Regina had never been a day drinker. She often allowed herself to have a glass of wine or apple cider in the evenings, but never a drop of alcohol before 5pm. It was a rule of hers that she stuck to as if it were the law.

But today was no ordinary day. Today, a blonde bombshell had been dropped on her, in every sense of the word. Not only was Emma Swan's arrival unexpected and shocking, but Emma was also an incredibly attractive woman, so the term 'blonde bombshell' fit her quite nicely. But yes, today was no ordinary day, so today Regina found herself pouring a glass of apple cider just shy of 3pm.

Some people say that rules are made to be broken, Regina justified as she took her first sip.

She sat down on the couch in her study with a heavy sigh. It had been a long day, and it still wasn't over yet. She was exhausted, and wanted nothing more than to go to bed, turn her brain off and sleep, though she knew that that would be near impossible. Her mind was spinning with so many thoughts and unanswered questions that she knew she wouldn't be able to shut it off long enough to squeeze in a nap.

Regina didn't know how to feel about the fact that she actually knew Emma. She had no recollection of the blonde, though she guessed that just meant that the potion did its job right. Still, it was the strangest feeling to have all memories of something completely wiped. Was this how everyone in Storybrooke felt during the curse?

How was it possible that she really knew Emma Swan? That she was raising her son with Emma Swan? Why had she agreed to that? Right now, she couldn't imagine letting Henry's birth mother have a place in his life. What if she tried to steal him? Though, apparently, Regina had agreed to it. She just didn't understand why.

She also didn't understand why she had hired Emma as the sheriff. That's what she'd done, right? Because Emma said she was the sheriff, but Regina was mayor which meant that she hired the sheriffs of Storybrooke. Why would she hire someone who was a threat to her and her son? It didn't make sense.

But Emma also said that they were friends, which was probably the strangest part in all of this. Why would Regina have befriended the person who could take her son from her? Why would she befriend the daughter of Snow White and Prince Charming? Or course, now she didn't mind Snow and David, but Emma apparently came before the curse broke, which was when Regina still very much detested them.

None of this made sense!

Regina took another sip of her drink and closed her eyes. She could feel a headache coming on.

At that moment, she heard the front door open and close, then a familiar voice call out: "Mom! I'm home!" The sound of her son brought a small smile to her face, despite everything else that was going on.

Regina opened her eyes and turned to the doorway, just in time to see Henry appearing. "Hi, honey. Did you have a nice time with Violet?"

"Yeah, it was awesome." Henry said with a grin. "Violet got a phone for Christmas, so she's been downloading music ever since. Today, I introduced her to twenty one pilots."

"That's lovely, dear." Regina smiled. She didn't know who on earth those twenty one pilots were, but she was also too tired to question it.

"Yeah, but she didn't like them as much as she likes Taylor Swift." Henry said with an eye roll.

Taylor Swift, Regina knew. She had a song about shaking it off. When it came out, it had been on the radio so much that it made Regina want to tear her ears off. Instead of saying that though, Regina just lifted a shoulder and said, "Each to their own."

"I guess." Henry conceded, then looked down and saw the glass of cider in Regina's hand. The sight brought a frown to his face. "Are you OK?"

"I'm fine. Why wouldn't I be?" Regina replied, trying to sound a normal as possible. She had to sound upbeat, but she couldn't overshoot or Henry would know that something was wrong.

"I don't know." Henry said, looking at her analytically. "You've got a drink."

"It's New Year. I'm celebrating." Regina lied.

"Alright." Henry nodded, though still didn't seem too convinced. "I'm going to take my things upstairs."

Regina nodded and watched Henry walk away, then she closed her eyes and listened. She heard her son's footsteps go up the stairs, then some banging and shuffling from his room. Then footsteps came back down the stairs, then the fridge door opened and closed. Regina heard more movement, though it was hard to tell the exact location because Henry had taken his shoes off. But then she heard him walk back into the room, so she opened her eyes and looked at him.

"Does Ma know that she left her jacket here?" Henry asked, holding up what appeared to be a red leather jacket.

"Who left their jacket here?" Regina asked with a frown, leaning forward to get a better look at it.

Henry looked at her as if she were insane, then looked it the jacket in his hand, then back to Regina again. The question seemed to perplex him for some reason, which confused Regina. "Ma..." Henry said, as if it were obvious. "Emma."

Regina sighed as she realised that it was Emma Swan's jacket. Honestly, it seemed like she couldn't escape the blonde today. "Oh," Regina said, leaning back again. "I don't think she knows."

"Maybe you can take it to her the next time you see her." Henry suggested, then threw the jacket onto the couch next to Regina.

"That's... an idea." Regina nodded. "Or maybe you could."

Henry frowned, confusion written all over his features. "Ok... Are you sure that you're OK? How much have you had to drink?"

"I'm fine, Henry." Regina insisted. "And this is my first one."

Henry lingered for a few moments, just to look at Regina like she was losing her mind, then he retreated from the room.

Regina looked across at the red leather jacket that he had tossed next to her, then found herself reaching for it. She didn't know why, but she picked it up anyway and put it in her lap. It was obviously well-worn; it was a bit dirty and the seem was slightly torn on the sleeve. Was she supposed to recognise it? Is that why Henry had looked at her like she was insane? If she was supposed to have seen it before, then that was a shame, because there was no recognition when she looked at it.

Regina ran her fingers over the material, then lifted it and brought it to her face. She didn't know what she was doing, but something compelled her to do it. She put the jacket against her nose and then breathed deeply, inhaling the scent. She could smell vanilla, and slight sweat. The sweat made her wrinkle her nose, but the overall scent wasn't entirely displeasing.

Upon hearing Henry coming towards the room again, Regina put the jacket back down and sipped her drink.

"Mom," Henry said as he appeared in the doorway, yet again. "Can I ask you something?"

"Of course."

"Why did you leave Granny's so suddenly last night?" Henry leaned against the door frame and looked at Regina curiously. "I didn't even see you leave. One minute you were there, the next you were gone. You didn't even say goodbye to anyone."

Regina opened her mouth, but then closed it again, not knowing how to answer the question. She could hardly tell her son that she had rushed to her vault to create a potion that would make her forget her true love, but had instead made her forget his other mother. She didn't know how Henry would react to such news, and was hoping that she wouldn't have to be the one to tell him.

Luckily, the house phone rang at that moment, gaining the attention of Henry. Saved by the bell, Regina thought to herself as Henry backed out of the room in search of the device.

However, as one pesky person asking too many questions left (not that Regina thought of Henry as pesky. She just didn't want to answer his questions right now.), another one entered in the form of Zelena.

Regina heard the front door open and close, then sighed, tipping her head back to down the rest of her drink. She knew that her sister was going to ask her questions, but she really just wanted to be left alone right now. Unfortunately, the universe seemed to have other plans.

Regina stood and walked over to her desk, putting her empty glass down. She considered pouring another, but then Zelena knocked on the door and walked in.

"Hey, sis." The redhead said, using a sympathetic tone of voice that Regina really didn't want to hear. "How are you holding up?"

"I'm fine." Regina said, through gritted teeth this time. She had already assured Henry that she was OK, and she was quickly losing her patience now.

"Well, excuse me for not believing that." Zelena said, making Regina turn to face her with a scowl. "You hurried out of the diner pretty quickly, and now you sound like you want to strangle someone."

"Not someone," Regina corrected. "Just you. Or perhaps Emma Swan would suffice."

Zelena feigned a look of offence. "Me? What did I do?"

"You let me ramble on about how Ms. Swan was insane for acting like she knew me, when you knew full well that I do, in fact, know her!"

An amused smile spread across Zelena's face. "Well, yes, I did do that. But you have to admit, it was pretty funny."

"Forgive me for not agreeing." Regina responded with an eye roll. She walked away from her desk, back over to the couch, and watched as Zelena rocked the baby stroller with Robyn in it back and forth.

The room was silent for a few moments, other than the sound of Robyn stirring slightly, but Regina decided to break it with the thing that she had been thinking ever since she left the diner. "I didn't mess up the potion."

"What?" Zelena turned to look at her sister.

"When it comes to magic, I don't make mistakes." Regina said, standing back up and walking back over to where her empty glass and almost-full bottle of cider was. To hell with it, she was having another drink. "I made a potion to forget my true love, and that's exactly what I did."

"You know?" Zelena asked, surprise in her voice.

Regina filled her glass, then picked it up and turned back to her sister. "I do now." She confirmed. "I didn't this morning, after taking the potion and still remembering Robin. I just thought that I must have made a mistake somewhere, forgotten an ingredient or something. But even that didn't make sense to me, because I took the recipe from a book, and followed it precisely. Then, when Emma showed up on my doorstep... I just can't believe that I didn't connect the dots. I thought that it was strange that a woman that I didn't know was insisting that she knew me, but I can't believe I didn't make the link to the forgetting potion I'd taken."

"But now you know that the potion made you forget Emma." Zelena stated.

"Yes. But Ms. Swan told me that I forgot her because I messed up the potion, and I know that I didn't do that. Forgetting to put in an ingredient would make the potion ineffective, but it wouldn't change the outcome of the potion."

"What are you saying?" Zelena asked, thinking that she knew, but wanting to hear it from Regina.

"I'm saying that the forgetting potion worked. I forgot my true love. I forgot Emma Swan."

Zelena grinned and clapped her hands together. "It's about time one of you fools figured it out." She said, as if she had been waiting for this moment forever. "I was starting to worry that the two of you would dance around it for years. Especially the way Emma was going." Zelena breathed a sigh of relief, but then seemed to remember something and frowned at Regina. "Hold on, what are you waiting for? Why aren't you at Emma's place getting your happy ending?"

Regina drank a large mouthful of cider and leaned back against her desk. "She isn't my happy ending."

Zelena frowned even more, taking her hands off Robyn's stroller to fold her arms across her chest. "What are you talking about?"

"I don't love that woman."

"But she's your-"

"True love?" Regina finished, then laughed dryly. "I know. You don't need to remind me. It's just another one of the universe's cruel jokes."

"Regina-"

"Genius, really." Regina continued, ignoring her sister. "Making my true love someone who, not only is unattainable, but is also someone that I detest. What a way to hurt me even more."

"I don't understand." Zelena said in confusion.

Regina sighed, as if having to explain was an inconvenience. "She's unattainable because she's dating Hook." Regina reminded Zelena.

"That's not the part that I'm confused about. You just said that you detest her."

"Oh," Regina nodded and sipped more cider. "I do. I hate her."

"How can you say that?"

"Because she's loud and obnoxious." Regina said, as if it were obvious. "She stormed into my house, she tracked me down at Granny's, she grabbed my wrist and forced me to talk to her."

"That's just..." Zelena didn't know how to explain, so she shook her head and sighed. "That's just who Emma is. She's strong and stubborn."

"Well I don't appreciate it." Regina said. "And I also hate her because she was hurting me enough to make me take a potion to forget my true love."

"Emma didn't do that." Zelena reminded Regina. "You took that potion to forget Robin, not Emma."

"Yes, but I feel fine now." Regina informed her sister. "That pain that I had in my chest for so long? Completely gone. Taking Emma out of my life, also took the pain away. She used to be the cause of the pain in my life, now she's just a pain in my ass."

Zelena walked towards Regina, hoping that reducing the distance between them would make Regina listen to her and see sense. "You were probably only hurt because Emma was with Hook. You didn't realise that you loved her back then, but seeing with someone else was still hard for you. Either that, or you were hurt because you knew your love was unrequited, which you now know isn't true because you're her true love, not Killian. But Emma would never intentionally hurt you. Trust me."

"I don't care why I was hurt." Regina insisted. "All I know is that Emma Swan is the one who was hurting me, so why wouldn't I hate her?"

"Because she's your true love." Zelena stated.

"But I don't want her to be." Regina insisted. "I don't want her in my life at all."

"Regina, don't do this." Zelena folded her arms across her chest and shook her head. "Don't throw away your happy ending like this. You have the chance to be happy right now. Take it."

"Zelena, I don't even like her-"

"But you did when you knew her! Before you took that potion, she was your best friend."

"But now I can see clearly, and I know-"

"No, you can't." Zelena wouldn't even let Regina complete her sentence. "This is the complete opposite of seeing things clearly. That potion has fogged up your mind. You don't know anything, so you're jumping to conclusions, the wrong conclusions."

"You're not going to make me change my mind, Zelena." Regina said stubbornly. "I don't want anything to do with her. I will let her see Henry, because she's apparently as much his mother as I am, but that is where our relationship starts and ends."

Zelena narrowed her eyes at her sister. "You're making a mistake."

"Well, it's my mistake to make."

The women looked each other in the eye for a few moments, as if they were having a stand-off. Neither wanted to be the one to look away first, as if doing so would be a sign of defeat. However, they both looked away at the same time when a sound caught their attention.

"Mom!" Henry yelled, making both women turn the the door. Henry's footsteps bounded down the stairs, then the young man stormed into the room, looking at Regina accusingly. "Are you and Emma fighting?" He demanded, clearly angry.

"What makes you ask that?" Regina asked, glancing momentarily at Zelena, who looked equally unsure.

"Because she was the one on the phone." Henry explained. "She told me that she doesn't think I should spend the night at her place tonight."

"Why would she say that?" Regina frowned. Emma had demanded that Henry spend the night with her, stressing that he was her son too. Now she was just giving him up?

"She wouldn't tell me." Henry said, narrowing his eyes at his brunette mother. "She just said that she doesn't think that you would like it if I did."

"Why would she care if I was happy or not?" Regina asked, directing it at Zelena.

"What I want to know is why wouldn't you be happy? You've not had a problem with me staying at Emma's for ages."

To answer that question, Regina would have to explain to him what had happened, and Regina didn't have any desire to do that. She looked down, refusing to answer, which just annoyed Henry more.

"What have you done?" Henry asked. "Things were going great, why did you have to ruin it?"

"Henry-"

"Whatever you said to Emma, you need to apologise. Or, if Emma's the one in the wrong, forgive her." Henry instructed. "She sounded upset on the phone, so whatever has happened, it's hurt her."

"Of course." Regina looked down and laughed, though it held little amusement. "She's made herself out to be the victim here. And made herself seem like the hero by saying that she doesn't have to see you if it will upset me."

"Stop it." Henry pleaded. "Stop talking about Emma like she's self-serving. I don't want you two to hate each other again. It was bad enough last time. I just want to know why Emma has said she's going to keep her distance from me for the time being."

"So do I." Regina said thoughtfully. "I'm going to go find out." She put down her glass and pushed herself off the desk.

"Wait, you're going to see Emma?" Zelena asked to clarify.

"Yes. I'm finding out what she's up to." Regina said decisively, picking her bag up from where she'd left it on the floor by the couch.

"Can you at least tell me what's happened first?" Henry asked.

"I..." Regina hesitated, then turned to Zelena. "Will you explain to him what happened?"

Zelena raised an eyebrow and looked at Henry, who looked back at her with puppy-dog eyes. Zelena sighed and walked over to the couch, patting the spot next to her. "Sit down, Hen. It's story time."

Henry smiled and went to sit next to his auntie, so Regina made sure she had her phone and keys, then walked out of the study. She didn't make it far before she turned back and poked her head inside

"Zelena, don't say anything that I wouldn't." Regina warned her sister.

Zelena rolled her eyes. "Don't be such a bore, Gina. Just go see your soulmate."

"Her what?" Henry asked, his eyes widening as he turned to the redhead in shock.

Zelena put her hand on his knee with a smile. "Once upon a time..."

A/N: Two steps forward, one step back.

Thank you to everyone who has shown their support for this story, I really appreciate it. And reviews always bring a smile to my face :)

I've now given up trying to predict how many chapters this fic will be, because I keep on extending it. I'll just let you know when it's the penultimate chapter, and hope you stick around until then :)

I promise that Emma and Regina will actually interact in the next chapter.