Emma and took a sip of her drink. Her heart fluttered impatiently in her chest as she watched the other woman. This wasn't going to be easy, and it might all be for nothing. But she had to try. She couldn't let another chance for happiness pass her by.
"So what did you want to talk about?"
Regina began: "Now that this mess with the author is sorted out … it looks like I can choose my own happy ending."
"We all can," said Emma with a small smile, lifting her glass to her mouth.
"I know this may sound crazy, and I know you may not feel the same way. But I also know I'll regret it if I never tell you."
Emma's eyes widened expectantly, and Regina suddenly found it easier to breathe.
"I thought I knew what my happy ending was, but … maybe I didn't. Because when I think about happiness, I think about you, Ms. Swan."
"What are you saying?"
"I think I'm falling in love with you."
She hadn't planned to use that word yet. Maybe ever. But looking into Emma's eyes, it somehow felt right.
Emma breathed in sharply, and for a moment, Regina thought she was disgusted. After all, who would want the Evil Queen's love? But then she realized that the expression on Emma's face was the farthest thing from disgust. Her entire face was lit up by a grin. Regina had never seen her smile so brightly before.
"I don't know if this can even work, but I wanted you to know. If we really can choose our own happy endings, I'd like to take a shot at writing ours together. If that's what you want, too."
Emma wrapped her arms around Regina and pulled her into a kiss. Her lips tasted like apple cider.