I thought I would do the time portal flashbacks in chronological order, but this chapter had other ideas. Also, in the show Regina wasn't Mayor for half a second, and I'm choosing to ignore that half a second. I will, however, concede that Snow fills in for Regina when she needs a break, but Regina still holds the official title. I hope you enjoy the chapter, and I'll catch you on the next update

Regina rubbed her eyes as she pushed a fern to the side. She'd looked all over Storybrooke and hadn't found a trace of the Sheriff, which was what led her to be searching the woods for the blonde in the early morning. The Mayor was tired, her boots were caked with mud, and after denying Robin the night before, she really just wanted to flop back on her king-size bed and stew by herself. Unfortunately, she couldn't convince herself to go home and trust that Emma would come to her senses and find her or her parents. Regina knew that Emma wouldn't come back until her magic was under control, but from what the brunette had heard, Emma wouldn't be accomplishing that for a while. If left unfound, it was more than likely that the Sheriff would continue to panic, her powers would become even more erratic, and Emma's location wouldn't become known until she really lost control and blasted a very large crater in Storybrooke. The Mayor already had enough paperwork to do without adding that to her list.

Regina's attention was snagged from the surrounding forest to the soft ringing coming from her pocket. She quickly fished her buzzing phone out and accepted the incoming call.

"Hello," she answered.

"Mom, I found her!" Henry's voice gushed through the phone. "She's freaking out, and I think she slept in her car, but she seems fine." Henry was obviously panicked, and his words were oozing together. Regina tried to speak, but her son's voice washed over hers, "I think I made her feel cornered, so I left, but I'm afraid she'll leave, and we won't find her again."

The fear in her son's voice weighted Regina, and she forced herself to be calm as she asserted, "Henry, you need to slow down." When there was pause on the other end of the line, Regina knew he was trying to calm himself. She gave him a moment before asking, "Where is she?"

"Her car is parked on one of the wider trails, the one that goes through the center of the forest." Regina could hear paper rustling on the other end of the line. "If I'm reading this map right, she should be about a mile from the Toll Bridge." It was very lucky that Regina knew every inch of the forest from when she created the curse. Regina pictured the road and hoped that Henry was right about how far from the bridge his blonde mother was. It wasn't exactly a wise choice to teleport to a location where there was a very real possibility of getting hit by the Savior's deathtrap of a car but desperate times…

"Alright Henry, go find your grandparents and tell them you've found her. I'll meet you back at their apartment with Emma."

Before Regina could hang up, Henry interjected, "Wait, I want to go too."

The Mayor hesitated for a moment and then explained, "Henry, Emma is letting her fear rule over her magic." Regina knew she wouldn't be able to focus if Henry was in danger, and Emma would definitely be more panicked if she thought she herself was a threat to their son. "It will be easier for her to reclaim her powers if she's not worried about accidentally hurting you."

There was a heavy silence on Henry's side of the phone before he reluctantly agreed. Regina was slightly surprised at how easily he had acquiesced, but his tone didn't have any of the tell-tale signs that he was planning to disobey. Knowing she was short on time, Regina didn't dig deeper, and after a rushed goodbye, ended the call and lifted her hands.

Regina felt her feet briefly leave the ground as her vision was obscured by purple smoke. When her feet reconnected with the earth, the smoke instantly began to disappear. Regina took in the scene before her, Emma's surprised face, the yellow Volkswagen jerking like it had just started to move only to be brought to an abrupt halt, and the most attention-grabbing, the Snow Queen standing a few yards from the Bug.

The Ex-Evil Queen's palm filled with fire. Glaring directly at the Snow Queen she snarled, "Leave." She threw the fireball at the offending woman, who wisely disappeared in a flurry of snowflakes. Regina smirked. She may no longer be evil, but she could still be terrifying. The Mayor turned her attention to the still wide-eyed Sheriff.

She folded her arms and called, "Get out of the car, Emma."

The blonde ignored her and yelled through the Bug's open window, "Regina, please move. I can't control my powers. I'm not safe." Emma's glowing hands sparked against the steering wheel, as if in emphasis.

The Mayor quirked an eyebrow and flicked a tiny fireball at the windshield. "Out. Of. The. Car," she commanded, a little fireball pinging against the windshield with each word.

The fire was tinging the windshield to a burnt grey. "Damn it, Regina!" Emma shouted, throwing the Volkswagen door open. The Sheriff's agitation was causing her magic to flare even more. Regina tilted head as she watched Emma futilely try to the flick the magic out of her hands.

"Miss Swan, what are you doing?" the Mayor drawled.

Emma shot a piercing glare at Regina, "I'm trying to not accidentally blast you into the air." Regina had to bite back a smirk at Emma's expression. It certainly looked like she wanted to blast the Mayor off her feet. It was the same look she gave Regina right before they came back through Zelena's time portal.

~SQ~

"Damn it, Regina!" Emma shouted, "Just get us the hell out of here." They had been banished into Rumpelstiltskin's vault of exceptionally dangerous objects about ten minutes ago, when the Dark One had gotten tired of Emma's and Regina's arguing.

Regina looked up from her nails to Emma's angry pacing. "No," she declined and then went back to examining the chipped polish on her fingertips. She really needed to get them touched up.

"Regina!" Emma snarled.

The Mayor didn't deign to glance up again as she answered, "You can scream my name as much as you like, dear. I won't be persuaded."

Emma growled as she stalked past the table Regina was leaning against, giving one of the legs a swift kick. The brunette sighed as she caught her balance, "Miss Swan, don't be childish."

The Sheriff swung around to face the Mayor, "I'm being childish? You're the one that won't cast the stupid spell to send us home."

"I'm not the only one with magic, dear. If you're so ready to leave, cast it yourself. Your powers should be back now that Zelena's gone, and Rumple said only one of the people who originally went through the time portal could cast the reversal spell. That includes you."

"If I could make it work, I would." Regina rolled her eyes at the blonde and Emma snapped, "I'm tired, I'm dirty, and I really want to get out of here. You really think I'm faking not being able to make this thing work?" Emma gestured with the wand she was tightly clutching.

Regina uncrossed her arms and clasped the table on either side of her hips. "I think, when we finally get back to Storybrooke, it would be much easier for you to continue to run away and pretend like you belong in New York if you no longer have powers."

"I'm not trying to run! I just want to get home to Storybrooke." Emma insisted.

Regina quirked an eyebrow, "Home?"

Emma's shoulders sagged, "Yes, home."

Regina's eyes narrowed at the Sheriff. "What changed?"

"Watching my mom die." Emma shifted her feet, "Well, thinking she was dead… I was so relieved when she was okay, but when I hugged her, do you know what I saw in her eyes?" Tears were threatening to spill from the Savior's own eyes as she whispered, "Nothing. She didn't know who I was." Emma's voice cracked and the tears started to tumble down her face. "I saved her, and I lost her, too. And that's what I've been doing to her since I met her." Emma took in a breath and said, "It's gotta stop. When Henry brought me to Storybrooke, he told me I was the Savior. I didn't see what he was really doing. He wasn't bringing me back to break a curse. He was bringing me home." Emma's eyes had dried as she spoke, and a warm smile lit her face. "Storybrooke. It's my home."

Regina held Emma's gaze, a soft curve to the corner of her lips. "What?" Emma asked.

"Look down, Miss Swan."

The wand Rumpelstiltskin had given her earlier was glowing in her hand, soft white tendrils of magic curling into the air. "It looks like your magic is back." Regina grinned. The brunette pointed to an empty corner and said, "After you, dear." Emma faced the cleared area, widened her stance, and closed her eyes. For a few seconds, nothing happened. Regina watched as Emma's eyebrows furrowed in concentration, until what had once been an empty wall was filled with a golden tunnel of swirling light.

Pleased, Regina flicked her fingers, and the unconscious woman she'd rescued from the Evil Queen's dungeon, Marion, rose into the air. Regina guided Marion's floating form as she strode towards the portal. With her free hand, Regina brushed Emma's forearm as she passed and murmured, "Well done, dear." Then she stepped through the portal leading back to Storybrooke.

~SQ~

The Mayor studied the Sheriff for a moment. She took in the way Emma seemed irritated but kept her shoulders curved slightly inwards, with her hands clasped in front of her chest. The bold as brass Sheriff was lacking her usual confident swagger, and it softened the usually sharpened edges of Regina's heart. "Miss Swan, you're not going to hurt me," Regina assured, taking measured steps towards the angry and panicked blonde.

"I just made Henry bleed. I really don't want to hurt you too, so please, just go." The Savior pleaded.

Regina paused. Henry hadn't mentioned being injured. Trying to keep her voice level, she asked, "Is he alright?"

"He's fine, but that was just luck," the Sheriff miserably husked. "I can't control this, and it's only getting worse."

Regina took another step and placatingly held her hands up. "Emma, you can't hurt me."

The Sheriff started to protest, "Regina, don't-" but with a misdirected handwave, the blonde sent a bolt of magic into the forest, cutting through a tree's heavy limb. A thick, resounding crack filled the clearing as the branch hurtled towards the earth, right where Regina was standing. The brunette barley glanced at the branch, more focused on the blonde's look of pure horror. With a slight flick of her wrist, a glowing purple half dome shielded the Mayor. The limb landed harmlessly on the shield, and with a wave of her hand, Reina sent it flying back into the forest.

Regina tossed her hair over her shoulder and lifted her eyebrows at the Sheriff, "You were saying?" Overwhelmed with shock and relief that the Mayor wasn't harmed, Emma was left speechless. Regina took another step towards the frozen blonde. "Dear, I have been practicing magic for a very long time. You don't need to worry about hurting me." She was only a few steps from Emma when she finally came to a halt. She saw the nervous way Emma was wringing her hands against chest and decided to let the blonde close the remaining gap. "I know you're scared, but you can't keep fighting your magic." Emma's hands sparked again, and she squeezed them even tighter. "Emma," Regina warned sensing the Sheriff's desire to run, "Magic is emotion. The more frightened you are, the more you lose control." Another wave shot from Emma's hands, but Regina was quick to shield, preventing herself from being blasted backwards. Dark, determined eyes locked on petrified, emerald ones. "You can't run from this, because it's a part of you, Emma. You have to accept that. You need to embrace it." Regina put one foot forward and stretched her hand towards Emma's glowing ones.

"Regina, what are you doing?" Emma asked, staring at Regina's hand like she expected it to strike her at any moment.

Regina's tone was gentle as she insisted, "You can't be afraid anymore, Emma."

Emma's eyes widened, realizing what the Mayor wanted. "But this could kill you."

Regina left her hand extended, "I trust you, Miss Swan. You need to trust yourself."

Emma's gaze dropped to Regina's offered hand. She hesitantly reached to clasp it, but a spark from the Savior's hand caused her to shoot her forward the last inch, locking her hand around Regina's. For the briefest of seconds, the two women felt their magic clash against each other, crashing, fusing, and molding together, but in the next moment, a flash of energy burst from their entwined hands. The trees around them rippled with the impact as the magic swept through the forest. A relieved gasp fell from Emma's lips as a tear escaped the corner of her eye, "It stopped."

"No," Regina chuckled, "you controlled your magic." She released Emma's hand and said, "Try it."

Emma pulled back the sleeves of her jacket and flipped her hands palm up. With an encouraging nod from Regina, a soft red glow filled the Savior's hands. The Sheriff smiled and then wiggled her fingers, causing the glow to morph into rainbow colors. The magic glided off her hands and into the sky, dancing in an imitation of the Northern Lights. Emma's smile widened as she watched her creation. With another twitch her fingers, she caused the colors to swirl into twin spheres of color before they exploded into bright fireworks. Emma laughed with childlike delight.

Regina quietly stood next to Emma as they watched Emma's dazzling explosives flash across the sky. When the last of the fireworks had fizzled out and all that was left were the grey smoky remnants, Regina lightly tugged on Emma's hand. "Come on, Miss Swan. I promised Henry we'd meet him at your parents' apartment."

Emma chuckled, "Then we'd better get going. The Kid doesn't wait very well."

Regina smirked, "Yes, he's almost as impatient as his birth mother."

"Ye- hey!" Emma objected, lightly shoving Regia's shoulder. The Mayor lifted an eyebrow at the Sheriff. Emma scoffed, "I'm not that impatient."

Regina rolled her eyes as she opened the Volkswagen's passenger door, a smile still teasing the edges of the brunette's lips. "Just get into the car, Emma."