A/N: I know this has been done a few times before, but I've been dying to write out the idea of Regina coming to NY at the start of season 3B for a while now. Hopefully I do it some justice. Also, this was going to be a lengthy oneshot, but I figured it would be easier to digest if I broke it up into parts. Also, there are a few lines from season 1 used in some of the dialogue between Emma and Regina and there will be two more chapters after this.

It's there at the spray painted town line that Emma loses and gains everything in a single moment. Pan's curse is upon them and with only one escape plan that will work and save them all, goodbyes have to be said.

Henry's embraced by both of his grandparents while they hug him for what is probably the last time ever, and Emma's already said all of her goodbyes. Expect she hasn't.

Regina waits until the one handed pirate has said what he needs to say and when Emma starts to head for that ridiculous but beautiful yellow Bug, Regina walks over to her. The blonde only makes it a few steps before Regina gently calls her name.

Emma turns and things suddenly get a lot more emotional than either none of them predicted.

"Storybrooke will no longer exist. It won't ever have existed. So these last years will be gone from both your memories…and we just go back to being stories again," Regina tells her with sad eyes and downturned lips.

"What will happen to us," Emma asks as she's hit with not only the wind but a chill brought on by the information she now processes.

"I don't know," Regina honestly admits.

"Doesn't sound much like a happy ending."

Regina mirthlessly laughs, a sad laugh that conveys she agrees how unfair all of this is.

"It's not," Regina tells her. "But I can give you one."

"You can preserve our memories?" Emma looks hopeful, her voice muddled only slightly by the tears building in her eyes.

"No, I can…do what I did to every else in this town…and give you new ones."

"You cursed them and they were miserable," Emma points out, upset and disbelieving that Regina thinks that would be a happy ending of any kind.

"They didn't have to be," Regina smiles, a little awkwardly, but she seems amused by Emma challenging her.

After all, this is the last time they'll be able to stand toe to toe like this. Why not enjoy all the different ways they've interacted since Emma came to Storybrooke—including the ways they learned to better interact because of the trigger and Neverland—in a single, heartfelt farewell.

Regina reaches out and takes Emma's hand in both of hers. The blonde is a little surprised, but Regina moves forward with what she has to say. They've never touched like this and it's a delicate and caring gesture, one Emma's never received from or given to Regina, but it feels right to Regina so she's doing it.

"My gift to you is god memories, a good life for you…" Regina looks over her shoulder and waves Henry over to them, "and Henry. You'll have never given him up."

Emma can't help the tears that fall then. She's taking weak and stunted breaths that sound like little gasps when she inhales and wavering sighs when she exhales.

"You'll have always been together," Regina starts to cry and her words are clipped by her choked back sobs.

"You would do that," Emma breaths out with so much hope and…maybe something else when she stares right at Regina.

"When you cross that town line and escape Pan's curse, you'll have the life you always wanted."

"But it won't be real."

"Well, your past won't, but your future will."

Regina tells them to go. There isn't much time and the thing that matters most now is Emma and Henry's safety. The thick plumes of green smoke loom toward them in the distance and the pain they all feel now won't get any easier to handle the longer they stay on this side of the town line.

Emma wants to say thank you, wants to do something—anything—while she watches Henry hug Regina goodbye. She'll get what she's always wanted and she'll be happy and she'll have Henry, but as she sees what has to be sacrificed to get it she no longer wants it. It isn't supposed to happen like this and she has her parents now and Henry isn't just hers and why is Regina's goodbye more painful for Emma than anyone else's?

I'm sorry, Emma thinks when she looks from Henry to Regina as the two of them pull out of their hug.

Because Emma knows, she remembers, a moment when Regina confesses "Henry is all I have" and "he's everything" and now Emma sees the sacrifice clearly. It's not just what Emma has to give up: her parents, her ex, her pirate. It's what Regina is giving up, giving her.

Henry is Regina's world and he's been the one thing that's made the brunette more hero than villain in recent months. So maybe he's not just her world but her heart too, and she's giving that to Emma. It's her gift to Emma, wrapped up nicely with good memories and the promise of a life Emma has constantly claimed to prefer to living in a fantasy town and on the run from monsters every other week, monsters she's always thought were fictional.

The green smoke roars and rolls nearer.

Emma's hugged and kissed by her parents and then she and Henry get in the car.

Regina breaks the scroll and shoots purple magic into the air while the Bug drives off. Purple smoke is formed and it engulfs the town to counteract Pan's curse. She watches everything she loves leave town, leave her, all the while Emma and Henry look back in her direction for as long as they can.

From their place in the car, they can't see a town. They see a long road that goes on and on where secrets unknown to the rest of this world reside. But they know what's there, what won't be there much longer.

Home.

Oranges and yellows from the street lights paint the roads and give tables and faces in the restaurant an almost golden glow while nightlife in New York rumbles on into the later hours of the evening. Emma's in a black, leather dress that hugs every inch of her and she's free from her latest case now that she's caught the guy and collected the money for bringing him in.

She leaves her coat with a man that greets her at the entrance of the outside dining area for the restaurant she's at and smiles when she sees her date already seated at a table with a lamp shaped like a large, budding rose for a centerpiece. She struts over to the table for two and takes her seat while the man with her coat places it on the back of her chair for her.

"Thank you," she says to the host, and the man nods with a smile in response.

Emma scoots her chair closer to the table and she beams at the man seated across from her. It's his first night off in a month and they've hardly spent any time together in over five weeks. He's been her boyfriend for the last four months and though she's someone that values space, she's missed him. She even tells him as much when he takes her hand over the table and a waiter stops by to fill their wine glasses with a highly recommended bottle of red.

He has dark hair and brown eyes, his facial features a little soft around the edges, and he likes Henry more than any guy Emma's ever dated. Henry likes him too, which is really good because their whole relationship revolves around whether he and Henry can get along, and all three of them know it. It's never been a problem for as long as Gavin's been around and that makes everything easier.

Her last boyfriend Walsh was only in the picture for a couple months, but he did get along with Henry and Henry liked him enough. It just didn't feel right. There was always something missing between them, like a spark. They sometimes finished each other's sentences and they both loved a lot of the same things, but there was no real chemistry there. She called it quits and he wouldn't let it go for some reason. He started stalking her and she didn't even have to bother with a restraining order when she called the cops one night when he'd been belligerent with her while she was coming home from a movie with Henry. That's when Gavin came into the picture.

Gavin was one of the officers that showed up and he punched Walsh when the guy tried to reach around the two cops that stood between him and Emma. Gavin gave her his business card and told her to call anytime, but he wasn't cheesy enough to write his cell number on the back. Even with only his office number, though, Emma found a reason to call him and after three weeks they officially started dating.

It was almost like a modern day fairy tale about a princess falling for a gallant white knight. Until Gavin opens his mouth about fairy tales and then Emma has to disagree with him, but in a cute couple-y kind of way that Henry gags and rolls his eyes at whenever he's around to hear.

Emma invites Gavin back to her apartment after their date and since Henry's inside playing video games, they just sit and talk on the couch.

Henry's sketch book sits on the coffee table next to the second controller. It's filled with pictures of fantasy characters and an unnamed town that Henry's been developing for the last nine months. Emma calls it his baby and she always asks how much closer he is to his due date because it's been nine months and the kid's worked hard on the sketches inside and yet he's never told her when the story will be finished.

As he sits next to Emma on the couch with his eyes focused on his game, Gavin reaches over and picks up the sketches. He sits back and rests it in his lap while Emma takes the second controller and bugs Henry to let her play the game with him. Gavin, sitting on Emma's other side, starts to flip through the book and finds the last place in the book he last saw. He reads through the next few pages that he doesn't recall seeing before and starts to chuckle.

"You're still favoring the Evil Queen, I see," Gavin says and flips through another page.

"Yeah," Henry answers, though most of his attention is on the game that he's finally let Emma in on.

"I think it's cool how you rewrite this stuff because it's genius how you toy with the original stories and give them more meaning, but I've got to say you're taking a lot of creativity. The Evil Queen was not this attractive."

"Who says," Henry asks.

"Uh, everyone knows witches are ugly. Harnessing their magic for evil destroys them, which is why they've always got these warts and things," Gavin explains.

"And you studied the many different kinds of witchcraft to know that's actually a fact while you were busy training at the police academy," Henry challengingly asks.

Emma laughs.

"He's got a point," she says.

"It's in the movie," Gavin argues. "She's after Snow White because the princess is the fairest in all the land and the Evil Queen wants that to be her new title instead."

"I'm not saying Disney or the Grimm Brothers got it wrong," Henry says. "I'm just tweaking the stories to be more…realistic and…up with the times."

"The Evil Queen being drop dead gorgeous and having a kid she adopted from Snow White's daughter without knowing it is more realistic?"

Henry shrugs.

"That's where I took some creative liberties," he casually defends himself.

"I think it makes more sense than to have a woman use magic against a girl just because she covets beauty," Emma pipes up. "That's, like, belittling every argument women have with each other by making it seem like a woman would only target a girl or another woman over vain stuff like looks and boyfriends. At least the kid writes a compelling story about two women fighting over their kid."

"But that's not a fairy tale."

"I said more realistic," Henry flatly repeats, still focused on his game. "But it could be a fairy tale. It's just that no one's really bothered to write it as one before."

"The story isn't even really about magic or curses," Gavin continues. "If you really look at it, it's about two women who both think they're entitled to keep the kid. The rest of the stuff that happens just adds to the birth mother's suspicions and the kid's accusations that his adoptive mother actually is the Evil Queen."

"I think he's got a book series in the making," Emma says. "My son, and up and coming bestselling author. Anyway, why do you always argue about this so much? Fairy tales aren't even real."

"You don't believe in finding Prince Charming or happily ever after," Gavin asks while Emma's attention matches Henry's, both sucked into the game but still able to answer him.

"Happily ever after is just the romanticized ending to a story that gives us hope and something to look forward to, something we hope will happen to us so when our time comes we can look back at our lives and determine whether or not it was all worth it," Emma replies and then takes one of the opposing computer characters down in the game.

She satisfyingly hisses and exclaims with glee about her victory then gets back to more takedowns.

"Alright, alright," Gavin agrees with a smile and a hint of a laugh. "You win. And Henry, it really is great stuff you've got here."

"Thanks," Henry says, and then Emma wraps an arm around his shoulder and ruffles his hair in the middle of the game.

Henry groans and wiggles his way out of her embrace then quickly brushes a hand through his hair from back to front to tame it with minimal effort while his head is still in the video game.

The night ends with no hard feelings and a kiss on the lips that Henry thankfully doesn't see because it's not exactly polite or chaste. Once Gavin's in the hall and the door is shut, Henry wanders back out to the kitchen and Emma goes to grab his sketch book that Gavin returned to the coffee table before they all removed themselves from the couch. She opens it and glances at the pictures from the beginning to most recent.

"Still haven't come up with details in their faces, huh," Emma asks more like a statement.

The only person that has a descriptive appearance is the Savior who looks a lot like her and Emma knows it's because Henry made himself the inspiration for the boy the two women fight over and fight for in his retelling of popular fairy tales.

"In my dreams they don't really give me a lot to go off of. I just know the Evil Queen has dark hair that she lets grow out later."

"You say it like your dreams are memories, like it's a real story."

"It feels pretty real," Henry says. "More real now than it's ever felt."

"Well, I'm glad that you at least have an open mind."

Henry furrows his brow.

"What do you mean," he asks.

"Telling a story about a kid with two moms."

"I might have you to thank for that," Henry smirks.

"Oh, shut up. I dated one woman. One."

"For four months! And she practically lived with us for three of them."

"She was a great girlfriend and you loved her," Emma says.

"She spoke Spanish and you swooned."

"Okay, so she was a great girlfriend and I have a weakness for Spanish speakers."

"Then how come you only date white guys?"

"Because it's… Okay, I have a weakness for Latina women and speaking Spanish is a lovely bonus," Emma corrects. "If I got into all the reasons why, you'd be thoroughly scarred for this life and the next."

"Ew."

"Exactly. So this conversation is over."

"It doesn't matter anyway. I wasn't adopted."

"But it's nice that you can write from that kind of perspective. There are plenty of stories, real stories about real people, about kids with two moms or two dads. And about kids who have a mom and a dad but aren't biologically related."

"Yeah, but the Evil Queen and the Savior aren't together in my story."

"Not yet," Emma smiles.

"What?"

"Oh come on, Kid. It's obvious they're gonna get together at some point. That is your plan, right?"

"It…it isn't."

"Really? Because the Queen and the Savior seem to have a lot going on."

"What?! No. Ew! What?"

"What do you mean 'ew'? Two women can't fall in love?"

"They can. That's not what's weird about it."

"Then what is?"

"It's just… They aren't… They're just two women who share a son. It's innocent."

"So why bother writing about how the Savior uses magic with the Queen and it stops destructive diamonds and eclipses the moon? Or how about when the Savior saves the Queen from the angry mob or when the Savior invites the Queen to dinner when no one else did because she believes in her? Or when the Queen and the Savior look at each other after the Queen says goodbye to her son right before she tries to hold off the diamond's power long enough for everyone to get to safety? And that's not the first time they've looked at each other like that."

"I just… I don't know. They care about each other! They don't…love each other. They can't."

"Why not?"

"Because they aren't there yet."

Emma grins.

"You said yet."

"Well," Henry puffs out a sigh, "maybe one of them starts seeing things differently and then something happens."

"Something like…?"

"I don't know. I haven't dreamed about it yet."

"Are your dreams in the same order as the book?"

"Kind of. Sometimes there are bits and pieces of later moments when I was still piecing together how the Savior met the Queen when they were just Anna and the mayor."

"The Savior looks like me and you named her Anna?"

"I couldn't just name one of the main characters in my story after my mom," Henry scrunches up his face like she should have already understood that.

"Right, because that would be ridiculous."

Henry snatches his sketch book out of Emma's hands and she chuckles.

At eight fifteen the next morning, her alarm goes off right on schedule. She gets up and goes through her regular morning routine of waking Henry then starting breakfast. He waters the plants and then they sit and eat at the kitchen table while they listen to one of several playlists on Emma's phone. The music is turned down so it's more like background noise and it gives them the chance to talk, but fills the silence when they're busy eating or when they run out of things to say.

They clink their mugs of matching hot cocoa with cinnamon and suddenly there's a knock on the door.

"You expecting anyone," Emma asks as she stands.

"No. You think it's Gavin," Henry replies with a question while Emma passes him to get to the door. "Maybe he's here to surprise you."

It's a surprise, alright. It's just not Gavin.

Emma opens the door and on the other side stands a striking brunette with hair that curls at her shoulders. She has olive skin and chocolate brown eyes and for some reason there's a small sense of familiarity festering inside Emma at the sight of her.

"Mom, who is it," Henry calls out.

The other woman stands out in the hall completely shell-shocked with her lips parted and her eyes filled with disbelief and awe. The longer Emma stares at her, the more familiar the brunette feels, but then she remembers what she and Henry talked about the previous night.

Emma grins and looks over her shoulder to address Henry.

"Like you don't know," she says.

"What do you mean," Henry asks and walks up to the door. "Who is she?"

"Nice going, but I can tell when you're lying, remember? You must have called someone."

"What are you talking about," Henry looks genuinely confused, but Emma's still not buying it.

"Did you tell Gavin about my thing for Latinas like we talked about last night? And now he got a friend to show up just to tease me."

"Mom, I haven't talked to Gavin since he was over last night and I seriously don't know who this is."

Emma looks from Henry to the other woman with the brunette's mouth still agape. She's more embarrassed than anything and she flashes the brunette a smile while her cheeks start turning red.

The woman on the other side of the door shakes herself out of whatever trance she's been in and smiles back.

"Hi," she greets. "I'm Regina."

"Hi," Emma responds. "I'm Emma. This is my son Henry and I'm so sorry about all of that."

"Oh," Regina shakes her head, "don't worry about it."

Emma nods and breaths out a small laugh.

Regina stares at Emma a little too long with such expressive eyes and then acknowledges Henry. For a moment, it looks like Regina's about to cry, but she blinks and then looks at Emma like a normal person.

"I hate to bother you," Regina says, "but I just moved in down the hall and I was about to make breakfast when I realized I don't have a lot of groceries. I was wondering if I could borrow some supplies or if you could maybe point me to the closest store?"

"So we're neighbors," is Emma's only reply and Regina nods. "Cool. Um, and you need to know where the nearest store is. I take it that means you're new to the area and not just the building, huh."

"First time in the state, actually."

"Oh, wow. Uh, okay. Well, I think… I mean, are you starving?"

Regina furrows her brow and shakes her head.

"I don't…" Regina trails off, not sure how to respond.

"She gets like this sometimes," Henry speaks up. "She thinks you're attractive so she's getting a little tongue-tied."

Regina's eyes pop almost completely out of her skull.

"Henry!" Emma exclaims.

Regina looks from Henry to Emma and her eyes return to their normal size as a wide grin spreads across her face.

"That's…good to know, I suppose," Regina says, her eyes focused on Emma.

"Sorry, Henry sometimes doesn't have a filter. He also thinks it's funny when he makes me uncomfortable."

"Are you?"

"Am I what?"

"Uncomfortable."

"Oh, I mean, I'm embarrassed beyond belief, but—" Emma stops herself then changes the subject. "You wanted breakfast, right?"

"Right."

"There's one last serving of eggs in the pan if you wouldn't mind our leftovers. It might be faster than going to the store."

"She asked to borrow stuff so she could make her own breakfast," Henry chimes in.

"Ah, right. Yeah, that makes sense. Why would I offer a stranger our leftovers?" Emma nervously laughs. "What do you ned? I'll see if I have it."

"Well, I wouldn't mind the leftovers, if the offer still stands."

Emma smiles, grateful for the reprieve, and nods.

"Yeah, come in for a second."

Regina steps inside and Emma closes the door before she walks ahead of the woman and Henry and heads toward the kitchen. She grabs a plastic container and uses the spatula still in the pan to scoop the rest of the eggs into it.

Henry curiously stares at Regina for a moment and Regina smiles at him.

"Thinking about something," she asks him.

"Sorry, was I staring?"

Regina laughs and nods.

"Henry, are you bothering her," Emma asks as she fishes out a lid for the container.

"No, he's fine," Regina assures.

"You look kind of…" Henry doesn't finish his sentence and just starts staring again.

Regina looks hopeful for a moment, like Henry might know her and admit that she doesn't have to try to find a way around the condition of her counteractive curse.

"Do you know Spanish," Henry asks, and the hope in Regina's eyes dulls.

She gives him a sad smile and answers, "I do."

Henry lights up.

"This might sound really weird, but could you say something to my mom in Spanish? Like a term of endearment or affection or something."

Regina frowns and inquires, "Why?"

"She likes it," Henry deviously smiles up at Regina. "I want to see how she reacts."

Regina grins and waits until Emma walks back toward them before she replies, "That's just cruel, mijito."

Emma freezes in place a few steps away from Regina and Henry with the container in hand, her expression like that of a deer in headlights.

Henry's bursting with joy and Emma licks her lips before she slowly moves to hold out the container to Regina.

"You speak…Spanish?"

"Not often," Regina confesses.

"Uh, well, here's the food," Emma says, a little spaced out and all but making moon eyes at Regina.

"Thank you, querida," Regina says as she takes the container with an alluringly evil smirk.

"Sweet Jesus," Emma exhales.

Henry laughs and Regina looks fondly at him for a few seconds.

"If you still need directions to the store…" Emma leaves the invitation open.

"I'd like that," Regina says and looks at Emma again.

"I'll navigate you through the rest of the area too," Emma offers.

Regina smiles and says, "Thank you."

"I've got a free day today so whenever you're not busy—"

"I just moved in," Regina reiterates. "I have nothing going on today."

"Great. Uh, I'd have Gavin watch you, but he's at work," Emma looks apologetically at Henry.

"No, it's cool. I want to come. I like her," Henry says.

Emma rolls her eyes and then playfully glares at Regina.

"You've made an ally in him. Do I need to be worried about you?"

Regina's chest heaves with a silent gasp. She gives a wavering smile and replies, "Absolutely not."

After Regina has her breakfast in Emma's apartment—taken out of the container and placed on a plate—they walk around the area and Regina sees a small glimpse of the life she's given Emma and Henry. It really is a good life, too. She knew it would be, but every time she hears Henry tell her about one place or another he's truly enjoyed for some reason, she knows she made the right decision a year ago.

Her heart hurts to think they're better off without her, especially because she's been miserable without them. For a while she verbally sparred with Robin Hood and it made Regina feel like she had a small part of her old life back. He acted so much like Emma when the two women first met and the back and forth, though not quite the same, gave her a sense of normalcy. For a time. But it wasn't Emma and she grew bored, tired, and felt a lack of passion between their exchanges. Honestly, she missed the irritating blonde she'd come to share a son with and pair up with in their many times of need. And that was without considering how well their magic mingled and flowed together. Robin doesn't have that and never will.

They arrive at the park and Emma buys them lunch from a food truck, which isn't something Regina approves, but they love it and Regina has to agree that the food is good. She's silent as she sits with Henry and Emma and finishes the rest of their meal, but she must be too quiet because Emma calls her out on it.

"Hey, is everything okay? You haven't really said anything about, well, anything."

"Sorry," Regina smiles as she apologizes. "I guess I'm just taking everything in. There's a lot more to this city than I thought."

Emma laughs.

"New York City is a huge city," the blonde says. "There's always a lot going on here so of course there's more to it."

"I suppose you're right," Regina nods.

"Hey, Mom," Henry speaks up and both women turn to him. "I think I see some friends from school, can I—"

"Yeah, go ahead," Emma permits and Henry smiles before he runs off to a group of kids around his age. "So where did you move here from?"

"Maine. It's a little town that's off the map."

Emma's eyebrows raise with intrigue.

"No one outside of it has ever heard of it, that's how little is it," Regina elaborates.

"Ah. Hence the 'off the map' description."

"Yes," Regina gives a nod and then looks a little nervous and out of place. "So, you and Henry…you do a lot of things together?"

"Yeah. Sometimes he and I are like best friends," Emma glows as she talks about him. "A lot of parents around here would balk at the idea of being friends with their kids, but I didn't want him to grow up the way I did so I spend as much time with him as I can. The older he gets the less time he wants to spend with his mom, but when he's willing I take him around and we make some good memories."

Regina flashes a wavering smile shadowed with pain that Emma thankfully didn't notice.

"Do you have any kids," Emma asks.

Regina hesitates, caught off guard by the question, and starts to stutter a little.

"Uh, yes, but he doesn't live with me."

"Oh, I'm sorry. I shouldn't have asked, right? Sorry."

"No, no, it's okay. Things are…complicated at best, but he's safe and happy and loved and that's all that matters."

Emma nods.

"So we've gone to the store, we've grabbed some coffee, you've seen the park, what else does my new neighbor need before we call it a day?"

Regina tries to chuckle, but she can't. She at least looks normal enough to keep Emma smiling at her. This isn't what she's used to, especially with Emma, but she wants to be good at this. She needs to be good at this if she expects to see Henry again.

"A friend," Regina carefully asks.

"Well, you don't seem like a creep, probably not one to stalk me, Henry's already opened up to you faster than he's opened up to anyone else I know or hang out with so…I'd say you already have two friends."

"Then my work here today is done," Regina jokes, though her statement is very accurate.

Emma smiles again and says, "I don't think that's completely true."

Regina frowns and furrows her brow.

"You got a phone?"

Regina nods and hands it over to the blonde who accepts it with a pleased, maybe amused, expression.

Emma starts typing something into her phone and once she's input whatever it was she typed, she makes a semi-silly face and snaps a picture. Soon after, she gives the phone back to Regina.

"Now your work is done," Emma says.

"What did you do?"

"Gave you my number. Friends typically get each other's number. Send me a text and I can get yours into my contacts."

"And that picture," Regina asks as she goes through the phone and pulls up the photo Emma took.

"You'll probably meet a lot of people in New York, make a ton of friends or at least colleagues you'll have listed in your phone soon enough. Do something like stick your tongue out or kiss the phone's owner on the cheek or something and you're more likely to be remembered."

"How could anyone forget their first friend in a new city," Regina rhetorically asks with a fake smile used to conceal her true feelings about being forgotten.

Emma laughs.

"Believe me when I say it's easy to be forgotten."

Oh, I believe you, Regina thinks as she looks at Emma and then Henry in the distance.

Emma's nice enough to walk Regina to her door and Henry says he's glad she stopped by today because it was one of the best Saturdays he's had in a while. His smile and admission almost brings her to tears and she thanks both of them for making her first official day in the city special.

They say their goodbyes and Regina slowly makes her way inside her apartment, but when Emma and Henry head down the hall and don't look back she stops herself from going any further inside, she waits in the hallway and watches the other two make it to their apartment all the while not knowing who she really is and how much she wishes there was something she could do to remind them. Although, she knows there's a potion she can make so there is something she could do. She just doesn't know if or when she'll be able to follow through with it.

Once they're in their apartment, Regina steps into hers. As soon as the door is closed and locked, Regina sets down her keys and pulls out her phone. A tear escapes her as she opens the picture Emma took and attaches it to a text message. It isn't long after she sends it that her phone rings like she knew it would.

"She's okay," Snow immediately asks the second Regina answers the call.

"Yes. She and Henry are happy and healthy."

"Oh, good. Good," Snow sighs with relief. "How did you get her to take a picture?"

"I didn't. She took it herself when she put her number in my phone. I never even asked."

"You- You have her number?"

"Yes, but you and I both know I can't give it to you."

"She's… You get to see Henry, you get to hear his voice. I want to do the same thing with my daughter."

"I understand, but you're heavily pregnant and have a town to run now. You can't just up and leave to see her and even if you could, what lies would you tell to make sure you don't scare her off? Seeing them, talking to them… It's not much better than your situation."

"I'm sure it isn't easy, but you're there."

"And it kills me every second. They don't remember me, Henry doesn't remember me let alone love me. I did such a great job giving them a life they can love that even if I get through to even one of them about the truth, they probably wouldn't want to come back with me. And why would they? I'm just the woman that lives down the hall and Henry's got friends and Emma smiles a hell of a lot more than she's ever smiled in Storybrooke."

They stay on the phone a little longer and Regina recounts the day she spent with Henry and Emma for Snow's benefit. When they hang up, Regina pours herself a glass of wine she picked up at the store before Emma gave her a tour of the area. She has a few furnishings she had delivered when Storybrooke was rebuilt in the latest curse, knowing she was going to be the one to see Emma and Henry, and she has a few boxes laying around with the flaps open but nothing inside has been removed. It looks like she really did just move in and that's because she did. Her plan was to come to New York and see them, maybe befriend Emma so she could keep seeing them without having to lurk in the shadows. She wasn't sure—still isn't—how long she'll stay in New York, but she'll put up with the pain and the lies and hopefully the occasional visits for however long she can.

She's not sure she'll ever be able to tell Emma and Henry the truth and she'll never be sure if either of them will believe her given the memories Regina gifted them. She's not sure, but maybe one day she'll try. Maybe she'll get them back after all. Maybe, for the first time in a long time, Regina has hope.