A/N: OK, so, I have to give credit to kapuis for what Jaye's about to reveal in this chapter, because they put the idea in my head when I was still editing Angelfish and it just wouldn't leave. In fact pretty much a whole plot-line stemmed from one sentence in their review! See, I do take notice of what you say ;)

x

"Emma!"

Regina had moved on to banging her forehead against the flat door when the blonde refused to answer. She knew that the younger woman was in there, because she'd resorted to phoning Mary Margaret when she got no response. Her girlfriend's mother had offered to leave the diner, where she was having dinner with David, to let Regina into the apartment, but the brunette knew that it would be better if she could persuade Emma to let her in herself.

"Baby, come on!"

When there was still no response from inside the apartment, Regina slid down to sit on the floor with her back to the door. She set up a rhythmic banging as the back of her head connected with the door over and over again; not hard enough to hurt, but capable of making enough noise to annoy Emma into coming to stop her. Even being shouted at for irritating the blonde would be better than nothing at this point, Regina decided.

"Please!"

Suddenly the brunette heard the chain scraping and the door opening. She just managed to stop herself falling backwards as the wood behind her back disappeared. Scrambling to her feet, Regina stared at her girlfriend who was wrapped in a towel with her hair hanging wet over her shoulders.

"How long have you been out here?" Emma asked, standing aside so that Regina could walk into the apartment, before closing the door behind her.

"Long enough."

The blonde bit her lip, clearly trying not to laugh. "I was in the shower."

"I can see that."

"I was gonna call you when I got out." Emma told her softly. "I wasn't ignoring you, I promise. I just needed a little time."

"OK, good, so… we're OK?" Regina didn't look at the blonde when she asked her question, afraid of what Emma's answer would be.

Sighing, the younger woman crossed the room and cupped her face gently. "Gina, we've been together nearly a year. This isn't our first fight… you need to stop panicking that I'm going to leave you every time I need some space to calm down."

"I'm sorry… I'm just… it's all been so fast and… I'm not very good at this."

"It's alright… we're figuring it out together." Emma assured her, pulling her into a tight hug.

"I don't want to lose you." Regina whispered into the blonde's hair, clinging to her as though as never wanted to let go.

"And I don't want to lose you." Her girlfriend assured her, kissing her softly. "Any of you. That's why I don't think Liv should go there alone." Taking a deep breath, Regina pulled away and sat on the edge of the couch, biting her lip. "You told her, didn't you?"

"I had to. She was demanding to know what happened and she wouldn't listen when I said it was nothing."

"Did you expect her to?"

"Not really." Regina sighed. "She wants to do it as soon as possible." Sensing Emma's face hardening, the brunette reached out and pulled her down on the seat beside her. "I'm not going to be able to find a way to let more people through the portal, Emma. We know that Liv can transport herself between the two realms and I'm not sure I can, but if you want me to go instead of her I will."

"No! I don't…" Emma buried her face in Regina's neck.

"I think we have to believe that Liv can do this. She's going to go anyway, so we just have to believe that she'll come back to us again."

"What if it takes another eight months?"

That thought honestly hadn't occurred to Regina before Emma said it. "It won't. She knows she can do it this time." She assured the blonde with more certainty than she felt.

"And… when… when is she going?"

"As soon as possible, I think. It's up to her."

"We'd better get home and talk to her." Emma suggested, standing up and securing her towel more firmly around her.

"Are you planning on getting dressed first, Miss Swan?" The brunette asked, running her eyes slowly up her girlfriend's body and making her shiver.

Emma smirked. "Care to give me a hand, Mayor Mills?"

Chuckling softly, Regina stood and allowed herself to be pulled by the hand up the stairs and into Emma's old bedroom, the door closing behind them with a click of finality.

Henry might be twelve, but that night he was incredibly clingy. Liv had only just managed to convince him that if he went to bed Regina and Emma would be back when he woke up. It was like talking to a three-year-old, she thought to herself as she closed her bedroom door behind her and collapsed onto her bed with a deep sigh. She stared up at the ceiling, wondering whether they would be back when they woke up.

Changing into a pair of sweats and a tank top, she crawled under the covers and curled into a ball, hugging her knees to her chest and squeezing her eyes closed. Her mind wandered between wondering whether things were really going to work out between Emma and Regina and her journey back to The Netherworld to save Cora.

A loud crack from the window made her sit bolt upright, looking around in confusion. A second crack made her turn around quickly, realising what the sound was. She threw open the curtains and then the window, peering down into the garden to see who was trying to attract her attention.

"Jaye?"

"Can… can I come up?" The blonde asked warily, as though expecting Liv to refuse.

"You want me to come down and let you in?"

Shaking her head, Jaye easily climbed up the drainpipe and over the porch roof until she was scrambling through the open window and falling unceremoniously onto Liv's bed. Once she was safely inside, the brunette closed the window and curtains, before turning to look at the other girl carefully.

"What's up? I'm guessing it must be something massive for you to want to talk to me in the middle of the night."

Jaye sighed. "Sorry… I just… I didn't know where else to go."

Her words raised Liv's concern and she frowned. "What is it?"

"I just found out that my Mother's been lying to me. My Father wasn't really my father."

"Wow… that's… shit." Liv wasn't really sure what to say to that news. "If it helps, I don't even have a dad… just two Moms." Surprisingly, Jaye chuckled softly. "You wanna talk about it?"

There was a long silence, which Liv didn't feel right breaking. Instead she just waited for the blonde to say something. Just as the quiet was beginning to get uncomfortable, Jaye sighed and stretched out on her side along the bed, propping her head up on one hand.

"What d'you want to know?"

"Well… I thought maybe talking about it might help? I'm no expert or anything but I know that keeping stuff bottled up doesn't help."

"I was born in London and when I was sixteen Father… the man I thought was my father… went off to fight in the War."

"Well, that explains the English accent." The brunette shrugged. "But… war?"

"The Second World War…" Jaye elaborated. Seeing Liv's eyebrows shoot up she chuckled. "I'm older than I look. Much older. Anyway, my Fath– he left me to look after Mother and my brother, Danny, who was only ten. I thought I was far too grown up for childish stories about Peter Pan and the Lost Boys. Danny loved them and Mother would tell them to him every night. One night I lost my temper and yelled at him. He was so upset. Mother told me that I wasn't as grown up as I thought I was. I was so angry at them both… that was the same night that Hook and his crew kidnapped me."

"They did what, now?"

"They thought I was Mother and wanted to use me to trap Peter and the boys."

Liv frowned. "Why?"

Jaye shrugged. "I don't know. I guess they knew that they'd try and protect Mother and thought it was a good plan at the time. So that's how I ended up in Neverland. I became the one and only Lost Girl." She sighed again. "Hook soon realised his mistake and… I don't know why, but they went back for Mother and Danny. I tried to stop them, but… then the curse hit and we all ended up here."

"But… you're all back together now, though, right?"

"Except Father wasn't my father and… Danny's not really my brother."

Liv arched an eyebrow, folding her arms. "That's the same as saying Henry's not really my brother, which is absolute shit. You love him, right? So he's your brother. Who cares who your Dad is, or isn't. You've got your Mom and your brother."

"I guess, but… Mother said my father's here… in Storybrooke."

As Jaye bit her lip nervously, the other girl's mouth dropped open in surprise. "What? Who?"

"That's the messed up part… it means that Henry's my brother too."

"No fucking way… Neal is your father? How is that even possible?"

"Magic." The blonde replied as though it didn't need saying. "He knew my Mother before she went to Neverland and he went there to find her and bring her back. Then I guess he got her pregnant and left."

"He does have form." Liv agreed bitterly. "Just when I thought our family tree couldn't get weirder…"

"You can't tell anyone, Liv. Not yet, anyway. I don't know what Mother is… just don't say anything, please."

With a sigh, Liv nodded. "OK, OK. I won't. But… this is kinda weird, Jaye. We're like... related, but not related at all." Rolling onto her back, the brunette clasped her hands over her stomach and stared at the ceiling. "At least there'll be someone to watch out for Henry if I don't make it back this time."

"Back?"

"I'm going back to The Netherworld to try and track Cora down. We need her help with Rumpelstiltskin… your Grandfather."

"Eurgh… don't." Jaye wafted her hand in Liv's general direction.

Liv laughed softly. "He's planning something… we don't know what. That's why we need Cora. She'll have the best idea of what he could be thinking of doing. But… the thought of going back there… I'm scared."

"Your mothers are making you go anyway?"

"No!" Jumping to their defence immediately, the girl shrugged. "Emma doesn't want me to go. Regina doesn't really either, but she knows that I'm going to anyway. They've had a massive fight; Regina's gone to try and convince Emma to come home. If Cora can help us then I need to go. They don't know I'm scared about it. I'm making out that I can't wait to go; that I'm totally cool with it all. But… that place… it was..."

"Want to talk about it?" The blonde asked, smiling wryly.

Laughing again, Liv returned her gaze to the ceiling. "It was like… cold. The cold was inside me. And there was nothing except… there was something watching and waiting. It got closer and closer until I couldn't bear it anymore."

"And you're going back there?"

"I have to find Cora."

"But, Liv…" The sound of the front door met their ears and the brunette shushed her friend quickly, listening for voices and footsteps. As two pairs of feet made their way up the stairs and the voices of both her mothers could easily be heard, Liv relaxed. "They made up then?"

"Sounds like it."

"I'd better get going." Jaye sighed, pulling herself up to a seated position.

Liv shrugged. "You could stay here if you wanted? I'm guessing your Mom won't notice you're gone, seeing as she probably doesn't even know you're here."

"Yeah, why not." The blonde nodded and accepted the t-shirt and sweats the other girl handed her, before Liv went to the bathroom and left Jaye to get changed.

When she came back, the girls lay side by side awkwardly in the bed. Liv had never been to any slumber parties when she was younger and wasn't sure whether they were supposed to have a conversation or just go to sleep. Apart from that, she quite liked the situation; it felt normal. This was what normal teenagers did with their friends. For a while there was complete silence and Liv assumed that Jaye had fallen asleep.

Then she spoke again, making the brunette jump. "I've never had a friend to have sleepovers and stuff with. It's kinda nice…"

"Mmm…" Liv yawned and nodded slowly. "It kinda is…"

Liv was up before anyone else the next morning and headed downstairs to make coffee. If it had been a weekday her mothers and Henry would all have been up as well and the four of them would have been in their now well-practiced routine of getting ready for work and school. Being Saturday, however, she assumed they wouldn't surface for a while. She leant over the counter, yawning and rubbing her eyes while she waited for the coffee to brew, before settling herself at the breakfast bar and resting her forehead on her hand.

"Morning, sweetheart, you're up early." Regina breezed into the kitchen, looking completely put-together as always, about half an hour later. She poured herself a mug of coffee and took two apples from the bowl on the side, tossing one to her daughter.

"Jaye kicks…" The teenager mumbled in response.

Regina dropped her apple with a thud. "What?"

"In her sleep… she kicks."

"I think we've skipped a step, dear." The older woman tried to link her statement to her daughter's words without coming up with the obvious connection. "What does that have to do with why you're up early?"

Liv blinked at her for a moment, before realising the problem. "Oh… Jaye came round last night because she's having family issues and I said she could stay over. Is that OK?"

"Well… I didn't realise you and her were… well…"

"Friends? What, because of the fighting in Granny's thing? We're over that. She helped me hide from Mary Margaret in the playground yesterday, so we're mates now."

"Ahh… life is so simple for eighteen-year-olds." The woman sighed, rolling her eyes. "So I'm assuming she's still here?"

"Good morning, Mayor Mills." A quiet, polite voice came from the doorway. Liv smirked at Jaye as she entered the kitchen nervously. Apparently the teenager wasn't intending to repeat what she'd said about the brunette at the diner in her company. "Thanks for letting me stay over last night."

"Well, I wasn't aware I had, dear, but that's quite alright. Coffee?"

"Yes, please."

As Jaye took a seat on the stool beside Liv's she glared at the brunette who was laughing softly to herself at her friend's discomfort. No sooner had Regina placed a mug of coffee in front of the blonde and asked if she wanted anything to eat, the kitchen door opened again and Henry appeared. He blinked at the three females in front of him, before narrowing his eyes in confusion as he realised that Jaye was dressed in Liv's clothes.

"Jaye stayed over." Liv explained before he could ask. "You wanna put your eyes back in, kid? 'Cos that's really wrong..."

As the boy blushed, nodded and hastily moved to pour himself a glass of juice from the fridge while Regina asked what he wanted to eat, the blonde teenager glared at her friend. "Don't say anything!"

"I wasn't going to!" Liv hissed. "But him having a crush on you is just really, really creepy."

"Who says I'd be happy about him having a crush on me even if he wasn't… you know." Jaye snapped back. "He's really not my type."

"He's a twelve-year-old boy, I'm glad he's not your type!"

"Shut up!"

Liv laughed as the blonde shoved her shoulder, pressing her lips together to stop the sound as Regina and Henry turned to look at them. She shrugged innocently. "What?"

"Nothing, dear." Her mother shrugged. "Henry, run up and ask Emma whether she wants eggs or pancakes." Once he'd gone, the woman looked between the girls, smiling as casually as she could. "So… have you got plans for today?"

Her daughter shrugged. "No, why?"

"We need to discuss things."

"Things being Cora?" Liv asked, calmly chewing on the piece of apple she'd just bitten off. Noticing Regina's eye flicking towards Jaye, she jerked her shoulders slightly. "She knows about the plan."

"Right… so?"

"Yeah, when Jaye goes home we can plan properly. I wanna get this done as soon as possible."

"Get what done?" Emma asked, bursting into the kitchen. Liv rolled her eyes, wondering how often people would catch the end of sentences in this house. "What's going on?"

"Oh, Jaye came round last night and stayed over. Problem?"

"I thought… huh?"

Grinning at how non-plussed her mother was, Liv shrugged. "We've stopped fighting, it's cool."

"I think I'm gonna go home." The blonde teenager announced hurriedly, nervous under the women's gazes. "My Mother will probably have noticed I've gone…"

As she hurried out of the kitchen, shooting Liv a weak smile and receiving a wink and a smirk in return, Emma leant forward with her palms flat on the surface. "Explain?"

"Explain what? I just did."

"Yesterday I had to physically drag the pair of you out of Granny's and lock you separate cells because you were basically trying to kill each other and this morning she's sitting in our kitchen, in your pyjamas, after spending the night here? What's that about?"

"She helped me hide from your Mom and her crazy ass horse-riding plan and we made friends. Then she had some issues with her family and I said she could stay here." Liv informed her, taking a long gulp of her coffee before crossing the room and tipping the remainder of the liquid down the sink. "Right, I'm gonna go shower and get dressed and then we can talk about this portal potion and what I need to do."

Watching her leave the room, the two women made the most of being alone to exchange a look. Emma arched an eyebrow. "Please tell me that it's not just me that thinks that something is going on here."

"I admit it's a bit… sudden… considering their fight yesterday, but are you actually suggesting that there's something romantic going on between them?"

"Romantic?" Emma laughed. "There isn't a romantic bone in Liv's body. It's not romance I'm thinking about."

"I think you're reading too much into things, dear." Regina told her, turning her attention back to the eggs on the stove. She smiled as the blonde moved behind her, wrapping her arms around her waist and pressing her lips to her neck. "Just because you have a one-track mind, Miss Swan, doesn't mean everyone else does. I think it's good that Liv has a female friend her own age. Perhaps she'll spend less time with those delinquents now."

"Jaye's one of those delinquents, remember?"

"She's a very polite delinquent." Regina replied with a shrug.

Emma raised an eyebrow, remembering the cause of the fight the day before, but said nothing. She sighed and pressed another kiss to her girlfriend's neck before turning away and hopping onto one of the stools at the breakfast bar. After a moment, Regina set a plate down in front of her and another beside it, before moving to the door and shouting for Henry to come and eat. She startled the blonde teenager who was descending the staircase, dressed in yesterday's clothes and apparently intending to make a quiet exit.

"Err… thanks, again, Madam Mayor…" Jaye said quickly as Regina crossed the foyer to open the door for her. "I'll… see you around."

"Bye."

Regina watched her walk quickly down the path and through the gate, before disappearing behind the hedge. She narrowed her eyes slightly, wondering whether Emma had a point. Then she shrugged, deciding that they had far more important things to think about. The first thing to do was send Henry off with David which, considering he loved spending time doing 'princely' things with his Grandfather wouldn't be too difficult.

In fact, the moment the brunette re-entered the kitchen her son looked up, his mouth full of pancake, and announced that he was going to the stables. He wolfed down his breakfast and seconds after he put the plate into the dishwasher there was a knock on the door and he rushed away, calling goodbyes over his shoulder. The door slammed and he was gone, leaving his mothers alone in the kitchen.

"We really have to do this?" Emma asked, already knowing the answer.

"We do, dear." Regina sighed.