hey there! this is probably/maybe going to be a quick two shot. it's mostly about neal, regina, and cora and their different relationships. i think that neal and regina have quite a bit in common and they could probably be friends. i also think that while regina is trying to be better for henry, cora could try to do the same for her. reviews are most certainly welcome! :)
"Baelfire."
Neal turned around to see his son's adoptive mother standing in the doorway. "It's Neal, actually."
Regina nodded. "Neal, then. I've come to ask for your help."
"My help? What do you need me for?" Neal looked warily at the brunette. Both Emma and his father had warned him about the former Evil Queen, so he wasn't sure if her motives were good or bad.
"I need you to help me get my mother out of town before she goes after your father." Regina watched his expression, which quickly became shocked.
"Why do you want her out of town?"
"Because she won't have magic outside of Storybrooke. I can't allow her to kill Rumple and become the Dark One." Regina looked down at her hands before looking back up at him. "Despite all that she's done, I still love her. I think you of all people should understand that."
Neal nodded slowly. His relationship with his father was incredibly complicated. He was never sure if he could forgive his father, but at the same time he loved the man who raised him despite all he had done. So he knew how Regina felt. Magic had corrupted his father just as it had done to her mother. "How am I supposed to help? I don't have magic. From what Emma told me, she's incredibly powerful."
"Fairy dust. I can't touch it, but I can get you close enough to use it on her. Once she is immobilized, you can help me get her into the car and I will take her there."
"Alright. I'll help you. But what will you do once she realizes your plan? She might not have magic, but you can't keep her away forever."
"If I can be better for my son, she can be better for me. It will be difficult, but if she truly loves me than we can do this."
"You aren't coming back?" He asked in surprise.
Regina gave him a small smile. "No. The temptation of magic is too strong here. The only way we can be better is to move away from it."
"What about Henry? I know that he is mad at you now, but maybe someday he can forgive you."
"Maybe. But for now, he has you and Emma. As much as it hurts me to admit this, he is happier with you. Perhaps when he is older he can spend weekends with me."
"He will. You took care of him when Emma couldn't. He is your son too, despite what everyone in this town thinks."
It was Regina's turn to look surprised. "I-thank you. Everyone else seems to believe that my adoption of Henry was just another plan to hurt Snow. But that's not true. I do love him."
Neal nodded. "I know. If you didn't care about him, he wouldn't be such a good kid. Parents that don't care about their children don't spend any time on them. Trust me, I spent a lot of time in the foster care system. I've seen a lot of parents that don't care and you aren't like them. My father couldn't give up magic for me. If you are going to do that for Henry, I know that you love him more than anything. And because of that, I'm going to help you do this. I want you to continue being a part of Henry's life."
Regina looked as if she was going to cry. She closed the distance between them and hugged him. Neal was caught off guard, but he returned the hug after a moment. She let him go and wiped the tears away. She looked embarrassed at her outburst as she stepped back.
"Thank you. Make sure Henry keeps his table manners, alright? I'd hate to see all of my hard work wasted." She joked.
Neal laughed. "I will. Good luck, Regina." He held out his hand and she shook it. "I'll get the fairy dust and you let me know when to meet you, alright?"
"Alright." Regina gave him a smile before leaving the way she came.
Neal took a deep breath. Clearly, the woman was not the same Evil Queen that August had warned him about so many years ago. He wondered if his father could change too. He decided to try to give him a chance. Hopefully someday Henry could follow his example and forgive the woman that raised him. Neal grabbed his jacket before heading out the door to find Emma. She would know how to find fairy dust here.
Emma shouted into her phone as she and Neal raced through the small streets of Storybrooke.
"What do you mean Cora and Regina have the dagger? We have to stop them before they get to Gold."
She listened to her father on the other side of the line before agreeing and hanging up. She looked at Neal. "I can't believe you are helping her."
"She isn't going to kill my father." Neal said as he clutched the bag of fairy dust. "She doesn't want Cora to do it either."
"How can you be sure?"
"Because I trust her. We have a lot in common. We both want to save our parents from magic. I honestly don't know if my father can change, but if she has a chance of having a happy ending with her mom, then I want to help."
They turned the corner to see Cora standing across from Gold. He had his hands in front of him, but his eyes didn't leave the dagger in her hands. Regina was standing next to her mother and she looked up to see Neal and Emma's arrival. Charming stood just in front of the two newcomers. He was trying to talk Cora into leaving the Gold alone.
It was clear that Cora wasn't paying the prince any mind. Regina moved to stand closer to Gold. She held up her hand to quiet Charming as she focused on her mother. "You don't want to do this. Taking his power won't make you happy."
"Regina, he can kill our enemies, remember? Then you will have Henry back and we can be a family. We will be happy." Cora stroked her daughter's cheek.
Regina reach up to grab her mother's hand. She held it against her face. "It doesn't matter any more. We can move on from this. As long as we are together, we can be happy. We don't need this power."
Cora smiled before shaking her head. "We can be together and be the most powerful in all the worlds. I'm sorry, dear." She flicked her hand and sent Regina flying. She landed unmoving next to her car.
Neal's eyes grew larger. He looked back and forth between Cora and her unconscious daughter. He slowly moved forward, but stopped when he felt Emma's hand on his arm. He looked back at her as she shook her head no.
Cora turned her attention back to Gold. "Are you ready to die, Rumple?"
"If you do this, you will loose your daughter for good. Trust me, that is worse than anything." Gold glanced at his son. "You will regret it for the rest of your life. Which will be a long time if you become the next Dark One."
Neal gave him a small smile to let him know he understood the apology in his statement. He still wasn't ready to completely forgive him, but if Cora succeeded in killing him, this might be his last moments alive.
Cora gave him a cold smile. "My daughter needs me. I'm all that she has left."
"Yes, well you made sure of that, didn't you?"
"She had to learn that love is weakness. She is incredibly powerful. How else would she have survived taking in the curse you placed on the well? It was designed to kill whoever came through, but yet she took all of it. If she let go of the silly belief that love is important, she could rule all the worlds. Someday, she will thank me. But first, I will get rid of you."
She raised the dagger and brought it down forcefully.
"No!" Regina appeared to stand in front of Gold.
Her face changed to one of pain as she looked down to see the dagger in her chest. Cora gasped in surprise as she realized what she had done. She caught her daughter as she started to fall. She carefully put her on the ground and shook her head in shock.
"Regina, I'm sorry!" Cora quickly pulled the dagger out and moved her hand over the wound that was bleeding profusely. It wasn't healing. She looked up at Gold, who was frozen. "Rumple, you have to help her! Please, I can't heal her."
He slowly shook his head. "Magic isn't going to heal her."
Charming knelt next to her. "We need to get her to the hospital."
He picked her up carefully. Regina moaned in pain as he moved her. She put her hand on his chest.
"No." She shook her head.
"What? Regina, we have to get you to a hospital now." Charming asked.
"No, just leave me alone." Regina's eyes fluttered closed.
Cora stepped closer to David. She grabbed Regina's hand. "You'll die, dear."
"I know. And this time, Snow won't be here to stop me." Regina gave her a pained smile.
"No, I won't let you die. I love you, dear. I'm so sorry for everything I've done. I can't lose you now." Tears ran freely down Cora's face as she held the hand of her dying daughter. "I'm going to get you to a hospital now."
Cora grabbed Charming's arm and transported the three of them to the hospital's ER. Dr. Whale and a few of the nurses looked up in surprise as they noticed them appear.
Charming moved to put Regina on a gurney. "Dr. Whale, we need your help. She was stabbed. You have to save her."
Cora grabbed Regina's hand and held on tightly as the nurses moved into action around them. Charming stepped back, realizing that he could only be in the way.
"Mother, you have to promise me that you won't do this anymore. Power means nothing if you lose everything to get it. Neal can help you survive outside of Storybrooke. The temptation of magic won't be there anymore."
Regina groaned in pain as the nurses started pushing the gurney to the nearest operating room. Cora followed next to her without letting go of her hand. "I'll do anything you want if you are okay. You have to be okay."
Regina smiled and wiped the tears from her mother's face. "I love you."
Dr. Whale put his hand on Cora's arm. "I'm sorry, but this is as far as you can go. Your daughter is in good hands."
Cora nodded slowly and let Regina go. She watched as the doors shut behind her daughter. "I love you too." She whispered to herself.
Perhaps Regina was right. Power would mean nothing if she couldn't have her daughter.