Thank you again to all those who have followed, favorite, and have reviewed. I want to get better at responding to people who take the time to review since I'm dreadfully awful at it, but since the only ones who have so far are guest at the moment I can only do it here. So, a special thank you to you! :)

Lunch with Henry went pretty well overall. Emma could tell Regina was still nervous with everything that had happened with Mary Margaret, but Henry didn't pry anymore about Regina's difficulties with her phone, saving both she and his adopted mother from lying any further to their son. When they informed Henry about Regina going back to Dr. Hopper he didn't act too surprised either. He knew that after Cora returned things went upside down in Regina's life all over again, and she needed help to get back to where she was before Emma and Mary Margaret had returned from the Enchanted Forest. He didn't even flinch when Emma said she was probably going to stay with Regina for the next few nights to help her get through a few things, like her mother's death. Regina however, spit water all over the table upon hearing this and had to cover up her shock with a coughing fit.

Not only did lunch with Henry seem to help Regina, but it had helped Emma as well. She had done some damage to their relationship when she lied about his father and with how she originally handled Regina's reaction to Cora's death, but things were definitely looking up for them, all three of them. At least it was.

"Ok, I should be getting home." Henry said as they exited the diner. Regina's face lit up momentarily until she realized the he wasn't talking about their home. The drastic change from excitement to misery was enough to send painful tears running down her own face, but Emma remained still as she kept a close eye on Regina's emotions.

"I'll call you tomorrow mom," Henry added as he wrapped his arms around Regina without the faintest idea of the stab wound he inflicted on her already wounded heart.

"Hey kid," Emma called out after he turned to go, "How about Friday after school you come by Regina's and we'll make your mom a nice dinner."

"Sounds great," He replied before spinning back around and hurrying down the street with his back pack flopping up and down behind him.

Emma saw the slight healing she had done with her suggestion as Regina turned, her mouth hanging open for a moment before she spoke.

"Are you sure about that?"

"As long as you don't slip up, why not? It's obvious the best thing for you is Henry. You just also need to figure out who you are without him. And Regina," she continued, but waited for the Regina's uncertain eyes to meet hers, "what Henry said about Mary Margaret's apartment, that was an involuntary reaction. He's been staying there for a while, so what he said didn't phase him. It doesn't mean he considers it his real home." But Regina looked away unconvinced.

"Hey," Emma said as she placed her hand on her arm gently to get her attention back, "I'm serious, when ever he talks about you or the things he loves and needs, he's always referring to your place as his home." Regina lightly nodded as she gave Emma a heart-breaking smile before walking back to her bug. Emma stood there and watched on as Regina made her way to her car, hoping that what she said would sink in and that Henry didn't accidentally erase the entire first day of helping his mother not fall further into the darkness.

This time on the drive back Emma didn't bother trying to start up a conversation. She knew Regina was still trying to process everything that first day had thrown at her, especially that last curve ball of Henry's. So she sat there in silence, giving Regina the space she needed.

When they arrived at the manor, Regina was still deep in her head as she opened the front door, leaving it wide open so that Emma could follow.

"Do you mind if I go upstairs to take a hot bath and possibly sneak in a nap?" She asked as she stared at the wall in front of her.

"Go right ahead." Emma answered remaining in the doorway feeling entirely out-of-place.

"The TV is in the living room. If you need any assistance, you'll have to call and ask Henry, he's better with all those types of modern-day gadgets than I am. And if you get hungry go ahead and order yourself a pizza or some other artery clogging dish that appeals to you. There's money in my wallet." Regina didn't wait for Emma to respond as she made her way up the stairs to her bedroom. Emma was a little nervous about leaving Regina alone, her moods kept changing like the winds and she worried which one could remain when they finally died down. At the same time, she was able to throw a few witty remarks her way. Hopefully, Regina's enjoyment of putting her in her place along with her undying love for Henry would keep her strong during her time alone.

Regina removed her blazer once she walked into her bedroom and tossed it on the bed as she made her way into the bathroom. Her body was heavy, but it was her head that felt like a boulder was slamming down on top of it. The last twenty-four hours was one hell of an emotional beating, yet somehow she survived, and without using any magic since the Savior had come to her rescue. Regina huffed as she thought about Emma. Between the two of them, it was no surprise that Henry was the most stubborn child in all the worlds. She had no idea that Emma was planning on actually staying with her the next few days. She was smart to bring it up so casually in front of their son. She was planning on refusing Emma's company once Henry left, but then her son pounded her in the gut by calling Emma's place his home, and all other thoughts became lost to her. How did she let him slip so far away?

Regina stared at her reflection in the mirror as she removed each layer of clothing left on her and took in the woman gazing back at her. She was unrecognizable. She was no longer that young innocent woman who fell in love with the stable boy, nor was she cold-hearted villainous Evil Queen, she was just...

"Regina." She flinched at the sound of her name, taking in the sight of her once more before extending an ear. "Sorry to bother you, I just wanted to make sure it was all right if I had something to drink and thought it was best to ask before you got settled." Regina rolled her eyes. Did Emma really need to find an excuse to check in with her so soon? Was she really that broken? But she would dwell on that later.

"Yes Ms. Swan, you may have whatever you would like to drink. All I ask is that you don't make a mess and clean up after yourself."
"Ok, thanks." The Savior replied as she hurried away to leave her in peace.

Regina gazed back into the mirror, taking in her reflection once again.

"Regina, just Regina," she whispered. As annoying as Emma was, she was indeed helping her ever so slowly, although she wouldn't be telling the Savior that any time soon.

Regina stepped into the bath and hummed as the creamy water and salts began to wipe away her day. She leaned back, closed her eyes and inhaled the warmth as it spread throughout her body. Was she really strong enough to do this? Could she be a better person for Henry, but the answer came to her even before she completed her thought. Yes. She had to. He was her happy ending and she had taken him for granted. She let her son slip away, but he was willing to return as long as she could change. She knew she would never fully extinguish the Evil Queen though. She had spent too much time as that woman to rid of her completely. But if she could control her rage, to not jump to conclusions when things didn't go her away, and to even ask for help, even though the thought of asking anyone to help her made her eyes roll. Besides, other than Henry who would she turn to?

"I'm sorry to bother you again?" The all too familiar voice called from behind closed doors.

"Emma really?" She grunted, but not loud enough for the blonde to hear. "What is it now dear?"

"Your toilet downstairs isn't flushing properly. I'm pretty sure it's something manageable. Do you mind if I take a look and tweak it a bit? I promise I'm done bugging you after this." Regina couldn't help but laugh. The Savior, her personal handy-woman.

"That would be fine Emma, thank you."

"No problem. Glad to help!"

"Oh and Emma," Regina hollered before the bubbly blonde scurried away. "You knock on that door one more time and we might have to start day one of this rehabilitation of yours all over again tomorrow."

"Got it. I'm done with the intrusions, well at least for the next few hours." Regina laughed some more as she placed her face mask on to help sooth her head; not getting any more disturbances from Emma or her own mind for the remainder of her bath.

Regina soaked until her skin crinkled, then dried off, and slipped into bed. She didn't get much sleep the night before. In fact, she didn't get any sleep. She was too busy recalling every horrifying thing she had done as The Evil Queen, justifying Henry's decision for cutting her out of his life. After her first year of terror on the people of The Enchanted Forest she had done more than enough to make her son disgusted with her. She killed only dozens at that point, but tortured countless and it only grew more grotesque as each new year went by. But she wasn't that woman anymore. Cora only confused her upon her return. She should have known that her mother was only using her to get the dagger from Gold, to become the new Dark One, but she was her mother, and Regina loved her despite everything she had done. Regina began to cry at the rawness of Cora's death. She needed to let it out, not only to mourn, but to finally let go of all the darkness that came with her so she could move on with her life and become a mother Henry could be proud of, like Emma. And ironically, with the Savior as the last thought on her mind, Regina drifted off to sleep.

It wasn't until her phone buzzed that Regina began to stir from her restful nap. It took her a minute to figure out what it was that had disturbed her, as she flopped her arm on to the nightstand and fumbled her hand around a bit until she snagged the buzzing device. It was a text message, from Emma, of course.

Sorry if I woke you, but I thought this was a more appropriate approach. I ordered two pizzas. I know you're not a big grease fan, but you gave me permission remember? Anyway, there's a supreme and a veggie down here if you would like to give it a try, and don't roll your eyes at me, you never know you might like it.

Regina rolled her eyes anyway but smiled. The two of them were surprisingly getting along, which said a lot since just yesterday they were both debating on killing one another. Regina stepped out of bed, and slipped into her gray silk robe feeling way to relax to put on anything else. She made her way downstairs and saw that the dinning room table was all set up for two, and with one of her favorite settings.

"All of this for pizza," she remarked causing Emma to jump, almost dropping one of the plates in the process, but thankfully the Savior quickly recovered and placed the plate down on the table with ease.

"Well, I figured if you saw paper plates on your lovely kitchen table, you'd snap your fingers and send them all up in flames."

"Good point," Regina replied as she took a seat.

"Wine?"

"You're offering me my own wine, how sweet?"

"You have like a 100 back there, plus you said."

"I know what I said dear, no need to get all worked up, but should I even be drinking wine?" Emma ignored the question and poured.

"This isn't AA. It's.." It took Emma a moment to think, Regina hoping she wouldn't burn down her house from the deep concentration she was putting into it. "It's MA."

"MA?"

"Yeah, magic anonymous. Although, this really isn't anonymous is it?" Regina shook her head, enjoying the scrunched up expression now stuck on the Savior's face as she continued to think.

"TMNP!"

"I'm sorry?" Regina asked baffled at the letters Emma had screamed across the room.

"The Magical Neutralization Process." Regina stared at her waiting for Emma to laugh at the own joke, but she looked more proud than anything else for coming up with a name for their little rehab and sat down to her left with a goofy grin.

"So what would you like to try first?"

"I'll take a Veggie slice please." Emma dished out a slice and waited and watched as Regina took a bite.

"Well." Regina turned her head slowly.

"Well what?"

"How is it?" Regina shook her head, then patted her mouth with the napkin before responding.

"Despite what you may think, I have had pizza before."

"Really?" Regina felt like she had a second child.

"Emma, I've lived in this world for twenty-eight years. Believe it or not, I did try a few new things in that time."

"Huh," the savior responded as she took a rather large bite out of her own slice. "Sometimes I forget that you're a lot older than you appear."

"Excuse me?" Regina questioned halting the wine glass before it reached her mouth.

"Oh, I didn't mean it like that. I know you haven't aged, I mean you look amazing, just twenty-eight years wiser than others your age."

"Nice recovery." Regina shot back finally taking a large sip from her wine, savoring every bit of the Merlot as it gracefully found its way down her throat.

"So, you've had like Chinese, hot dogs, Philly cheese steaks, and all that other good stuff?"

"Yes dear, I just don't like to inhale them all in one day." Emma laughed.

"I'm not that bad," But Regina only stared at her as the blonde devoured her second slice before her eyes.

"Ok fine. But in my defense, growing up in Foster care had a lot to do with it. There were times if you didn't hurry down and eat right away, you didn't eat at all. And when there was something everyone liked, sometimes the bigger kids would take yours, so you had to eat fast before they found you." Regina continued to stare at her, now sadness sneaking in behind her eyes as she thought about Emma's difficulties that were her doing.

"Emma I"

"Don't." She interrupted in a quieter tone. "We're not at that step yet, ok?"

"Ok." Regina answered.

They enjoyed the rest of their meal in silence, neither one wanting to do or say anything else to ruin the overall good day they had. When they were finished eating, Emma went to clear the table, but Regina stopped her hand before Emma could remove her plate.

"Please, I'll take care of the dishes. I find it quite relaxing. Why don't you go ahead and get the guest bedroom situated the way you like it while I take care of everything here."

"I'll just take the couch if you don't mind." Regina's brow arched up, but again she didn't want to end the night on a sour night, so she left it alone.

After the dishes were done, Regina stepped into the living room to make sure Emma didn't need anything else, but she was all ready curled up in a ball asleep with only a small blanket covering her. Regina walked over to the chest on the other side of the room and removed a second blanket from it to place on top of her knowing it was only going to get chillier throughout the night. She made sure not to disturb Emma as she covered her, unknowingly smiling down at her as she did. As Regina began to make her way out of the living room she thought back on their day. Only one day had passed, and yet she felt like she was all ready changing. She just couldn't believe that the woman sleeping on her couch was the one helping her to do it.