"I distinctly remember her telling you to stay here." Lily said, watching as Emma grabbed for her leather jacket without a thought to Regina's demands. "Something about not trusting me…? Remember that?"

"She has good reason for not trusting you. You did kidnap her." Emma gestured to Maddox staring into the tv screen. Guilt washed over Lily, remembering the terrified whimpering that came from the child when she finally escape the car and clambered onto Regina. Emma noticed her shamed expression and glanced over to Maddox. "Hey, kid. I'll be back, okay?"

Maddox gave a cautious look to the other brunette before nodding to Emma her reluctant approval and went back to her cartoons.

Lily stood up and touched Emma's arm as she started to leave out the door with a pleading look on her face. "You're leaving me with her?"

"Yeah why? She's not going to hurt you…at least I don't think she will. She is kind of a smaller version of Regina but..." Emma patted her on the shoulder. "You'll be fine."

"Emma-"

"Lily, we checked into a hotel so that if she's hungry, you just ask her what she wants and call room service. I'm sure she knows how to use a bathroom and the tv is entertainment until I get Regina back.

"Why do you have to get her back again?" Lily frowned. Emma glared at her. "Not like that. I meant, why do you have to go after her? Won't she come back herself?"

"Regina's my friend. I want to go make sure she's okay. Plus she doesn't know this city like I do. She could be lost." She shrugged, glancing down to her overly reddened knuckles. "Can you watch the kid or not?"

"Okay...okay..." Lily looked over her shoulder to Maddox and nodded more to herself than Emma. "I can watch her."

Emma nodded and opened the door but she was half way out when she stopped. "Oh, and if you're not here when we get back or you've done something to her, I will hunt you down and shoot you in the kneecaps. Got it?"

"Uh…" Lily frowned. "Yeah, I think I got it."

"Good. Thanks…for back there at the apartment, by the way. I probably would've regretted any other things I wanted to do to him."

"No problem. It was pretty intense to see you like that. That wasn't you. You would've been beating yourself up about something you would've done."

"I know so definitely thanks." Lily nodded. Emma smiled at her lightly. "I'm glad you're back."

Emma disappeared out the door and Lily turned to the girl sitting on the bed. She sat down next to her and received a warning side eye from the girl. The older brunette took a deep breath and looked down at her.

"I'm really sorry." Lily sighed, eyes connecting with suspicious brown orbs. "I had no idea you were in the back of the car."

"That was mean…really mean." Maddox mumbled.

"I know. I didn't want to be. I was just upset but I'm sorry."

"Are you really sorry?" She questioned with a threatening glare. Maybe Emma wasn't kidding about her being a smaller Regina Mills.

"I really am."

"Okay." Maddox nodded, accepting the apology and decided to hand the older woman the remote. "I don't like sharing the tv but you said sorry."

"No, you keep it. You can have whatever you want tonight. I owe you one."

"How did I know I'd find you in here?" Emma dropped down in the seat adjacent to the older woman at the end of the bar counter, gesturing to the bartender for what Regina was having. She smiled smugly over to Regina.

"I asked you to watch Maddox." The older woman sighed into her tumbler before tossing a glare over to Emma. "I don't trust that woman."

"I get it. You have every reason not to trust her but I promise you Lily knows I keep my word. I told her if she pulls any shit, I'm fucking shattering her kneecaps. No questions asked."

Regina watched her knock back her glass. "That doesn't sound very Savior-like, Emma."

"Cut the Savior crap, Regina. We both know I hate having to be all these things for people. I'm here because I want to be a good friend. I owe you that much."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"If it hadn't been for me, Zelena never would've came back in the first place." She seemed to be reasoning it to herself more than Regina. "I fucked up I know. I still owe you a happy ending."

Regina steeled her jaw looking down the bottom of her glass. "I never thought I'd disagree with you more, Miss Swan."

"What?" Emma questioned in confusion.

"This would have happened eventually. Quite frankly, I appreciate that I could get it over with now. To be completely honest, I feel betrayed but I'm relieved to have all this off my shoulders."

"I don't think I understand."

"I lied."

"About what?"

"I wasn't in love with Robin. I was in love with the idea that I had a soulmate – that there was a chance I could have a happy ending. I'm such an idiot to think that life wouldn't kick me in the teeth again."

"I get that but you can still have a happy ending. Even I could've told you forest boy didn't deserve you."

"Why didn't you, Swan?"

"Because up until recently I felt like anything I said wouldn't help my case. I saved Marian, telling you that you can do better than Robin Hood would've pissed you off. You probably would have broken my neck...which I'd completely understand. I wanted to prove that I had your back."

"Well, you've proven that much. You're still an idiot though." She cracked a smile, meeting the emerald eyes staring back her. Emma gave her single nod, tipping her glass in Regina's direction before sitting it down. She glanced over her catching her hand movement and sighed at the sight. "Emma?"

"Yeah?" She looked up to her curiously.

"What did you do?"

"Huh?"

"What happened to your hand? It wasn't like that earlier."

"It's nothing." Emma mumbled, tucking the throbbing hand back into her sleeve. Regina reached out and grabbed it and Emma flinched from the pain. The older woman sighed and took her hand gently into hers immediately seeing the broken skin and severe bruising.

"Emma." Regina warned. "What did you do?"

"Okay, fine. I knocked Robin's lights out. He deserved that."

"I won't disagree with that but you didn't have to hurt yourself doing it. You've punched too many people today. I'll heal it when we get back to Storybrooke." Emma opened her mouth to protest and Regina took her glass into her hand, holding up a finger to stop her. "It's non-negotiable, Sheriff."

"All right, fine. Non-negotiable." She pulled her hand down into her lap and gave a weary smile. "So…"

"So?" Regina asked countered with a raise eyebrow.

"Maddox?"

Understanding the question, Regina nodded and took a sip from her drink. "She deserves a home."

"And you want to give that to her?"

"Yes. How can I do that?"

"Legally? It could take months...years. And depending how you look on paper out here in the world...maybe never. And if it is possible, there would have to be visits from a social worker." Regina's face creased in worry. Obviously, she wanted to bring Maddox with them now and she also didn't want anyone snooping through her home. "Look, Regina, being completely honest with you…unless she has some parents out there somewhere, there is no one who cares about her and it's the honest, cruel truth about the world."

"What do you suggest?"

Emma didn't answer right away and it made Regina unsure about how Emma would handle things like this. She had been in the system before. She figured Emma would be on her side on this one. Neither of them wanted to leave Maddox in the hands of someone who might take care of her.

"If she wants to be with you then there's nothing wrong with taking her to a place where she'll be loved. Maybe legally it could be wrong but there is no law on love. No regulations, restrictions, limitations on that." When Regina looked up from her glass she looked down into her own. "The law...government will just as easily take a kid from a loving home before they take them from a bad one."

"That's...terrible to hear." Regina said gently.

"It's the truth. But the law is law so, I'll help you with the legal stuff. Just worry about loving that kid because I know you can do it better than anyone."

Regina smiled softly at her. She placed her hand on Emma's arm gratefully. "Thank you, Emma."

Emma eyed the door handle carefully as she grabbed for the key card to the room. She swiped at the sensor and pushed the door open, turning her back to it and smirking at Regina standing behind her.

"Care to come inside, Madame Mayor?" She giggled, stumbling into the room clumsily. Regina rolled her eyes at her as she followed her inside. She tried to avoid the thought sneaking up on her that Emma Swan giggling was almost as cute as Maddox in all her five-year-old sassiness.

Her eyes fell to Lily asleep on the bed with Maddox sitting between her legs engrossed in the tv with an empty bowl of what she was sure used to be spaghetti in her lap. As much as Lily was on her bad side it seemed Maddox was taken with her even after being kidnapped earlier. But before she could think about how she would not be encouraging any kind of relationship between them her eyes went immediately to the tomato sauce on the girl's face.

Maddox turned to the pair walking in and she jumped up from the bed and walked over to Regina eagerly. The older woman's heart nearly melted at bright smile on her face. She bent down with a cloth in her hand, wiping the sauce off her face.

Emma plopping down on the other bed, then Maddox's smile dropped to a confused frown. "What's wrong?" The girl poked at Emma's leg. "Is she sick?"

"I, uh…She's just really tired, dear, but she's always like this anyway."

"I can still hear you." Emma mumbled into the bed sheets with her limbs spread out over the bed. Regina shook her head and made quick work of her boots, dropping them by the bed. She pulled the jacket from her shoulders and laid it over the chair. Emma turned over and shuffled under the covers and pulled them up to her chin. She grinned sleepily at the older woman. "I had a nice time."

"Thank you for the company. Get some sleep, Swan." Regina said walking out of the room with Maddox following. "Don't fall asleep on your hand."

"'Kay. Night, Gina." Her words muffled by the pillow Emma buried her face into.

Regina took Maddox's hand and led her out and over to their room the next door over. "It's passed your bedtime."

"But I don't have a bedtime." She hopped on the bed swinging her legs and watching Regina close the door and drop her purse in a chair.

"Well, you do now, little one." Regina sat down on the other bed and removed her heels and coat and jacket underneath.

Maddox scrunched up her nose at the idea but shrugged her shoulders. "You're really pretty."

"Thank you, dear." Regina smiled. "You are as well but don't think that gets you out of a bedtime tonight, young lady."

"Okay." The girl kicked her sneakers off and stood up to unbutton her jeans. Regina watched her pull them off and neatly fold and lay them on the edge of the bed before burrowing herself under the thick blankets. "You know any stories?"

"I know a lot of stories, dear." Regina confirmed. "What would you like to hear?"

"I don't know."

Regina came around and sat on the edge and looked over to the expectant eyes looking up at her. "How about the story of the Princess and the Stable Boy?"

"Never heard that before."

"Trust me, dear, it's certainly an original."

Emma yawned into her cup of coffee, looking up as pair walked over to the table. "Morning…Your Majesty…"

"Really?" Regina rolled her eyes, taking the seat across from her and letting Maddox go hunt down her breakfast at the bar. "Where's Lily? Run off already?"

"No, Fruit Loops." Emma pointed over to the woman next to Maddox.

Regina didn't say anything but her distrust showed on her face. Neither of the pair decided to comment on it. "How's your hand?"

"I fell asleep on it." She flashed her extremely red and sore knuckles, distracting from her mumble.

"Maybe you should have someone look at that."

"It's fine. Just needs some ice."

"Well how's your head?"

"Better than I would expect from a night the bar."

"You were at a bar with me."

"True. You purposely kill any potential 'drunk all night' partying." Emma sipped at her coffee tiredly even though her tone was laced with amusement at the look Regina was giving her.

"Would you slow down?" Lily followed behind an overly energetic Maddox practically vibrating as she hopped into a chair adjacent to Regina. Lily put down a plate of pancakes covered in syrup with bacon on the side in front of her and a bowl of cereal next to that. Emma quirked an eyebrow at the food and then looked over to the girl who probably weighed less than all the foods she'd been eating since yesterday. She surely took down that sandwich quickly according to Regina.

"Sure you can eat all of that?" Emma asked.

"Yes." Emma frowned at the bite in her voice while Lily tried to hold back a laugh at the sudden stare off they were having.

Regina rolled her eyes at the both of them before tapping Maddox's hand. "Eat your breakfast, sweetheart."

The little brunette nodded and dug into her plate without hesitation. Emma looked down into the bottom of her mug and groaned at its emptiness.

"Hey, Regina, wanna get some coffee?"

"Hm? Oh, yes…sure." She snapped her eyes to Emma who was looking at her curiously. She hoped her cheeks weren't burning red like they felt.

They quietly got their coffee, the oldest of the pair giving glances to Maddox and all the other couples in the breakfast area. Emma noticed and she kind of felt bad. Even though Regina told her it wasn't her fault, she still felt a responsibility of her ruined love life.

"Regina, I'm sorry."

"What?" Regina frowned, wondering if there had been a conversation going on that she hadn't been paying attention to.

"The whole Robin thing."

The older woman sighed. "We discussed this. You did me a favor."

"It doesn't feel like a favor. You're not with anyone."

"Honestly, I think taking a break from True Loves and soulmates is what I need. I have Maddox now, I'm sure she's a handful. Besides part of my job right now is to make sure the savior's heart is protected."

Emma rolled her eyes and sighed. "For a minute I almost forgot about all the crap going on in Storybrooke."

"I did, too."

"No rest for the wicked…" Emma paused and cringed as she sat down. She sheepishly looked up to Regina. "I'm such an idiot. I'm-"

"Stop apologizing, Miss Swan."

"Got it." Emma made a zipping motion across her lips and drunk her coffee. Maddox giggled at her and Regina literally wiped the grin off her face as she reached over with a napkin to get rid of the syrup covering her mouth.

"Well, what's next?" Lily asked looking between Regina and Emma.

"Back to Storybrooke, I guess." Emma shrugged.

"You don't sound in much of a hurry as before."

"We were here to get Robin Hood but obviously we don't need him. All urgency can really be toned down since Storybrooke isn't really in danger if I'm outside of it and as far as we're concerned Robin can kiss my-" Emma clamped her mouth shut at Regina's widened eyes.

"You said a bad word." Maddox said accusingly with a small grin.

"I did not." Emma gave the little brunette an indignant scowl. "I meant to say kick...rocks."

"No you didn't."

"You know what…"

"Everyone is finished." Regina chimed in, pulling the plate full of only syrup away from Maddox. "Maddox and I will check us out and we can get going."

"I wanna stay with Lily." Maddox looked at Regina with big puppy dog eyes and she deflated at the request knowing she couldn't say no to that face. This was like having a five-year-old Henry all over again.

"Alright."

"I'll go with you Regina." Emma left no room for question and moved ahead of the woman, already halfway to the door by the time Regina had actually registered what she said.

"We'll be back then. Behave Maddox." The child nodded obediently and as soon as Regina disappeared she grinned evilly at Lily.

"So, uh, here's the deal…" Emma started with a somewhat embarrassed smile on her face. Regina directed her attention to her as they moved towards the front desk. "I didn't include a fancy hotel in my 'off to save Robin Hood' budget and I kind of need you to pick up the tab for the night we spent here."

"'Off to save Robin Hood' budget?"

"Is that seriously the only thing you heard?" Emma frowned, leaning against the front desk. A thoughtful look crossed Regina's face as she handed over the key cards and without a second thought pulled out her credit card, ready to pay the balance. "Look, I'll pay you back as soon as we get back into town. I know it's rude but I didn't plan for any of this. Regina please say something…"

Regina blinked and turned to the younger woman. "I'm sorry what were you saying?"

"You really only heard me say Robin Hood budget? I'll pay you back when we get home."

"There's no need for that. It was my idea."

"But-"

"Emma, if it'll make you feel better to pay me back when we get to town, so be it. Otherwise, I don't mind. It's no hole in my pocket." Emma looked at Regina skeptically. Regina rolled her eyes and sighed, handing over her card to the clerk at the desk. "Don't give me that look. I don't care."

"This isn't one of those times where you'd be pissed at me if I just accepted it because I'm being rude or…I don't know cheap?"

"It's not rude. And it's also not cheap if you're offering to pay me back for it."

By then they were half way back to their table and Emma nodded with a polite smile. When they laid eyes on Lily and Maddox, they were staring at each other. The five-year-old was grinning with a little tooth missing as she munched on Cheerios.

"All plots, schemes, and other ideas that may result in us as a collective getting in trouble, put it away." Emma called, causing Lily to jump. "Everybody good?"

Maddox nodded and slid out from her chair and hurried over to Regina, wishing to be picked up. Strangely enough Regina complied as soon as she saw her coming. Lily followed, getting up from her seat and turning to walk after the retreating brunettes until Emma's hand on her arm stopped her. She looked up to Emma and felt metal drop into her hand. Her keys.

"I know you don't forgive my parents…maybe not even me but you are still my friend, I want to trust you. Don't make me regret this."

"You're letting me drive my car?"

"Yeah. I want to trust you." They both met Regina outside the hotel in the parking lot. It seemed she and the younger brunette were having a really intriguing conversation. "Okay, Your Majesty, onward to Storybrooke."

"Wait!" Maddox began to squirm in Regina's hold until the woman put her down. Lily moved her hand away from the door handle of her car and Emma stopped at her already opened door.

"What's wrong?"

"I…" the girl looked away, down at her hands.

"What is it, sweetheart?" Regina asked tilting her chin up.

"My bunny…I promised I'd come back."

"Your…your bunny? A stuffed one?" Maddox nodded shyly. "Where is he?"

"A treehouse."

"A treehouse where? We're not even close to a neighborhood that has a backyard." The little brunette looked up to Lily as she spoke. "Where is your bunny?"

"I told you, he's in a treehouse."

Emma was sure she was ready to cry. "Calm down, kid. Where is this treehouse?"

"Chelsea." Maddox mumbled.

"Staten Island?"

She frowned for a moment before nodding. "Yes."

"You know where it is?" Regina asked. Emma nodded. "Well then let's go get her bunny."

"Regina, that's nearly an hour from here…in the opposite direction of Storybrooke."

"Emma, we're getting the toy."

"Seriously? The world was just at stake yesterday and now we're headed to most haunted borough in New York for a stuffed rabbit?"

"Haunted?" Lily raised an eyebrow. "Staten Island is not haunted."

"It is. And if it's not, it should be. Seaview…Willowbrook. That place is fucked up." Regina covered Maddox's ears at the crude language and it earned just barely a smile from the girl. "…and far."

"We're going to get it and that's the end of it." Regina said dismissively and proceeded to get Maddox settled in the car. Emma looked over at Lily in disbelief.

"Let's go get the bunny, Emma. What else can we do?" Lily said getting into her own car.

"Buy her a new one…buy a her a dozen. The "Robin Hood budget" has enough for little stuffed toys." Emma said to herself turning to get in her car.

"You've got to be kidding me." Emma groaned, eyeing the house through her car window. She glanced to the backseat where Maddox was waking up from her nap after having surprisingly remembered the address to their destination. "Kid, please tell me you gave me the wrong address."

"No." Maddox said sleepily looking up through the window. She pointed over to the yard that led to the backyard. "That's where my treehouse is."

"Well, let's get this bunny." Regina said not sounding at all annoyed or confused or anything remotely related to any feelings Emma was having. Regina started to open the car door before Emma's hand snapped onto her thigh. She jumped slightly at the touch and turned to Emma who looked just as shocked by the action, her face flushing. She pulled her hand away and cleared her throat.

"Regina, you can't be serious?"

"Why wouldn't I be serious?" Regina tried to keep her focus on the subject rather than the savior's choice in place to grab her. Then she frowned at herself at how dirty that sounded.

"Because...look at this house. These people are going to flip their shit when they find out a kid that's not theirs has been hanging out in the treehouse in their backyard."

"We'll get the bunny and come back. What's the problem?" Regina questioned, confused.

"Kids just don't have stuffed animals in treehouses nearly an hour from where they live."

"Other people didn't always live in it." Maddox mumbled but it was loud enough for them to hear her.

"What is that supposed to mean?"

"It was my house." Maddox admitted quietly causing both women to turn around to her with curiously furrowed brows.

"Your house?" Emma asked.

"I don't wanna talk anymore. I want my bunny."

Regina sighed, wishing the girl would have said more. She glanced over to Emma. "Please just drop it. Obviously, it's a sensitive thing for her."

"Yeah, sorry." Emma said turning away to look out her window. As soon as the door closed behind them, she turned back to see them walking hand and hand up to the big house. Her mind fell to how right it looked for Regina to be holding the girl's hand as they walked. Now she couldn't deny the fit. Plus, it'd be kind of a dream come true for Henry since he mentioned having a sibling more than once. Surely the girl was going to be the boss of him and he'd enjoy every moment of it.

At the thought Emma smiled before she heard a knocking against her window. She looked over to see Lily standing there and rolled down her window. Lily grinned. "Sup, bitch."

"What is it?" Emma sighed feigning aversion. She couldn't complain about having that part of her friend back from before.

"This is the place her bunny lives?"

"Yeah...why are you and Regina acting so casual about this? 'Her bunny lives here', who says that?"

"Take a chill pill, Em. She's five." Lily patted Emma gently against her chest as she stepped back from the window and spotted Maddox disappearing around the house to the back. Regina was talking with someone inside the house. They were shadowed by the door so she couldn't make them out.

Suddenly, Regina turned on her heel and walked back towards the car. Lily looked worriedly into the car to Emma.

"Regina, where's the kid?" Emma asked as the woman opened the car door.

"I afraid she did live here. Two years ago…I'm surprised she even remembered this place from such a young age."

"Why is she staying with that douchebag then?"

"The couple who owned this house two years ago died in a car accident. It's in the paper." Regina said sadly.

"Brutal." Lily commented.

"How did it happen?" Emma glanced between the two women, realizing how entwined the girl was in their lives already.

"One parent died on impact and the other was in the ICU for three days until he passed in his sleep from internal bleeding in the brain. They weren't sure which parent suffered what injury. Maddox doesn't know the details. I don't think she should know."

"Agreed. At least not now but she might be kind of pissed that you had information on it and never told her."

"I'm with Emma on that one. She'd be scarred for life." Lily said watching Maddox reappear and practically skip over to the car. The girl glanced at Regina before holding the toy up to her. Regina took it into her hands and looked at the dirty bunny. It need to be stitched up and maybe a trip through the washer but it still was an adorable bunny.

"He's lovely, Maddox. We'll clean him up when we get home." She handed the toy back and Maddox held it to her chest. Emma and Lily smiled softly at the action. "Let's get you two inside. We have a long drive ahead of us."

"Maybe I should drive." Regina said looking over to Emma who was visibly growing tired.

"I'm fine, Regina." Emma grimaced as a yawn crawled up her throat.

"You're tired. It's been five hours."

"Yeah, five hours of silence since my radio decided to be a dick and not work. How are you not tired?"

"I like the quiet." Regina muttered. Emma waved her hand dismissively and sighed. She figured it may have been her fault. For the silence. She'd been working through her thoughts so she hadn't actually spoken a word to her companion. "We could talk if you like."

"What do you have to talk to me about?"

"I don't really know…"

"You can talk about Maddox. She's cute."

"She is adorable." Regina grinned.

"Adorable…little devil."

"No comment on that." Regina smirked and Emma laughed but stopped when her phone started ringing. She frowned at the number on her screen but answered anyway.

"Uh, hello?"

"Em."

"Lily?" Regina raised an eyebrow at her.

"Yeah, um. We have a situation."

"What kind of situation?"

"Situation? What situation?" Regina asked in a panic. "'What did she do?"

Emma waved her hand to stop her questioning so she could hear what Lily was saying.

"She has to use the bathroom; so next rest stop, yeah?"

"Sure. Just follow me."

"Can do."

As soon as she hung up she felt Regina's eyes staring into her soul. She turned to her slightly and tried to assure her before she flipped. Her car was falling apart enough as is during the road trip, the last thing it needed was a heated former Evil Queen to lose her shit. "Regina, Maddox just has to pee. Again."

"Oh."

"She has the bladder the size of a bead."

"She's a child, Emma."

"A bead." Emma made a pinching gesture with her hand as she put on her signal to turn into the café on their right. Regina rolled her eyes before looking in relief at Emma's choice to stop. Apparently, she was too regal to walk into a 7/11 but still requested a coffee from Emma when she left to get a pack of candy.

"I'm going to take Maddox to the restroom. Do you want something?"

"No, I'm good."

"I'll be back."

"I'll be here." Emma smiled after her, leaning back in her seat. There was a banging on her window immediately after. Her grimace deepened at seeing Lily smirking at her. She rolled down her window.

"Can I help you?"

"Your girlfriend really doesn't like me."

"My girlfriend?" Emma frowned. "Oh, Regina? She's not my girlfriend. We're just friends."

"Uh huh, sure…"

"Lily, I have a boyfriend. And obviously you know Regina just broke up with her douchebag boyfriend."

"I didn't get any of what was going on. It seemed a whole lot more than cheating and falling in love with another woman."

"Zelena is her 'wicked' older sister out to ruin her life because Regina apparently gets everything."

"Well, I'm not sure how accurate that assumption is now that she has no boyfriend."

"To be completely honest I don't think she ever really liked him that much anyway." Emma shrugged. "He was a nice guy, though he always smelt like pinecones, but now he's just as bad as anyone else."

"That sucks but I'm guessing with Maddox, she won't have time to mourn her breakup with wine, ice cream, and Netflix."

"True. I'd love to see what Regina's mansion looks like after a week with Hurricane Maddox running through there." Lily laughed and nodded. Emma grinned before catching Regina and Maddox coming back. She could've sworn she saw a distraught look on Regina's face as she stared over at them but she chalked it up to the café not being any better than the gas station. But with the blue all over Maddox's lips, Regina's problems were probably with Lily.

"Eat a crayon or a something?" Emma chuckled.

Maddox narrowed her eyes and folded her arms with her bunny in her hand. "No…I'm going with Regina."

"Fine with me. Let's get moving." Lily walked back to her car.

Emma made a split second decision and opened her car door. "I'll ride with you." Lily turned around in surprise and Regina's eyes widened before her face fell to a frown.

"Uh, sure."

"Cool." Emma nodded and then turned to Regina. "You can drive right?"

"You want me to drive the deathtrap?"

"My bug approves of you. I trust you."

"All right."

"Great. Call me if something's up." She walked off to get in the Chevy with Lily and they seemed to already be sharing a laugh. She tried to ignore the feeling in her chest. It wasn't a warm and fuzzy one.

"I wanna ride in the front." Maddox said interrupting her thoughts as she tugged on Regina's sleeve.

Regina tore her eyes away from Emma and down to Maddox looking up at her. "I don't think so, little one."

"Why not?" She pouted.

"Because I said so."

"Do I get to do anything?"

"You get to ride in the back safely and we'll talk about anything you want."

"Anything I want?" The little brunette asked skeptically, letting Regina buckle her seatbelt.

"Yes, that's the deal." Regina got in the driver's seat.

"Okay. Name all the flavors of ice creams." Maddox started.

Regina got out of the car as Emma tossed the scroll onto the hood of the bug. She grabbed it and got back in before she unrolled the scroll, the town line appearing to both her and Maddox.

"Whoa." Maddox looked wide eyed, clutching her bunny close. "Do it again, Gina."

"I can't right now."

"Please! Do more magic."

Regina paused and turned to Maddox. "You know about magic?"

Maddox nodded with excited, wide eyes. "I wanna see more."

"I will show something else, if you sit back and stay still." Maddox nodded and pressed herself into the seat as they drove through the barrier. They both felt the magic push back at them and Regina let out a breath of relief.

"Gina?"

Flexing her hand, she positioned it so that Maddox could see. Effortlessly she conjured a fireball, hoping it wouldn't scare her. Maddox leaned forward against her seatbelt, completely intrigued by the magic. Regina grinned and forced the flame to change colors.

"Can I touch it?" Maddox questioned reaching out to the fire.

"No." Regina snapped her hand closed, worried that she might have burned herself even though she knew Maddox was nowhere close to touching the flames. Maddox pouted and leaned back with a frown.

Emma knocked on the hood of the car and came over to lean in the window. "Welcome back to Storybrooke, Madame Mayor."

"Good to be back, Sheriff Swan."

"There's a greeting party waiting for us near the diner. It'll be quick." Regina agreed silently and Emma nodded, walking back to the other car. Regina followed after them trying to think of why it was so hard to watch Emma just willingly get in the car with someone who wanted to kill her parents just yesterday.

"You're a ma-your?" Maddox interrupted, saying the word with a frown.

"A mayor. Yes."

"What's that?"

"It means I'm in charge of everyone."

"You can get me lots ice creams, right?"

"Well, yes but I don't think you'll be eating that much ice cream. Only after you've finished your dinner…on weekends."

"Fine." The child sighed but much like a five-year-old, her mind drifted off to other things. "Do lots of people live here?"

"I suppose so."

"Does Lily live here too?" She asked curiously.

"I believe it's very possible that she will now."

"Am I the only one who's going to live with you?"

Regina froze at the question. She'd been avoiding mentioning Henry. She was torn in four ways. Henry could approve of her decision but then again he could also be far from thrilled about Maddox's arrival. And for the girl herself she could completely shut down the idea of having him around. It wasn't a far off assumption that maybe after her father's passing, Maddox hasn't had the best model foster dad take his place. Men in general could be an issue. She recalled the way Maddox had eyed Robin in New York but she had a feeling that the girl was sensing Emma's bristled feelings when 'Marian' showed up.

"Gina?"

"Yes, what was that you said?"

"Do you live alone?"

"No, I…my son, Henry, lives with me as well."

"Oh." Regina cringed hoping not to hear protests to her and surprisingly, it never came. "Are you married?"

"No, I'm not."

"But-"

"I adopted Henry when he was a baby and…a few years ago Emma came to town and she was his birth mother. Do you understand what that means?"

"Yes. Now you and Emma are a family with Henry?"

"No, not necessarily...well, a little, I suppose..."

Maddox frowned at the information but got distracted with another question. "Are you my friend now?"

Regina wasn't sure if the subject could be completely dropped now but forcing her to understand relationships was going to take a lot longer than a 5-minute drive into town. It wasn't like she needed to know anyway. Kids had more important things to worry about. Regina believed it had been about who had the best packed lunch or something of the sort. That'd definitely take her mind away from complicated, frustrating grown up things.

"Do you want me to be your friend, little one?"

"Yes but you can't take my bunny's spot. He's number one on the list."

"There's a list, hm?" Regina grinned.

"You're number two and Lily's number three."

"What about Emma?"

"I don't know…"

It surprised Regina the savior wasn't number one on her list. But it made since considering Emma had been having a hell of a bad day, to put it lightly. "Emma was having a bad day yesterday. She just has a lot on her mind and it was very frustrating. She's a very nice person." Regina tried to tame the nerves building up in her as they neared their destination. Even seeing Henry in a blob was making her anxious.

"She said I eat crayons." Maddox argued.

"Emma was just teasing, dear." Regina said absently as she shut off the engine. "She's a child in a grown up's body.

"You have to get her out, Gina!" Maddox said in near outrage.

She honestly couldn't get any more adorable in Regina's mind but she found ways. "I didn't mean really, Maddox."

"Are we at your house yet?"

"No, not yet. Emma and I need to go meet with a few friends and then we can go home."

"I wanna stay here."

"Why? You don't want to meet Henry?"

"Is he nice?" Maddox asked shyly.

"Of course. He's the nicest boy you'll ever meet."

"Okay." She nodded hesitantly and picked up her bunny. Regina watched as Emma and Lily got out of the car and decided it'd be best to get it over with. She exited the car, earning curious glances from everyone there. She vowed to never like the bug and now here she was driving it. Still she continued, nervously, pulling Maddox from the car and putting her on her hip as she closed the door.

Maddox tucked her face into the base of Regina's neck in hopes that she could bypass the meet and greet but before she knew it. she was already hearing chatter.

"Mom, who's this?" Henry asked.

"Why don't you introduce yourself, little one?" Regina whispered in her ear. She shook her head against the older woman's jacket. "We can go home right after. I promise."

Maddox lifted her head and turned to the boy she was supposed to be meeting. She expected a much smaller boy but he did look nice like Regina said. He smiled at her once they made eye contact but something hanging out his book bag caught her attention. She looked back to him and narrowed her eyes.

"I'm Henry." He said putting his hand out. Maddox glanced over to the proud smile on Regina's face and loosened her grip on the woman slightly as she looked between his hand and his face.

"Marbel or DC?" She asked surprising both the other brunettes.

Henry chuckled at the mispronunciation as he nodded. "Excellent question…definitely Marvel."

The girl stayed silent like she was thinking before she pushed her small hand into his with a bright smile on her face. "I'm Maddox."