Chapter three

The sun was breaking as they pulled into this quaint little town, called Storybrooke. Ella looked around taking it all in, the clock tower, even the diner had a fairy tale edge and she knew that this was not New York as they pulled up outside a big white mansion.

Regina stepped out the car, looking across to see if Ella had done the same. Ella hesitated she sighed, aware that she was about to face a family who didn't even know she was alive. She wasn't even sure she wanted to meet the family that Regina had made in Storybrooke, the life that she had a feeling she wouldn't be part off.

"Ella, come on, it's not going to be that bad. I doubt that they will not accept you when they know who you are. I will not leave you on your own. Ella.." Regina walked to the passenger side and opened the door. Ella looked up at her, she was so unsure.

" I just don't want to make a mistake. I'm just here to be with you till this blow over." Regina looked down to her aware that this girl was more scared of the unknown than even she was.

"Let's just try this, You don't have to like it and when it's all over you can go home. If that's what you want. I just want to try to look after you the way my mother never gave me a chance. Anyway it's only the boys here, they don't bite. Just trust me." That was the issue Ella was struggling to trust at the moment if the last forty-eight hours had taught her anything, the only person she could rely on was herself. She pulled herself out of the car reaching for her bag, she walked round opened the boot to get her suitcase. She had to try and she knew that, this was all for her Grandpa.

The walked the path to the front door in silence, both aware that this was a massive step. The key turned in the lock, Regina held the door open for Ella.

"After you, sweetheart." Ella hesitated, took a deep breath and walked into the large hallway.

"Regina, is that you. We were waiting for you to get here before we started breakfast." A man appeared in front of them, in his plaid pyjamas and scruffy bead and hair.

" Hey, Ella this is Robin,." As Regina introduced him, a sly smile came across her face, as he walked over to her and give a peck on the cheek. Regina had missed Robin, ever since they were reunited they hadn't been apart.

"Hi, you okay? Who is this? "Robin looked Ella up and down confused to say the least because he could see something in her that he couldn't understand, she looked so much like.

"This is Ella, and turns out she is my daughter. My mother took her from me before I even knew I was pregnant. I explain it all to you later properly, but right now I just want to get Ella settled." Ella nodded towards Robin, as she moved closer to her mother aware that Regina was shaking still as she talked about her mother. The same thing Ella used to do when anyone mentioned Regina.

"I am going to introduce her to the boys and then take her upstairs to the guest room and get her comfortable. Then we should gather up the others, and talk about our Emma problem." Regina was aware of Ella hiding behind her like a small child, she smiled at her, taking her hand and pulled her towards the kitchen. Robin took Ella's case and disappeared up the stairs. He couldn't believe how accepting Regina was being of this girl.

"Mom.. Your home.. Is my other mom okay? Did she hurt anyone?" Henry asked as he stood up from his seat and Roland ran towards her legs, pulling her away from Ella's grasp.

"No Henry and I don't know where she has gone. Henry and Roland meet Ella" Henry looked at the girl, she was like a slightly younger version of his mother, but at that moment Ella looked as if she could either scream or burst into tears. This was all becoming too much, she should have just said no to staying here, she should have stayed at the bed and breakfast she had seen as they had pulled into town. Regina had said "no" because how did Ella expect to be protected if she wasn't even under the same roof as her mother.

"Is she yours?" Regina nodded as she pulled Roland up into her arms. Ella looked at Henry and smiled towards him.

"Hey, it's a really long story which I am sure Regina will tell you one day. But right now I just want to go and have a lay down. The last two days, have just been too much." Regina looked at her daughter and put Roland down on the floor once again. She took Ella's hand once more; she knew that look the young girl was finding this all too much.

"So this will be your room, you have your own bathroom, so don't have to share with anyone. If you anything like me I'm guessing you like your space." Ella nodded, and sat down on the bed, relief washing over her the first step of being here was over.

"Why are you doing this?" Ella asked as Regina, started to pull a towel out of the cardboard for her.

"Because you are my daughter, we have years to make up for and because I think if we give each other a chance. We could work this out and look out for one another. I understand if you don't want too, I just want to try." Regina walked over to the bed and took Ella's hand.

"I know you're not a childlike Roland and Henry but I want to try to be a mother to you. I want to protect and look after you the way I do them." Ella felt the tears start then. She wanted all those things but she was scared, because she still didn't trust the woman who was holding her hand. How could she, she knew too much.

"I want that too but just give me some time please." Regina wiped Ella's tears away and smiled.

"We've got all the time in the world dear. Now get some rest okay. We will talk more when you are ready." Regina got up and headed towards the door.

"Regina.. Thank you." Regina turned back around.

"What are you thanking me for?" Ella looked up at her mother and smiled.

" Thank you for understanding and thank you for trying. You never know it might be the best thing that could have happened right now."

Hours later Ella was just waking up from her sleep, hearing voices from downstairs aware that she was probably the topic of conversation. She looked at herself in the mirror, she looked the worst she had seen herself since she set her dorm room on fire because of Regina. Now she was in Regina's home, amongst her family, staring into her mother's mirror, looking at the house that Regina had decorated for herself, never knowing that she had a daughter who was living and breathing. This was all going to take some getting used too.

Downstairs Regina was still trying to explain how she realised this girl was her daughter and about how they came to meet. Explaining to Robin and Henry that she didn't know everything that she knew enough that this girl could be trusted, because she was after all a part of Regina's family. Regina didn't want to admit that this was all too much for her, too much to take on a daughter, who wanted to kill her, who she never knew existed, who had been told so many lies, it was going to take her a lot to trust Regina, she knew that but she just wanted to be given a chance.

Ella sat on the bed once she was redressed and showered into some fresh jeans, t-shirt, boots and her hair just sitting up in a ponytail. She couldn't help but cry a little as she looked at her phone the picture of her and her Grandpa staring back at her, The fact that Elliott never called her back made her realise that she had never felt more alone. Then came a knock at the door, Ella stood up and looked directly at the boy who had been given every chance she hadn't to be able to call Regina "Mom".

"Hey, I thought I could hear you moving, Mom and Robin have gone out to see if they can find my other Mom in town. She told me to leave you be, but me and Roland we wondered if you wanted to come down and help us cook some dinner." Ella smiled at Henry this boy was a teenager, he was probably more scared than she was, more unaware of what the darkness looked like when it had taken hold, unaware of whether she was going to be his friend or his sister or whether she would decide she didn't want anything to do with him.

"I would love to, so your other mom is Emma then? Explain that to me?" As they walked down the stairs closely followed, by Roland who stalked behind them.

"A story for another day I think. I think both of us just want to get to know you. We want you to feel like you're part of this family no matter how long you stay." Henry told her as he led her to the kitchen.

"Gina said that you lived with your Grandpa, that he used to cook with you all the time, just like he did when she was a girl." Ella nodded at the little boy, bemused to think that a woman, who was a strong as her mother was, never had more children that she actually knew about.

"Yeah I did, he was like my Dad you see, he showed me lots of things, how to cook, ride a bike, drive a car and was with me through everything." Ella sighed as she remembered everything again; it was painful knowing that when she went back to New York he wouldn't be in their apartment anymore.

"My daddy is trying to teach me and Henry how to aim arrows. They can't ever miss..." Roland tells Ella, she smiles at the little boy as she takes his hand.

"Don't tell my Mom that though, because she will not like Robin for teaching us how to do that." Ella laughed pulling Roland up into her arms, and up into the kitchen stool.

" I promise I won't, so what are you cooking?" Ella asked

"Mom's speciality lasagne"

Meanwhile Regina and Robin where in Granny's diner along with Snow, Charming, Hook and Belle giving them an update on what had happened the day before. Retelling the story again was killing Regina; she wished she had left it for another day. Hopefully by the time her and Robin got home Ella would be awake and they could talk some more.

"Regina, are you sure we can trust this girl?" Charming was first to ask the question on everyone's lips. They were all scared of the unknown.

"Come on Regina… she tried to kill you." Hook chimed in now, wanting to make sure he was attempting like everyone else to get the best for his girlfriend.

"Of course she can be trusted, she is my daughter. I know she tried to kill me but that was just my mother lying to her, not giving her the chance to make her own mind up. Sound familiar." Regina blasted she didn't enjoy having to explain her decisions especially to these people who had not even met Ella.

"If Regina says we can trust her then we can trust her, we just need to find Emma now, before she succeeds in what she was trying to do to Ella to somebody else." Snow spoke up now, she knew to keep Regina on side, they had to show her that the supported her choices. Snow trusted her Stepmother, she just wished that Regina had been given a chance with her daughter because she might not have done half the things that she had done. Things could have been very different, Emma she might have been with her from a baby, she might not have had to be the saviour, and she wouldn't be letting the darkness in this moment.

"I don't think she is going to try to do it to someone else Snow, I think she is after the thing that Regina took from her with the dagger." Belle explained, because if anything somebody needed to see that the dark one doesn't go after someone for nothing.

"What do you mean?" Robin looks over to Belle aware that out of anyone she should understand how the darkness and the dagger work.

"I think Emma was after her because she has like her the potential for darkness, but unlike Emma she didn't have people close enough to stop the darkness from taking over." Regina stood now, walking towards Belle.

"What do you mean the potential? The darkness came to me before it even went to Emma" Regina looked at Belle, waiting for her answer.

"The Darkness went to you first because you where the Evil Queen, but what's even better than that, the daughter of the Evil Queen, who if going by what you said hated you. Who also happens to be the product of true love, who was raised by your mother.." Snow stopped her before she could even finish.

"But Belle, surely the darkness would have gone straight from Rumple, to find.." Snow was interrupted by Hook, who could see where this was heading.

"So what you are saying is that this Ella is where the darkness always belonged..." Belle nodded aware that Regina's glare was becoming more like her former self.

"So all we have to do is find Merlin and get him to take the darkness from Emma and put it in Ella." Charming filled in the blanks. Regina stepped back, surely the heroes where not considering taking a life for Emma's.

"We must find Merlin then, we have to take this girl with us. Then we let him take the darkness from Emma and put it in Ella. Then we take the dagger and we send Ella as far away from this place as possible." Robin grabbed Regina's hand, he might now know this girl, but he knew that Regina wasn't going to let that happen. She wasn't going to let her leave her again; she had brought Ella with her to protect her, to use her powers to help them on their path to find Emma.

"It would work if we find Merlin, he would know what to do next, and he could protect all of us. We would have Emma back; we would all be safe again. Regina what do you think?" Regina felt it now, the anger rising in her chest as the glass on the counter broke into pieces.

"No, that is not the answer. She might have tried to kill me but she doesn't have that kind of darkness in her, besides she has not killed anyone yet. Emma killed Cruella that started her on this path. My daughter will not be the dark one, we just need to find Merlin and he will tell us how to save Emma, without using Ella. I am not letting you sacrifice my daughter, for yours. That is not happening." Regina shook her head, as Robin pulled her into him, holding her trying to calm her down, but failing.

"Regina, it's not like we asking you to sacrifice Henry, we asking you to sacrifice a girl you've just met to save your friend, save all of us." Hook yelled at her now, as Robin let Regina go, and walked towards Hook. The two men stood face to face unsure, who was going to start this.

"I suggest you shut up Mate, Don't push me or her.. She has told you no so that's the end of it. So I suggest you back off." Robin might not know Ella either but he knew if he was in Regina's shoes and this was Roland, he wouldn't let this happen either.

"Robin, she didn't even know the kid existed till yesterday. She can't say she would care if this girl became the dark one or if she died." Robin lifted his arm and let his fist meet Hook's face, causing him to fall to the floor.

"Right that is enough now. We are supposed to be united, together to Save Emma. " Charming held his hand out to Hook, as Regina pulled Robin away from Hook.

"Well we not united if Regina won't go along with the plan. We should just get rid of this girl." Snow shook her head, she had enough now. If this had been Emma a few years back she would be doing the same things as Regina protecting her.

"That isn't the point Hook, the point is that Regina is her mother, and she wants to try and I am with her we will not sacrifice Ella for Emma, That's not what Emma would want." Snow spoke up again. It was too late though, because Regina had had enough, she grabbed Robin's hand and they both disappeared in a puff of purple smoke.

"Well done Killian, we just lost the one person and her daughter who could be the key to finding and saving Emma." Charming told him sarcastically.

Snow white was playing on the television when Regina and Robin appeared in the living room. The kitchen was a mess , the dining table still had five plates on it, three a mess , two that had never been used , there was still half a lasagne on the table. Regina walked towards the kitchen, surveying the mess the three had made.

"Looks like they have been busy. Making my kitchen a mess. I leave them for an afternoon and this is what they do." Regina yelled as started to load the dishwasher.

"Regina, come here you have to see this." Regina shook her head, and walked towards the living room and to where Robin was pointing. There curled up on the Sofa was her three children Roland curled in tight to Ella, Henry leaning his head on her shoulder as they all slept.

"They've had a good afternoon then." Regina smiles and turns to Robin pulling him close.

"I should have been with them; I shouldn't have gone to that meeting. Look at them they look like a little family." Robin kissed her on the lips, putting his forehead to hers.

"I think it was for the best that you were not, would you really have sat and watched the story of how you tormented Snow White, especially after you have lived it. They needed to bond with her, we can spend time tomorrow when they go to school. " Regina realised that Robin was right, Henry and Roland trusting and building a relationship with Ella meant that she was everything that she thought she was a good soul.

"There's no way I could turn my back on her now." Robin smiled at her.

"I am not asking you too, the only person who did was Hook. Should we wake them, or just curl up in bed ourselves and hope that they don't stay here all night." Robin asked her.

"I think we should try some lasagne and see if this girl is really related to me…" She took his hand leading him away, she stopped and walked back. Finding a blanket for each of the three cuddled up on the sofa, kissing them gently on the head.

"Goodnight dears."