"Mom? Is this your first memory since..Dad?" Esme asked Regina, as Henry helped move her to the head of the bed beside her mother and propped a fluffy pillow against her back. Esme continued to hold her mothers right hand in her left simply for comfort and Henry promised to return quickly with another glass of orange juice for her. Esme knew that the reason she was so very exhausted was because of her previous practice session: channelling her mother had left her weakened but she couldn't let her family know that.

"Yes," Regina promised. Esme was both saddened and relieved at the answer. The pain that accompanied receiving a memory that was previously taken from you was excruciating, and the thought that her mom would rather deal with that alone than ask her own daughter for help was something Esme desperately didn't want to consider. However, the emotional tole of the memory had, for obvious reasons, left Regina broken. Her eyes were forlorn, her body looked weak and there was no remnant of the 'queen' mask that she had been wearing for weeks.

"I'm so sorry, Mom," Esme expressed with true, deep empathy. Esme had never felt a love like Regina and Robin's, and so couldn't understand the pain of one soul losing the other that made it complete. Esme's apology, however, did not have the comforting effect that she had hoped it would. Instead, Regina turned to her and looked hurt.

"Why- don't ever apologise about any of those memories!" Regina exclaimed, as she failed to hide her inability to understand why Esme felt the need to say sorry.

"Oh, Mom i didn't mean to upset you! I just- i just thought it might be difficult to see Robin.." Esme explained.

"Oh sweetheart it is," Regina said as she pulled her daughter close to her and wrapped her arms around her. "But i also get to see you in those memories. I get to see me holding you, soothing you, loving you. I get see how happy you made me, and Robin. And i wouldn't trade that for anything," Regina promised as she kissed her daughter on her head and continued to squeeze her close. Esme knew that the situation was a solum one, but she couldn't help a slight smile from spreading across her face, and in that moment, she felt loved. As Esme lay happily in her mothers embrace, Henry entered the room, with a tired and unhappy looking Roland.

"Ez, you okay?" a concerned Henry asked. It was nice to see Esme and Regina showing some emotion, both were as stubborn as the other in his opinion. However, it was not typical and so he was somewhat concerned at the view.

"Yeah i'm fine, bud. Just a little weaker than usual. I guess i'm just out of practice!" Esme lied as she and Regina sat upright once more. She didn't want to give Regina or Henry anything else to worry about and so thought a white lie was more merciful than burdening with the news that Esme knew would be viewed as her inability to deal with her father's death. Perhaps it was. Perhaps it was some sort of coping mechanism or maybe it was a distraction but the reason she was doing it didn't matter to her; what mattered was the results and Esme felt more powerful, and subsequently slightly more in control. That brought her comfort. Regina seemed to believe her but Henry eyed her somewhat suspiciously before eventually relenting and joining them all on Regina's bed.

"Well kids, i am feeling much better now, and the two of you have school in the morning so you better go back to bed. Henry, i promise i'll be fine in here on my own," Regina said as she took her free hand and lovingly caressed her sons face.

"You sure?" Henry asked.

"I'll stay," Esme said. "Staying here will be easier than trying to get up those stairs in to my room again," she explained; her eyes were growing heavy anyway.

"Okay, I'll take Roland back to bed," he said. As he once again woke a very grumpy, sleeping Roland, the two boys kissed both women, said their "love you"'s and returned to their beds. As Regina and Esme settled in to bed, Esme found it difficult to keep her eyes open. Just as she was on the apex of blissful sleep, she heard her mothers voice.

"How are you?" Regina asked simply.

"Me? Umm i'm fine. I think i'm just out of practice that's all and -"

"No, i mean. How are you?" Regina repeated, with particular emphasis on the phrase and Esme knew what she meant.

"Umm, honestly? I'm not sure…"

"Esme. Please tell me."

"I guess… i guess I feel guilty. It's like I don't feel like i have the right to be as sad as you all but anytime i think of him my heart.. my heart sinks to my stomach," Esme explained and then finished. She was not one to share her emotions.

"Listen to me," Regina said as she turned to her side and faced Esme, "you don't ever have to feel like you don't have the right to miss him. He was your father just as much as he was Roland's and that sadness you feel is completely justified, especially after your history. It is normal-"

"Is it normal to feel so angry, though? Because i do. I feel angry all of the time. I'm angry at everything and everyone and i don't know how to stop it. I'm angry because I was robbed of a father before i was even old enough to understand, and then finally i meet him, and he's taken from me once more. How is that fair? But then i think of little Roland, who's lost both of his parents and then Henry, who's already lost his dad and i feel like i have no right to be angry-"

"Shhh, shhh, shhh," Regina lulled as she pulled an irate Esme close to her once more. "Grief is a confusing, terrible emotion. We all deal with things differently but i need you to listen to me sweetie; you are allowed to feel angry and sad. That is perfectly normal. But you also have to look after yourself. Grief takes its toll on your mind and your body, and you practicing magic every single night is only going to drain you of energy."

"What? How do you-" a bemused Esme questioned.

"I may not have got the chance to raise you, but i'm still your mother," Regina said with a hint of a smile.

"How- how long have you known about it?" Esme asked with a slight giggle. She was so convinced she had gotten away with it.

"You woke me up once when you were checking on me; probably a week or so ago," Regina explained.

"You didn't stop me?" Esme asked.

"I figured it was something you needed to do. You've become quite the witch, you know Esme," Regina said as she brushed a piece of hair away from her daughters eye and placed it lovingly behind her ear.

"Thank you," Esme said as she stared at her mother.

"Thank-? Whatever for?" a perplexed Regina asked.

"For being my mom. You're pretty good at it" Esme said with a smile and as a tear gently rolled down Regina's face, Esme wiped it away.

"And how are you?" Esme asked her mom. It was a question that she had avoided since Robin's death, but she needed to know and now seemed like a good time to ask.

"Perhaps that's a question for another night," Regina said.

"Mom. You need to let me help you," Esme implored and Regina's barrier seemed to weaken slightly.

"Empty. I feel empty," Regina stated. "I look at all three of you and just think of how much your father loved you. Every single day something happens, and for just one moment it's like he isn't gone, and i think 'oh, i have to tell Robin this'. Then it all comes back, and i have to remember that he isn't going to be here to see you all grow. And i know that he so desperately wanted to be. It hurts. All the time," Regina explained and Esme understood her pain.

"Maybe… maybe we can help each other. Instead of avoiding talking about him and thinking of everything that he.. he isn't going to be able to see, maybe we can think of everything that we were able to see with him," Esme said somewhat groggily; she was struggling to keep her eyes open.

"We will definitely try that. Now sleep, my little gem," Regina said as she kissed her daughter on the forehead. Esme needed little encouragement and with that, Esme drifted off to sleep.

The following morning, Esme woke to the sweet smell of pancakes. Well, burnt pancakes, to be precise. In her bewildered state, she failed to notice that Regina was already up, and so, assuming that it was Roland and Henry attempting to make breakfast, she ran to the kitchen. Instead, she found Regina, binning the pancakes she had burned. She did however look proudly towards the tall stacks of ones that she had not.

"Good morning, Esme," Regina said; she was significantly more upbeat than usual.

"Good morning..?" a bemused Esme returned. Regina didn't really cook even when things were normal, but this morning was particularly curious as Regina wasn't usually awake at this time. Due to her irregular sleeping patterns, she usually lay in bed until the late afternoon. Furthermore, pancakes were typically Robin's preferred dish.

"It smells good in here," Esme said as she kissed her mother on the cheek and put her tea pot on the stove to brew. She gestured towards her mother if she wanted a cup, but Regina shook her head; Esme knew that this meant she wanted coffee. It was like Regina had her own little language with each of her children; she could communicate with them without having to use words. They loved it.

"Why thank you. Would you mind going to wake your brothers up?" Regina asked. Esme knew all too well that the bright and breezy act that Regina was putting on was exactly that - an act - but she did feel like this was perhaps a step in the right direction.

As Esme ascended the vast, marble staircase, she was approximately half way up when she found that her brothers were already awake and bounding towards her. As they zoomed past her, she laughed and returned to the kitchen.

"Pancakes!" Roland happily screamed.

"They smell just like Robin's!" Henry said as he too went to kiss his mother, bother grabbing himself and Roland a stack of pancakes each.

"It's his recipe," Regina said with a slight smile.

"Well they smell awesome Mom," Esme said as she grabbed herself a stack.

"Oh wait! Sissy bring the syrup over pleeeaasee," Roland begged, so much so that Esme happily obliged. By the time Esme had grabbed the Golden Syrup that Henry liked, the Maple Syrup that Roland liked and the chocolate spread that Regina liked, she had no hands to lift her pancake stack once again, and so was grateful when Regina helped and placed them on the table for her.

"You seem better today Gina," Roland exclaimed, with the typical honesty only a child can possess.

"I feel much better today, my little knight. And, i think i have an idea. I know we all loved Dad, didn't we?" Regina said as she looked at her three children.

"And i know that we all miss him. But instead of bottling things up, i thought maybe we could all talk about him as much or as little as we wanted to. Does that sound okay?" Regina asked and smiled as all of her children nodded.

"Good, now eat your pancakes. You two have school soon and Esme has a shift with the she devil at the cafe" Regina said, to which her two sons groaned and Esme rolled her eyes; she had long accepted the fact the Regina and Granny would never get along. While the thought of having two sons and a daughter did tickle Regina, particularly because a year ago they simply weren't there, it also reminded her of something that she had put off for long enough. She and Robin were married, but that did not mean that Roland was legally hers. He was still technically considered an orphan and so today Regina would have to begin legal proceedings to formally adopt the little boy who she felt was already hers. While she didn't want to explain this to Roland until the proceedings were finalised, she did feel it important that he knew he was a part of their family; with or without Robin.

Once the pancakes were eaten, and her children rushed off to get dressed, Regina was left alone in the kitchen, with only the mess and her thoughts as company. As she scraped empty plates and placed them in their dishwasher, she returned to Robin's handwritten recipe. As she stared at it, her thoughts drifted to him writing it. What was he thinking as his hand held the pen? Was she present when he was writing it? Silly little things popped up every single day, all of which reminded her of how much she missed him and how deeply she loved him. While she hoped the pain would dull, her love for him was something she knew would stay with her until the day she joined him and that was something she didn't want to change.

"Mom! Where's my pink cami?" from Esme was followed by "Gina, I can't find my other shoe," and so Regina's morning returned to normal. She was glad of the mayhem. She heard heavy footsteps sprinting down the stairs.

"Bye mom!" Henry said as he quickly waved goodbye.

"Bye Gina," Roland said as he gave her a hug and followed Henry.

"Guys wait on me!" Esme called. "What are you doing today?" She asked Regina as she searched for her phone thing that she kept leaving somewhere.

"I'm going to see Zelena. I thought maybe we could have her and Robyn for dinner," Regina stated. While Esme still found it difficult to think of her sister as Robyn instead of Hope, she agreed it would be a good idea; the boys were missing their little sister. Esme, however, was not thrilled about the Zelena part of the plan. While Esme knew that they were technically family, and that Regina strongly wanted to build a bond with her sister, Esme simply couldn't shake the fact that Zelena had been the source of her family's misery once too many. Not only had she tricked Robin into believing that she was his dead wife, she ensured that he left Regina for her, frequently threatened Esme and her siblings, and was the reason that Hades even returned to this realm in the first place. Zelena was a monster, and while Regina was willing to see past her cruelty, Esme simply couldn't.

"Esme! Come on!" Henry shouted, all too excited to get to school to see Violet.

"Coming!" Esme called. "Bye mom!" Esme quickly hugged her mom and went after her brothers. For the first time in weeks, Esme was able to enjoy the day. Esme was not particularly fond of summer; it was muggy and sticky and it reminded her of Messene. Today, however, had a slight breeze and with it came the scent of fresh flowers and a nice heat that brushed Esme's skin. As they reached the end of the sidewalk, she hugged Roland and watched as Henry, who was much too cool for a hug from his sister, and Roland walked the rest of the way to school. While they turned left, she turned right and walked to Granny's. As she entered the door, the familiar sound of the bell chimed and she was greeted with the same, sympathetic glances from the customers and a nod and wand wave from a grumpy looking Granny.

"Well good morning sunshine," Esme said with a laugh as she grabbed an apron and joined Granny in the kitchen.

"Hello. Make yourself useful and chop a dozen apples for me," Granny said in her usual brazen tone; one that Esme found both funny and charming in a unique sort of way.

"Sure. What's on the menu today?"

"Cinnamon and apple pie. Pastry's chillin' in the fridge as we speak," Granny said. "You're looking better today," she stated matter-of-factly.

"Thanks. I'm feeling much-" but before Esme could finish her sentence, she and Granny heard an almighty crash.

"What the hell was that?" Granny yelled as she turned to grab her shotgun.

"Eugh can't we at least wait till afternoon before we are under attack? What is it with this frickin' place!" Esme exclaimed as she took off her apron and ran to the front of the cafe.

"Everyone okay?" She asked as she looked around at all of the familiar faces; each and every one looked as confused as Esme did. As they stared at each other and nodded, Esme ran outside.

"Come out, come out, wherever you are!" yelled a voice Esme faintly recognised.

"What the-"

"It's the Evil Queen! I told you Robin's death would send her spiralling!" yelled Grumpy to Sleepy.

"Hey! That isn't my mom!" Esme said to both Grumpy, although even she didn't really believe it.

"Well it sure as hell looks like her!" said another member of the gathering crowd. Esme couldn't even think of a response because they were right; this was Regina. But how? Esme had left her not even five minutes ago?

"Ah good. It seems we have an audience! Ohhh and sweet little Esme is at the very front. Tell me, where are those irritating brothers of yours? Never-mind, you should do just fine," and before Esme could even react, the Evil Queen cast a spell and Esme was soon flung towards the Evil Queen, who's arm seized her neck tightly.

"Come out, come out Regina! Before I turn this pretty little seer into a pretty little statue," the Evil Queen screeched with a disgusting cackle and a tightened grip of Esme's neck.

"Lay one finger on my daughter, witch, and I will end you!" yelled Regina as she walked towards the Evil Queen. She had been walking the same route that Esme had taken mere moments before; thankfully. Esme was so overcome by sheer confusion that she simply didn't know what to do. The person standing in front of her was the mom that Esme had seen that morning; the woman with her arm around her through was the woman her mom used to be. Now they were separate?

"Ah, you see you can't though can you? You even failed at that. Just look at you Regina. So weak. A trait you seemed to have passed on to your daughter. Lord knows how! After all, you weren't even there to raise her, were you?" The Evil Queen knew that she had hit just the right spot and although an incensed Regina hurled a fireball towards her, it was all too easy for the Evil Queen to deflect. As the ball crashed into a window, the Evil Queen escaped with a mere scratch on her arm.

"Ha! Look at you Regina! Look at how pathetic you have become! It seems i have overestimated you!" The Evil Queen exclaimed. Her mother may have been out of practice, but Esme knew that she would never threaten Esme's safety by hurling a fireball towards her. So, as the Evil Queen continued to spout more bile about how weak Regina was, Regina rolled up her sleeves. The Evil Queen missed the subtle hint but it was then that Esme understood why her mother had cast the curse. Esme saw that while the Evil Queen had sustained an injury, Regina had not; they were not linked. So if Esme was to hurt the Evil Queen, her mother would remain quite safe. With that comfort, Esme cast a curse of her own. As her hand gripped the Evil Queen's to ensure that she did not suffocate, she felt the magic trickle from her fingers and watched as they slowly burned the Queen's arm.

"Ah! Why, you little-" but before she could finish, Esme glared her in the eyes and uttered 'don't move'. With that, the Evil Queen was immobilised and the crowd clapped.

"David, would you mind moving her to the jail until we figure out what to do with her? Mom? You want to explain what the hell is going on?" Esme yelled, however as she did so, she noticed that Emma, Snow and her mother were all exchanging worried looks.

"Mom?" Esme yelled before she turned to mend the broken window and the building that the Queen destroyed. However, her calm was short lived. She heard David scream and ran around the corner. She found him lying on the ground, but the Queen was nowhere to be found.

"What happened?" a horrified Snow exclaimed as she raced to be by David's side.

"I don't know! One minute she was frozen, the next she disappeared into a cloud of smoke," David explained as he slowly raised his head and rested it against Snow's lap.

"Impossible," a bemused Esme exclaimed. It was then that Esme heard the cackle coming from the trees and instinctively ran towards the forrest, ignoring the screams of her mother in the process.

As she ran over sticks and branches, she began to realise that it was futile. She hadn't heard the Queen since she started running, and the forrest was far too vast to search all of it. Accepting this fact, she stopped and caught her breath.

"No! Esme you must keep running my darling. Please, keep running!"

Esme's blood turned cold. Robin. That was Robin's voice. She had heard him clearly, as if the breeze was blowing his words to her very ears. His voice sounded echo-like but it was his.

"Dad?" exhaled Esme as she froze in the spot. She waited but heard nothing. She remained firmly at the spot; too bemused and somewhat terrified to move. She had heard her father.